Seasiders storm to sylish success (From Penarth Times)

Seasiders storm to sylish success

Penarth 34 New Tredegar 10

PENARTH SHOOK off the effects of the previous week's narrow defeat and never gave New Tredegar a chance.

Against one of the more stylish teams in last season's Division 5 (East), the Seasiders produced nearly 80 minutes of tightly-controlled rugby which never indicated that there was any chance of losing this one.

In bright sun and with a stiff south-westerly at their backs, Penarth had to withstand early assaults from the visitors, who aimed to continue the running style that had brought them success last season.

The Seasiders adapted quickly and launched mobile attacks of their own culminating in a drive that nearly saw Danny Brookman in under the posts.

New Tredegar were adjudged offside and Craig Miller put the kick into the corner. This is a position that Penarth know very well how to exploit these days and captain Mike Clare was at the bottom of the usual catch-and-drive over.

The Seasiders weren't about to let the opposition off the hook, either. As a New Tredegar scrum yielded a Penarth penalty in their own 22, Craig Miller fired the ball down into the opposition 22, where Penarth gained put-in to a scrum.

Mike Clare picked up from the base and drove through the cover with David Carter at his shoulder and it was Simon Crothers who arrived at the ideal moment to pick up and drive over.

The visitors' initial enthusiasm was now a distant memory as they dug in to resist the now continuous waves of Penarth attacks.

Following a trademark crunching tackle in midfield by Dai Williams, Greg Swaine followed up to break through the defensive line before the supporting Mike Clare worked it wide to put Craig Miller through a gap.

The outside half then timed his pass to allow Danny Brookman, arriving at high speed, to slice through to the posts. This was the try of the afternoon, by a Penarth side playing exhilarating rugby.

By now, it looked as if the Seasiders would break through every time they went forwards and it was only a lingering tendency to lose the ball in the tackle and ruck that was preventing a rout.

Sensing the danger of a let-up in the scoring rate, Craig Miller sent over a lolloping 40-metre drop goal that bounced off the crossbar to give the Seasiders a 22-0 lead after half an hour.

Penarth did indeed let it slip for a while, as kicks intended to exploit the wind landed safely in opposition hands and the hosts found themselves on the defensive for the rest of the half. Luckily, full-back A Davies had left his kicking boots at home and secured just the one penalty conversion, the teams turning round with the home side leading 22-3.

The question now was whether a 19-point lead was going to be enough as the Seasiders turned to face the wind.

We needn't have worried, as the forwards put the visitors under steady pressure. Andrew Edwards followed up a searing break under pressure with a superb defence-splitting pass that set up Carter, Brookman and Bush for a 50-metre dash to the right corner.

New Tredegar conceded a penalty here and Miller tucked it into the corner. No prizes for guessing what happened next, except to identify who'd be last up with the ball.

This time it was Dai Williams, completing a consistently menacing return after injury.

Penarth attacked ferociously from the restart, with the back row lining up for successive drives, superbly marshalled by Eddie Edwards in commanding form at scrum half.

A brief fight-back by New Tredegar came to nothing and then the Seasiders executed a rapid thrust upfield as substituted flanker Alun Bonello scooped one off the deck to Leon Patnett and supported the big winger up to the visitors' 22 where they won a line-out.

Showing little inclination to depart from the script, Geraint Evans speared the ball to Darrol Howden and this time it was Greg Swaine who emerged from the bottom of the try-scoring drive.

As Penarth rang the changes, with Mark Wysocki and Carwyn Lewis following Gavin Seymour into action, the concentration slipped momentarily and New Tredegar, although well-beaten on the day, managed a consolation try as scrum-half Cooper broke from a retreating scrum to feed outside centre Quinton for a final score of 34-10.

The free-scoring Seasiders are now in second place behind new leaders Newport Saracens, having run in 17 tries over their five league games. The squad looks stronger than it has for some time, with the hugely experienced Martin Chandler making the very welcome short trip across Lavernock Road and Brent Muggeridge demonstrating that he's as comfortable in the back row as he is in the front.

However, the league now takes a back seat for a fortnight as the Principality Cup takes over. On Friday night at the Athletic Field, Dolgellau from Division 5 (North) are the visitors, having won 18-12 away at Newtown last Saturday.

If the Seasiders can continue their wonderfully encouraging home form under the lights, then all the signs indicate that it'll be an entertaining evening.

Penarth: Bush, R Cummings, Brookman, Carter, Patnett, Miller (Lewis), Edwards, Swaine (Seymour), Evans (Wysocki), Chandler, Howden, Crothers, Muggeridge, Clare, Williams (Bonello).