SEASIDERS’ FLASHES OF BRILLIANCE
PENARTH 58-12 Llantwit Fardre (HT 41-7)
Games against Llantwit Fardre are always close-fought encounters and this was no
exception, except .. how do you explain a 10 tries to 2 scoreline? Well, simply put, the
Seasiders again showed that they’re really good at scoring tries, but also, critically, that they
can also defend. With an average of 6.2 tries scored per game the best in the division, they
have conceded an average of 2.6 per game, bettered only by leaders Llanharan.
Penarth lost no time in opening the scoring, as quick scrum ball was rapidly shipped wide for
George Roberts to speed in at the corner. The second try arrived as early as the 6 th minute
as Josh Hurley broke from his own 22 and Alex Thau took it over half-way. Spencer
Robinson jinked into the Llantwit 22 and Miles Jones followed up to score.
The visitors enjoyed a period of pressure, but an energetic Seasiders’ defence forced a
turnover and Robinson broke out decisively and Hurley darted in at an angle to claim the
third try. The tries just kept on coming, despite the Rhinos’ best efforts. A goal-line drop-out
was pouched by Thau and the flanker simply ran it back for the bonus-point score on 25
minutes.
The visitors enjoyed a good deal of possession, but Penarth steadily defended until they
turned it over, then moved rapidly up-field. Robinson got his hands on the ball on the
Llantwit 10-metre line and went off on a trademark arcing excursion before scorching home.
His second try arrived in a similar fashion minutes later from the base of a scrum and as
half-time approached, the scrum-half tapped a penalty in the away 22, but was caught. Thau
was in close attendance and followed up to score for a 41-0 lead.
Having conceded seven tries in a one-sided first half, the Rhinos decided to beef up a pack
that had competed on equal terms in the first half and this made all the difference. Along with
an apparent decline in Penarth’s discipline with resulting penalties, they were able to gain a
deal of field position. The Seasiders’ scrum began to go backwards and finding the defence
out of balance, the visitors kicked ahead, followed up and scored.
However, this made little difference to Penarth’s scoring rate, as Hurley received a pass on
Llantwit’s 10m line and almost seemed to stroll through their defence for his second try. A
brief spell of laying siege, helped by a string of penalties gave Llantwit their second
consolation try of the afternoon, but with the score now standing at 46-12, this brought little
comfort to the visitors.
The final quarter began to drag a little as the Seasiders were mostly (and successfully) on
the defensive, but again the flow of tries continued unabated. With seven minutes to go a
Llantwit attack was spectacularly halted in the Penarth 22 as Andy Richards plucked a pass
out of the air and ran fully 80metres to score under the posts. The Seasiders brought the
curtain down five minutes later, when they won a penalty in the visitors’ 22 and elected to
scrummage. Several drives to the line were repelled before Ben Jones decided to cut things
short by throwing a massive pass over to the far touchline, where Ben Wellington neatly
marked up the tenth try.
exce
Just one more re-arranged fixture before the Div 2 Cup semi-final against Llanharan, as
Penarth travel to Taffs Well this coming Friday evening.
Penarth: Josh Hurley, George Roberts (Ben Wellington), Andy Richards, Rhys Beynon (Luc
Keane-Adams), Osian Coates, Ben Jones, Spencer Robinson, Geraint Williams (Harry
Wood), Mason Good, Sam Sully (Ryan Jones), Matt Allen, Dominic Owen, Cam Sultana,
Miles Jones © (Thane Baker), Alex Thau
Scorers: Josh Hurley (2 tries, 4 conversions), Miles Jones (try), Spencer Robinson (2
tries), Alex Thau (2 tries), George Roberts (try), Andy Richards (try), Ben
Wellington (try).