TITLE CHARGE CONTINUES
Tylorstown 12-39 Penarth (HT 7-29)
After the previous weeks nervy nail-biting affair away to Canton last Saturday saw a real return to form for Penarth as they put 7 tries past Tylorstown to record a convincing victory in the sunshine at Penrhys Park.
With a bus full of supporters in tow Penarth put on an exhibition of running rugby and would surely have scored more points had the referee not elected to put the home side out of their misery with nearly 10 minutes left on the clock. As it was Penarth maintained their four point lead over Llanharan at the top of the table as their title chase nears its conclusion.
The opening exchanges of the match were competitive enough and Tylorstown got the first advantage as veteran Penarth winger James Crothers was shown a harsh yellow card for a high tackle. Instead of the homes side making the most of the extra man it was Penarth who turned on the style. The first try came from captain Spencer Robinson who reacted quickly to the grant of a penalty inside the Tylorstown 22 and was too quick and strong for the home defence.
Cam Sultana had a try ruled out after he was adjudged to have put his foot in touch after a rampaging break from the returning Alex Thau. However, justice was soon done as from the resulting lineout Harry Williams fielded a long kick and spread the ball wide to George Roberts who beat two men before feeding Andy Richards who popped the ball back to Roberts to complete a fine score.
Robinson collected his second shortly after as a well worked lineout move saw Bradman Williams break the line before off loading to Robinsons for an easy score. And then only after this did Penarth go back to 15 men! And Robinson completed a 9 minute hattrick with the next play as Roberts intercepted a loose pass and made it deep into the home 22 before Robinson sniped round the fringe to scamper under the posts which James Docherty finally converted for a 22-0 lead. Tylorstown must be sick of the sight of the Penarth skipper this season as that was his 7th try against them in 3 games!
With the bonus point secured and the game only heading in one direction there was a feeling that the home side may have started getting the rub of the green, but it didn’t help them much as Penarth scored the try of the game just after the half hour mark. Another great lineout got the backs moving and Docherty fed Crothers who threw a gorgeous miss pass to Roberts who broke the line again. With the final defender approaching Roberts had the presence of mind to put through a perfectly weighted grubber kick which Harry Williams followed up to score under the posts.
There then followed Tylorstown’s best 5 minutes of the game, which coincided with Penarth receiving two yellow cards and being reduced to 13 men, one for Alex Thau for a ruck infringement and one for Cam Sultana following a string of Penarth penalties in their own 22, which also resulted in the home side scoring their first points of the day as they bundled it over from close range.
The home side started the second half with the same two man advantage and managed to capitalise after 5 minutes as a loose Harry Williams kick gave Tylorstown the opportunity to counter and when they sent a long kick over the top it was a foot race between Docherty and the home centre. Looking every one of his 40 years Docherty conceded a 15 yard headstart as he was caught on the line and the ref adjudged that the home player got the touchdown.
But as Penarth returned to a full compliment normal service was resumed and it was Thau who collected two tries to put the game beyond any reasonable doubt. Penarth rang the changes with 20 minutes to go as the bench emptied, even seeing an appearance from Chairman Sean O’Sullivan at prop. Whilst Penarth remained comfortably on top another score was not to come as the game got increasingly scrappy and frustrating, none more so than when the referee brought a halt to proceedings 10 minutes from time.
Penarth’s final league game, in what has been a record breaking season to date, is away at third placed Pentyrch next weekend. Whilst the title is out of their hands, with Llanharan having a game in hand in which they could sneak past Penarth, a 20th win of the season would be a fitting reward for what has been a truly outstanding effort by all involved at the club. For those wishing to come and watch the final game please note that it is a 1.30pm kick off at Pentyrch.
Penarth: Geraint Williams (Sean O’Sullivan), Bradman Williams, Sam Sully, Cam Sultana, Matt Allen (Dan Calahane), Tom Griffiths (Tom Marsh), Alex Thau, Spencer Robinson (Osian Phillips), James Docherty (Rhys Morgan), James Crothers, Osian Coates, Andy Richards, George Roberts, Harry Williams
Scorers: S Robinson (3 tries), A Thau (2 tries), G Roberts (try), H Williams (try) J Docherty (2 con)
