SEASIDERS PROVIDE FITTING SPECTACLE
CLWB RYBGI CYMRY CAERDYDD 30 PENARTH 28 – Saturday 23 January 2016
Cardiff Arms Park has seen many spectacular games of rugby and this game, removed from a sodden Llandaff Fields, turned out to be as fascinating a contest as any of them.
The perfect playing surface was an open invitation to running rugby and both sides grabbed the opportunity with alacrity. The Seasiders kept the ball in hand from the kick-off, moving the Clwb defence from side to side before Nathan Smith sold an outrageous dummy, bursting through the line with Tom Luck at his shoulder. The scoring pass was perfectly weighted and the inside centre surged round behind the posts for a second minute try.
It didn’t take the hosts long to strike back as outside half Oliver Jenkins drove a penalty to touch for a five-metre line-out. The drive was perfectly excuted and the Cymry’s number eight crossed in the corner. A string of decisions in the home side’s favour then led to a further penalty which Jenkins converted for an 8-7 lead.
Despite having gone behind, Penarth were dominating proceedings, while Clwb were depending almost entirely on Jenkins’ howitzer boot to keep them out of trouble. The Seasiders almost registered a second try after half an hour as Smith and Luck worked a clever scissors, but had to wait another eight minutes before they got their noses in front again. A five-metre scrum was going quite tidily as the Clwb front row popped up, but before the referee could intervene, Elliott Smith had already broken down the blindside for a well-taken try.
Jenkins slotted over a second penalty for the hosts from the restart, as the Seasiders were judged to have been offside on their own 22.
Leading by three points at the beginning of the second half, it was all slick handling and hard running from Penarth, but all to no avail as the referee continued to punish them. Further penalty conversions from Jenkins on 51 and 55 minutes pushed his side back in front 17-14, but the game was nevertheless heading for a stunning climax.
A third try for Penarth soon arrived as Alex Thau burst through the cover on half-way before releasing Huw Elias on the left wing as they crossed the 22. Easily rounding the last defender, Elias swung round behind the posts and the lead changed hands again as the Seasiders led 17-21.
The hosts’ dependence on Jenkins’ boot was again rewarded as the outside-half exploited yet another kickable penalty award to bring the score back to 20-21 and then the match turned on a single incident. It was hard to tell whether it was good fortune or a sublime skill, but as Nathan Smith burst clear in his own half with only the home right-wing to beat, his opponent dislodged the ball, juggled it and sprinted clear himself for a decisive nine-point lead with 9 minutes to go.
A neat drop-goal by Jenkins from a rare visit to the Penarth 22 seemed to have cost the visitors even the consolation of a bonus point, but the Seasiders had kept the best ‘til last and played out the remaining minutes in the home 22. With the visitors needing a penalty which was never going to come for a bonus point and deep into injury time, Jenkins managed to heave the ball into the Penarth half only for Paul Collett to burst through the advancing cover and feed Nathan Smith on his own 10-metre line. The outside-half accelerated smoothly towards the right-hand corner flag, dumping the left wing with an expert hand-off on the way. James Docherty converted from the touchline to complete an exhilarating come-back, claiming two bonus points from a two-point losing margin and four tries.
Despite this bizarre setback, the Seasiders have held on to fifth place are now in an excellent mood to welcome undefeated leaders Porth Harlequins to the Athletic Field next Saturday.
PENARTH James Docherty, Huw Elias, Adam Lewis, Tom Luck, Paul Collett, Nathan Smith, Gareth Matthias, Jerome Bryan (Owain James), Mason Good, Sean O’Sullivan, Richie Howells Stuart Clarke (Lloyd Huxton), Scott Mackie, Elliott Smith, Alex Thau.
Scorers: Tom Luck, Elliott Smith, Huw Elias, Nathan Smith (Tries) James Docherty (4 conversions).
Division 2 East Central
Saturday 30th January 2016
PENARTH v Porth Harlequins
Athletic Field, Lavernock Road
Kick-off 2.30pm
