Penarth v Abergavenny - Play-Off

25th May 2010

PROMOTED! FABULOUS SEASIDERS BACK WHERE THEY BELONG

Abergavenny 10 Penarth 28

Penarth finally put an end to a month of suspense last Saturday with a four-try performance to savour. Pandy Park was a picture, bathed in spring sunshine and playing host to the Division Three play-off for the last promotion slot to Division 2(E). The two contenders entered the ring boasting fine pedigrees after excellent seasons and at the first scrum it was Penarth who got the upper hand as they drove Abergavenny back.

With a WRU referee and touch-judges picking everything up both teams were understandably nervous and the sparring gradually turned into an edgy stalemate, albeit one where the Seasiders had most of the possession. Little was threatened by either side until a rare Abergavenny attack broke down as Chris Poole pounced on a loose pass and punted the ball upfield.

Chasing the kick down, the winger forced the defender into carrying it into his own in-goal area and conceding a five-metre scrum. Penarth went for the pushover, but this was held up, as was a drive by Dai Morgan before Gareth Clancy cleverly changed the point of attack by throwing it wide to Chris Roberts who put Chris Poole in at the corner.

The spell was broken, but no-one could have anticipated how quickly it would all turn round as a wheeled scrum allowed Rhys Lakin to make a clean break and the support was all there to send Poole clear again. This time the wing was stopped at the line, but the ball was worked free to James Crothers who scored in the corner.

Taking a 10-0 lead into the second half there was no way Penarth were going to rest on their laurels as Lakin broke free from a tackle and sprinted clear. Chris Roberts in support was well covered, so the centre was forced to chip ahead. Again this was well covered, but the Abergavenny full-back missed the bounce on the line and Rhys Lakin followed up to score.

James Docherty converted for a 17-0 lead and the Seasiders took the opportunity to send on the replacements as Steve Roberts sold an outrageous dummy and seemed certain to score until superbly caught five metres out. A Docherty penalty coolly slotted over from 42 metres on the hour extended the lead to 20-0 and the game was all but up for a clearly disheartened Abergavenny.

Of course, the fight-back started right there and their full-back headed off down the left wing and as the ball bounced suspiciously forwards, the referee called ‘play on’ and the left wing picked up to score. Suddenly Penarth were conceding a string of penalties and it just wasn’t funny any more. Geraint Blake was binned in the general confusion and one of the Abergavenny substitutes went over from the resulting line-out.

With the score on a less comfortable 20-10, Docherty extended his side’s lead with another penalty before the match went into suspended animation as James Crothers stopped the charging full-back dead, but didn’t get up again. As the unfortunate wing received treatment prior to the arrival of the ambulance, it became clear that there were five minutes left to play and the Seasiders would have to hold out with 13 men.

This is where the quality in this Penarth side shone through as they tore into Abergavenny from the restart. A long-range penalty from Chris Roberts had the legs but drifted narrowly wide and then Chris Poole stepped up to foil another Abergavenny break-out and won a penalty. Kicked to touch, the throw was directed to the front where Jason Allen took it cleanly. A ferocious drive from the Seasiders’ pack took their opponents apart and Mike Clare claimed the fourth try of the afternoon.

This promotion was richly deserved and the whole club can be very proud of the effort this season which sees Penarth back in more illustrious company after many years in the doldrums. There’s no point in picking out any particular players, as there was real quality to be found everywhere, although Head Coach Mike Clare’s seven tries in the last five games might have made a difference.

Congratulation to all concerned after this fantastic season and here’s looking forward to season 2010-11 in Division 2 (E)!

PENARTH Chris Roberts, Chris Poole, Steve Roberts, Rhys Lakin, James Crothers, James Docherty, Gareth Clancy [Owain George] Richard Merrett, Gary Power [Peter Bennett], David Morgan, James Roach [Jason Allen], Darroll Hawden, Elliott Smith, Mike Clare, Marc Devine [Geraint Blake]