SEASIDERS DO ENOUGH (BUT STILL LOSE)
ST.PETERS 33 PENARTH 18 – Tuesday 10 May 2016
The final game of the 2015-16 season saw Penarth well clear of relegation, but the frustrations of this campaign were all too evident. Facing a combative Rocks side, the Seasiders showed us their best side in a committed display where they were still in with a chance of a win until the 70th minute; but more of that later.
An early score by Rocks’ scrum-half Luke O’Brien seemed to have established a pattern in an already niggly game, but Penarth soon showed they hadn’t come along for the ride. They drove a scrum in the home 22 towards the posts, only for the referee to call them back for a penalty. Successive scrums led to successive penalties before James Docherty finally put Huw Elias into a gap and the full-back finished with his usual panache.
All too soon the referee made another critical intervention as St.Peters cleared inside their own 22. Docherty charged the kick down, but was pulled back 10m from the line as he followed up. A clear penalty try was bizarrely interpreted as a simple penalty. Once again an apparent injustice resulted in a score. The line-out was driven ferociously by a determined Penarth pack and Harry Roberts scored in the corner.
More violence followed and the Rocks tight-head was awarded a yellow card for throwing a punch, but this didn’t noticeably affect the hosts’ drive as they powered over for a try that eased them into a one-point lead. The Seasiders hit back immediately with a Docherty penalty and led 12-13 at half-time.
Penarth were making all the running at the start of the second half and a rare win at the Harlequins Playing Field began to emerge as a distinct possibility as Roberts went over for his second try from a 5m scrum.
Leading 12-18 approaching the final quarter, the Seasiders appeared to be fully in control, but then the roof fell in again. First, a long kick ahead from the Rocks failed to go dead in the Penarth in-goal, but instead of touching down for a 22 drop-out or clearing to touch, Ben Hill opted to go experimental and conceded a 5m scrum to St.Peters which resulted in a penalty try.
The last twenty minutes were a catalogue of disasters for Penarth as they were forced to empty their bench due to a string of injuries. Most entertaining was a 20-minute cameo from Brent Muggeridge, who looked for all the world as if he’d never been away.
Less entertaining was the fact that a severely-weakened Seasiders were now unable to withstand pressure from the hosts and a respectable 19-18 score turned into a less representative 33-18 result as they ran in two late tries.
Ultimately, the Seasiders’ seven wins out of twelve before Christmas saved them from relegation as Treherbert and Gwernyfed went down, but the fact remains that they’ve only won one out of ten since then and more continuity will be needed from a strong and youthful squad in 2016-17 if they are to retain their Division 2 status again.
PENARTH Huw Elias, Ben Hill [Riyad Aukbarally], James Candy, Tom Luck, James Cothers, Tom Hillman, James Docherty, Chris Mortimer, Jerome Bryan, Mason Good, Sean O’Sullivan [Brent Muggeridge], Owain James, Richie Howell, Scot Mackie, Alex Thau, Harry Roberts [Tom Hillman]
Scorers: Huw Elais (try), Harry Roberts (2 tries), James Docherty (penalty)
