SEASIDERS LAST-MINUTE BONUS
Penygraig 25-18 Penarth (HT 10-11)
This may not have been the team that head coach Matt Bolton would have liked to field for this critical fixture up at Graig Park, but you couldn’t fault them for effort. They fought every inch of the way against a Penygraig side that often seemed to have the upper hand, but committed a bewildering array of errors.
So much so that the Seasiders were still in the game going into the last ten minutes and even when a losing bonus point appeared lost with five minutes left, they came back strongly to reclaim it.
Penarth had made a steady start and despite fielding no regular place-kicker, went into an early lead when captain Rhys Morgan slotted over a 40m penalty off the far post. The advantage didn’t last long, as home full-back Gareth Parsons made the line break and lock Mathew Jeczalik crossed for the try.
This state of affairs was just as short-lived. The Seasiders offered some neat passing of their own and won a penalty on the edge of the Graig 22. Chris Mortimer secured ball from the line-out and the drive gave Penarth penalty advantage they didn’t need as Miles Jones crossed in the corner.
The hosts came back strongly and despite the usual stout defence from the Seasiders, a single missed tackle gave blindside flanker Austin Davies just enough room to squeeze over for a second try. A second penalty from Morgan in the 15 minutes up to half-time they’d generally dominated, meant that Penarth turned around 10-11 in the lead.
The second half was not so kind to the Seasiders. Graig forced the pace from the off as the visitors buckled under the pressure, with captain David Thomas driving over for his side’s third try. Most of the half was evenly contested, with Penarth trailing 15-11, but two late scores by the hosts, with scrum-half Nathan Webber claiming the bonus point with a try from a line-out with five minutes remaining, pushed the score out to 25-11.
Thankfully the Seasiders saw this as unfinished business rather than game over and with the last move of the match, full-back Luke Adams broke the line decisively, but an ankle-tap lost him his balance. Ball worked swiftly right to George Roberts who followed suit by cutting straight through the defensive line for the try and the losing bonus point Morgan’s conversion secured.
The pack had gone well throughout, with props Ryan Jones and Man-of-the-Match Harry Wood providing able support to Mason Good and more than deserved a penalty try in the second half, even if referee Darren Randal remained unmoved. Narrow margins again.
No game next week, as the Six Nations resumes, although Clwb Rygbi have a re-arranged fixture at home to promotion-chasing Treharris, which may have some bearing on Penarth’s fortunes.
PENARTH:
Luke Adams, George Roberts, Owain Lord, James Crothers, Ben Hill, Kevin Maddox, Rhys Morgan ©, Harry Wood, Mason Good (Liam Richards), Ryan Jones (Sean O’Sullivan), Harrison Pugsley, Anthony Pine, Josh Spragg, (Elliott Smith), Miles Jones, Chris Mortimer (Rob Rees).