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).

SEASIDERS BACK IN ACTION

PENARTH 45-12 Llantrisant (HT – 33-12)
It’s important to remember that a) the match got played at all and b) a comfortable bonus-
point win was the result. The game itself was not a great advertisement for Div 2 rugby, save
a few moments of brilliance, as is customary for Penarth these days.
Bottom club Llantrisant arrived at the Athletic Field with the unenyiable record of played 13,
lost 13, but with a heavy pitch and the promise of rain, this was no easy job for the Seasiders
in only their second league game of the year. The visitors were clearly not at anything like
full strength, but never gave up harrying and spoiling. Penarth didn’t handle this level of
commitment at all well and looked decidedly rusty at times.
The Seasiders got off to a good start, though, driving a maul into the Llantrisant 22. Penalty
to touch, first drive halted, but ball recycled and passed along the back line for Josh Hurley
to open the scoring.
The visitors struck back quickly with a kick ahead that their left wing gathered to score. It
was obvious that Cam Sultana, though playing on the blindside flank, was going to be the
main source of line-out ball, but when a Llantrisant line-out throw went astray, he merely had
to catch it. Two drives to the line were repelled before Ben Jones took the ball round behind
the posts.
All the momentum was now with the Penarth, but a further score eluded them until the 23 rd
minute, when Harry Williams took a pass out on the right wing and simply blasted past the
defence for the third try. The bonus point try arrived almost immediately, as Spencer
Robinson closely following the referee as he marched the visitors ‘back 10’, tapped and
crossed.
At this point Llantrisant demonstrated how they well they could exploit a string of penalties in
their favour by getting their blindside flanker over the line for their second try, but the half
ended with a wave of frantic attacks from Penarth, which resulted in a Dan Cahalane try.
The second half opened well, as Harry Williams made another break down the wing before
kicking ahead and being tackled without the ball. Minutes later, the entire move was
repeated, only this time, the referee took exception, awarding a penalty and sending off the
offending visitor with a yellow card. Another powerful scrum from the Seasiders was
rewarded with a penalty try.
The least said about the remaining 35 minutes, the better. The threatened rain finally arrived
on the hour and the only further score was another Harry Williams special. The Seasiders
have now consolidated their position in the promotion places and have games in hand over
their nearest challengers.
Next up at the Athletic Field is the visit of old rivals Pentyrch under floodlights this coming
Friday. The ‘Tyrchs promotion challenge has fallen away a little in recent weeks, having lost
their last three games. Penarth won the most recent game between the teams 64-14.

Penarth: Josh Hurley, George Roberts, Andy Richards, Rhys Beynon, Harry Williams, Ben
Jones (James Candy), Spencer Robinson (Tom Hillman), Geraint Williams (Harry Wood),
Tom Griffiths (Mason Good), Sam Sully, Max Woodman (Dominic Owen), Dan Cahalane,
Cam Sultana, Ryan Hall, Miles Jones
Scorers: Josh Hurley (try, 4 conversions), Ben Jones (try), Harry Williams (2 tries),

Spencer Robinson (try), Dan Cahalane (try), Penalty try.

SEASIDERS BACK WITH A BONUS

Cilfynydd 12-36 PENARTH (HT – 7-24)

Mid-table Cilfynydd weren’t challenging for promotion, but they provided stiff opposition to a strong Penarth side looking to stretch their legs on a flat, wide pitch at the Welfare Ground. The result gives the impression of a one-sided affair, but it was hotly contested and the Seasiders’ tries were mostly the result of individual passages of brilliance rather than overall domination of phases of play. Which isn’t bad, really.

The first try arrived as early as the fifth minute. Harry Williams fielded a long clearance kick and ran cross-field looking for support. He found Cam Sultana, who took it to the line and the ball was cleared from the ruck to Tom Griffiths in front of the posts.

Williams was back in the action again ten minutes later as he came off his wing to enter the line on the right, exchange passes with George Roberts and score in the corner. 0-12.

From the restart, Cilfynydd moved into a strong position as Penarth began to concede penalties at the breakdown and gained a line-out in the away 22. This was well executed and driven, with lock Luke Riley claiming the score.

Trouble at the breakdown continued to deprive the Seasiders of useful possession as Cilfynydd pressed, until Griffiths finally got over the ball at a ruck for a relieving penalty. Suitably encouraged, Penarth probed up-field against a well-organised defence until Griffiths broke the line and Sam Sully in support skipped around the first tackler and beat the cover to the corner. Typical.

The Seasiders were lucky to ride out the next waves of home attacks, but the hosts let themselves get frustrated and began to get on the wrong side of the referee. On the brink of half-time, the visitors found touch from a penalty and the ball was worked into midfield from the line-out to Evan Jones. The flanker drove at the defensive line and broke it, with Miles Jones speeding in on a scissors movement to score under the posts for a 24-7 lead and the bonus point.

It would be a mistake to claim that this had broken Cilfynydd’s will, as their spirit was unbroken. However, Penarth went further ahead in the third quarter. Mike Lang stole a home line-out in their own 22, feeding Griffiths who jinked through the defence to score his second. Then, on the hour, a Cilfynydd attack was catastrophically halted as George Roberts intercepted a pass on his own 22 and sprinted the length of the pitch to score a long-awaited try.

With twenty minutes remaining, there might have been further tries from the visitors, but this simply didn’t happen, as the game was slowed to a standstill with stoppages and interventions. The Seasiders lost a player to the bin for ten minutes and Cilfynydd persuaded themselves that this was their chance to secure a bonus point by scoring three more tries. They scored just the one, on 73 minutes and that was that.

Penarth now return to their Division 2 Cup run, where they travel up the Ebbw Fach to face Abertillery BG. Their opponents sit comfortably on top of Division Two East and beat Croesyceiliog 27-12 last Saturday, who were themselves beaten 38-15 by the Seasiders in the first Round. It promises to be an interesting quarter-final.

PENARTH: James Candy (Josh Hurley), George Roberts, Andy Richards, Rhys Beynon, Harry Williams, Ben Jones, Spencer Robinson (Joe Williams), Geraint Williams, Tom Griffiths (Mason Good), Sam Sully (Harry Wood), Cam Sultana, Dominic Owen (Cam Nation), Mike Lang, Miles Jones ©, Evan Jones

Scorers:           Tom Griffiths (2 tries), Harry Williams (try), Miles Jones (try), Sam Sully (try), George Roberts (try), Ben Jones (3 conversions).

SEASIDERS’ LONG WINNING RUN ENDS

Llanharan 25-13 PENARTH (HT 12-8)

It was, perhaps, a little early for a championship decider, but hats off to Llanharan RFC for managing to stage a league game on a wet and windy 30^th December. This clash was eagerly anticipated by both sides and their supporters, but in a lot of ways it was a bit of an anti-climax.

Having said that, it was closely fought and the result remained in doubt right up to the last ten minutes. It all looked quite promising for the Seasiders in a scoreless opening quarter. Josh Hurley was kicking them into good positions, they were looking strong in the tight and stealing line-outs; nevertheless, it was the Dairymen who took the lead against the run of play.

After Penarth had once again pushed them off their own put-in and the referee had awarded the hosts a penalty, there was a tap-and-go and good, swift hands to find lock Owain Howe on far touchline for an unconverted try in the corner.

No need to panic, as five minutes later, Llanharan were offside on their own 10m line and Hurley reduced the arrears by slotting over the penalty. It was a real disappointment in what seemed sure to be a low-scoring game that the hosts went further ahead with their next visit to the Penarth 22. The defence held up well against a severe battering from the home pack, only for the ball to be passed back to replacement scrum-half Morgan Parsons, who slalomed his way awkwardly past the advancing defence to score.

The Seasiders were far from finished as half-time approached as Harry Williams chipped ahead on half-way and was immediately body checked into touch. The referee declined to award a yellow card, but decided on a penalty where the ball had landed. The line-out was driven to the line, penalty Penarth. Spencer Robinson tapped and went, only to be upended in a tip tackle. This time the penalty was taken as a scrum and Miles Jones claimed the try.

The teams turnedround with Llanharan leading by only four points. Penarth took the initiative, but failed to make it stick and when the Dairymen were awarded a penalty in the away 22, they acknowledged the pressure they’d been under by calling for the tee and easing into a 15-8 lead.

For most of the second half, the Seasiders dominated possession, but simply couldn’t get over the line, despite engineering several scoring opportunities. This was largely due to some ferociously effective counter-rucking by Llanharan, but there was no real prospect of any further scores as we entered the last ten minutes with the score tantalisingly stuck on 15-8.

Then the Seasiders were caught offside near the half-way line following up a long clearance and the successful kick extended the home lead to a more manageable 18-8. Disaster struck again eight minutes later as confusion reigned near the Penarth line and the Dairymen pounced to claim the winning try and an unassailable 25-8 lead.

At this moment the heavens opened and the match continued into a lengthy stoppage time in monsoon conditions. Here was where the Seasiders suddenly clicked and reverted to type. A three-man breakaway surged unstoppably through the home cover and Robinson drew the last defender to put Harry Williams in for the final try of the game.

Penarth face another serious challenge this coming Saturday as 6th-placed Cowbridge are the visitors to the Athletic Field. They will be keen to put the record straight after they suffered a rather humiliating 37-14 home defeat against the Seasiders back at the end of September. Brad Williams, Spencer Robinson and Ryan Hall all scored tries, to which were added two penalty tries.

PENARTH: Harry Williams, Luc Keane-Adams, Andy Richards, Rhys Beynon, Ben Wellington (Charlie Rainbird), Josh Hurley, Spencer Robinson, Geraint Williams, Mason Good (Harry Wood), Ryan Jones (Sam Sully), Matt Allen, Cam Sultana, Tom Griffiths, Miles Jones ©, Evan Jones.

Scorers:           Harry Williams (try), Miles Jones (try), Josh Hurley (1 penalty).

Seasiders roll into Cup Quarter Final

Penarth 32-22 Llantwit Fardre (HT 7-11)

Having waited since the 2^nd December to get this match played it was a nervy Penarth who finally overcame their rugged East Central rivals Llantwit Fardre with a clinical second half performance.

These two sides were well acquainted having met in leagues back on the 25^th November where the Seasiders weathered an early storm before romping to a 7-38 bonus point victory away from home. The start of this game was much the same as the visitors put there best foot forward and muscled their way to an early three point lead as Penarth infringed at the breakdown.

The next 25 minutes was a real arm wrestle with almost all of the play in the middle third of the pitch and no clear chances. But when the next score came it was an absolute beauty. Tom Griffiths hit Harry Wood at the front of the lineout and got the ball straight back, he then inexplicably chipped over the top of the winger beat him for pace and dotted down for a sublime score with Ben Jones adding the extras.

Fardre were not going to collapse like they did at home and a further penalty was added to with a well worked try sparked by a break from their livewire scrum half which took them into the Penarth 22. They then showed patience and composure to go through 10 phases of play before scoring in the right corner to take a 7-11 lead into the half time break.

It was the visitors who struck first in the second half as well as they extended their lead with another penalty. But Penarth were starting to click into gear and a well orchestrated rolling maul saw Griffiths over for his second of the match.

Josh Hurley had entered the fray from the bench and his long range penalty saw Penarth sneak into a 15-14 lead before Fardre bounced straight back with another penalty of their own. Then as is quite often the way with this Penarth side a 5 minute period of chaos swung the game firmly in the Seasiders favour and Harry Williams crossed twice in the left corner, the second one directly from the kick off after the first one, to see the home side stretch into a 25-17 lead.

Having then soaked up some inevitable Vardre pressure from the kick Penarth then broke free again and it was some nifty footwork from Hurley that opened the door for scrum half Charlie Rainbird to open his senior Penarth try scoring account. Hurley added the extras for a 32-17 lead.

There was still time for a consolation try from the visitors but it too little too late and Penarth now march on to a quarter final meeting with Division 2 East leaders who edged past Heol Y Cyw in the last 16 with a 28-27 win at home.

PENARTH: Harry Williams, George Roberts, Andy Richards, Rhys Beynon, Ben Wellington, Ben Jones (Josh Hurley), Spencer Robinson (Charlie Rainbird), Harry Wood, Tom Griffiths (Mason Good), Ryan Jones (Sam Sully), Cam Sultana, Nathan Frost, Mike Lang (Evan Jones), George Jones, Miles Jones ©,

SCORERS: Tom Griffiths (2 tries), Harry Williams (2 tries), Charlie Ranbird (try), Ben Jones (con), Josh Hurley (pen, con).