SEASIDERS LOSE THE BONUS HABIT
Penarth 20 Llandaff 8
Having taken a bonus point (one way or another) from each of their first four games, the Seasiders scored only two tries in defeating 11th-placed Llandaff and remain part of the top group in Division 3 (SE), three points behind leaders Aberdare.
The Penarth forwards continued their recent improvement in the driving maul department early on, but Llandaff were able to produce considerable flair of their own. Luckily the Seasiders had the edge in the scrums and were able to drive Llandaff off their put-in and gain
some advantage in territory.
The hosts were also putting together a considerable number of three-quarter moves, but it took 20 minutes for them to get the scoreboard moving. A 35 metre penalty from James Docherty put Penarth into the lead and from the restart, the Penarth backs moved the ball out to fullback Steve Roberts who showed his great talent running from deep to sweep through the Llandaff defence and score a magnificent try under the posts.
Soon the home pack were driving over the line, but good defence from Llandaff denied them points as the ball was clearly not grounded. The visitors conceded a further penalty by coming in at the side of a ruck and Docherty converted before another driving maul by the Penarth forwards saw Gary Power being pulled down just short of the line. From the resulting scrum, hooker Geraint Evans claimed the second try of the afternoon which was again converted by James Docherty.
Successive backs moves almost led to more tries before the break as Penarth ran Llandaff ragged. Lloyd Davey and James Crothers came close, but it was evident that Gary Power was having some difficulty with an injury as half time approached, with Penarth leading 20-0.
Sure enough, Power was forced to withdraw and with no recognised front row replacement, flanker Damian Blake took his place. From this point the Penarth scrum’s earlier dominance faltered and the Llandaff eight had the upper from that point on. Soon they were awarded a penalty for offside that was converted by their full-back Nathan Rees to put them on the score sheet and ultimately the pressure applied by the pack was sufficient for their number 8 Gareth Lomax to bulldoze his way over the line for a try which went unconverted.
Defence in depth by Penarth denied Llandaff so much as a losing bonus and the occasional home initiative such as when they broke out from their 22 and seven pairs of hands were involved before the move broke down gave spectators the illusion that there might be still be a winning bonus point on offer before the eighty minutes were up.
From the resultant scrum Owain George made a break, but the Llandaff defence held out. Then a Steve Roberts thrust to the right and an in-field kick allowed the supporting Penarth players to gain possession on the 22 with the try line beckoning only to be called back by the referee for a penalty to Llandaff. The game ended with Penarth in an attacking position on the Llandaff 22.
The Seasiders face a real test of their promotion credentials this coming Saturday as they travel to Usk Road to meet second-placed Llanishen. The north Cardiff club have only lost once this season, against leaders Aberdare.
PENARTH Steve Roberts, Lloyd Davey, Rhys Lakin, Liam Bevan, James Crothers James Docherty (Chris Poole), Owain George, Richard Merrett, Geraint Evans, Gary Power (Damian Blake), Darrol Howden, Gareth Williams Marc Devine (Jason Allen), Elliott Smith, Geraint Blake
OTHER RESULTS:
ABERDARE 17-11 BRECON
HEOL-Y-CYW 17-18 LLANISHEN
ST.PETERS 40-10 FAIRWATER
TREHERBERT 20-22 LLANDAFF NORTH
TYLORSTOWN 29-17 PENTYRCH