SEASIDERS: PURE CLASS
Penarth 64-7 Penygraig (HT 28-0)
Towards the end of a frustrating season for the Seasiders, players, coaching staff and fans now know what they always suspected – this is a seriously classy outfit.
On a gloriously sunny spring afternoon, they put a stamp on it as early as the first minute. Josh Hurley fielded a long up and under and set off. Andy Richards took up the running before passing to a looping Rhys Beynon who accelerated unstoppably to the line.
As tended to happen between scores, there was a brief lull before Spencer Robinson went off on one of his excursions, crossing half way with George Roberts in support. The scrum-half jinked past several defenders while the winger tried to guess his next move, finally receiving the pass from which he sped away to score.
After a brief bout of aerial tennis, Roberts was soon back in the thick of it, plucking a swirling ball out of the air under pressure and determinedly forcing his way through the cover to score his second.
By now ‘Graig were beginning to wonder if Penarth were simply going to add another whenever they felt like it and the bonus point duly arrived on the half-hour. Beynon made the first break, but the visitors’ defence were all in place, so the ball was worked to the opposite wing where Robinson made ground before pulling a pass back to Morgan Williams who quickly crossed for the fourth try.
The second half opened with both sides having to make do with 14 players following a fracas at the end of the first period. Penygraig had the worst of the deal, as it was their number 8 who saw red. Unfortunately the Seasiders were clearly enjoying themselves and in no mood to let them off the hook. From a line-out, Morgan Williams took the ball as first receiver and slipped it back inside to a rapidly-arriving Hurley, who simply slalomed through the defence at high speed and no-one could lay a hand on him.
Next up were two tries from blindside flanker Mike Lang, the first involving neat footwork and second the disdainful shrugging off of several tackles. Not wishing to miss out on the fun, Harry Wood was the next to make a line-break, but stopped a metre short of the line before the cavalry arrived and Harry Roberts claimed the eighth try.
‘Graig, by no means a poor side, never stopped trying, but sometimes it just isn’t your day. Hurley was well-placed to scoop up a dropped pass and run it down the tramlines for the ninth. The visitors finally got on to the scoreboard in the 68th minute as a neat handling move brought their consolation try, but Penarth still had the last word as James Candy crossed under the posts after Richards and Roberts had done all the hard work!
Ten tries scored in such an exhilarating fashion in front of a sizeable crowd were ample reward for all the hard work that had gone into moulding this young squad into something special. The Seasiders rise to 5th in the table and the next scheduled game is away at Tylorstown on 7th April.
PENARTH:
Josh Hurley, George Roberts (Rhys Morgan), Andy Richards, Rhys Beynon (James Candy), Josh Powell, Morgan Williams, Spencer Robinson, Harry Wood (Geraint Williams), Mason Good, Ryan Jones, Cam Sultana, Andy Lang, Mike Lang (Joshua Spragg), Miles Jones, Harry Roberts.
Scorers: Hurley (2 tries, 7 conversions), G.Roberts (2 tries), M.Lang (2 tries), Beynon (try), M.Williams (try), H.Roberts (try), Candy (try)
