Thirds and Fourths fly the flag for Old Boys (From Penarth Times)

Thirds and Fourths fly the flag for Old Boys

FOR THE first time this season, Old Penarthians finally succeeded in securing fixtures for all four of their sides and were delighted that the weather relented sufficiently to allow all the matches to be played.

Whilst that joy was somewhat tempered by the mixed bag of results that followed, the club is proud of an achievement that was matched by few if any of the other clubs under the umbrella of the Welsh Rugby Union.

Unfortunately the Firsts once again failed to live up to expectations and the 43-6 defeat suffered at home to Old Illtydians was another blow to the pre-season hopes of ending the term in a mid-table position in Division 5 (East).

Whilst the Seconds showed some improvement from the debacle of a week ago, they still returned from Newport with a 20-10 reverse at the hands of Llanwern.

It was left to the lower sides to fly the colours, and the Thirds extended their winning run to five successive matches with an excellent win over Tongwynlais Firsts whilst the Fourths surprised visitors Cardiff Saracens when they triumphed 14-10 in Cwrt-y-Vil's remaining fixture.

Despite Friday's torrential downpours the pitch at Cwrt-y-Vil was in excellent condition for the senior game and bright sunshine ensured that the scene was set for running rugby.

This pattern was set from the start but it was the visitors who showed the greater finishing powers and Penarthians were stunned by the hat-trick of tries conceded in the first 15 minutes.

Whilst there was doubt as to whether wing Ryan Travers had actually touched down in front of the home defender for the first score, there was no argument at the ease with which centre Neil Dallimore powered over in the same corner soon afterwards.

Excellent support work against poor defending was the feature of the third try scored by centre Paul Rees and, with outside-half David Hughes adding the extra points, Illtydians were suddenly 17 points clear in as many minutes.

Hughes himself was to add a converted try on the half hour and although Nigel Edmunds kicked a brace of penalty goals to open the account of the hosts, the battle was effectively over at the interval.

Certainly, that feeling appeared to have permeated the minds of both sides for the second session was largely a lacklustre affair until the closing stages.

There were a couple of brief forays from the Old Boys with Chris Dacey featuring in a kick and chase that narrowly failed to produce a score whilst number 8 Paul Rees won excellent lineout ball to spearhead the drive for the line that failed when his colleagues were penalised for diving over the top at the crucial stage.

Disaster was poised to strike and the superior cutting edge of the visitors was manifested in the six-minute spell that produced an astonishing tally of three further tries.

Two of these were from positions when the hosts were on the attack. From the first, scrum ball was moved to the wing and Martin Bryce showed both pace and purpose as he ran the length of the field for a fine solo try. Almost at once a Penarthian move came to an end when possession was kicked away, allowing the cover to mark.

The hosts were still flat-footed as the ball was tapped back into play, Bryce putting the finishing touches to the enterprise with another touchdown. Finally hooker David Bartlett scorned the offer of assistance from his colleagues when he burst over at the posts for the final try, a brace of conversions from David Hughes taking the score to 43-6.

Territorially the scoreline undoubtedly flattered the visitors but it has to be said that Penarthians were their own enemies to the extent that they defended poorly, and, in attack lacked the pace and guile to construct the chances that might otherwise have produced scores.

There were pluses in the form of the return from injury of Gareth Shaw who was a lively performer in the loose whilst skipper Mark Lloyd was one of few to escape tackling criticism. Paul Rees competed well at the tail of the lineout and it was good to see Lee Brennan making more of an impact in following the example of Malcolm Penberthy.

Behind the scrum, Mark Bow did his best despite an outstanding performance from Steve Hubbard in the visiting ranks but the movements amongst the threequarters tended to be laboured and predictable, leaving wings Chris Dacey and Mark Isherwood little opportunity to shine against speedy opponents.

For their match at Llanwern the Seconds were determined to set aside the setback of a week ago and played with commendable purpose at the outset. Unfortunately this momentum was not maintained, and whilst the final result was a distinct improvement on the Llandaff North game, there was still disappointment that a victory had not been achieved.

A try from winger Rory McCaffer plus two penalty goals from Gavin Davies meant that the sides were on level terms at the break but a misplaced spirit of adventure was to prove costly in the second session, allowing the hosts to run in the two tries that measured the margin of their 20-10 success.

With Llanwern hardly the most imposing of opponents, only a little more effort was needed for the Old Boys to take charge up front. Unfortunately, only Paul Kemp, back in action for the first time this term, Zac Brown and Jon Vaughan were imbued with the work ethic after the opening stages and the anticipated domination was not forthcoming.

This restricted possession for the backs and, although Gavin Davies played neatly and Ben House and Mike Cummings worked hard in the centre with good support from full back Adrian Penny, it was not enough to secure success on the day.

At Cwrt-y-Vil it was all systems go at the start of the Thirds game with Tongwynlais and prop Gary Carpenter showed an alarming alacrity as he plunged over for a birthday try during the opening minutes.

As though to prove that this was all too much to digest the side then went into its shell and half-time came with just a two-point gap in the 5-3 scoreline. Fortunately Phil Brock's men got to grips with matters in the second half and further tries came from Steve Morse and David Smith to ensure a deserved 15-6 victory that boosts their league campaign.

Despite an outstanding performance from Neil Warren the pack was not as dominant as usual and appeared to have lost its way until Dave Smith, having finished his stint of duty with the Fourths, came on to add late impetus.

Fortunately, brothers Bob and Dave Pilcher were in devastating form in the centre and Jon Howell's kicking threatened to do real damage to the ball and these factors helped to make up for the ebullient but occasionally deluded enterprise of Howard Davies as Penarthians finally registered a deserved victory.

With Newport HSOB unable to field a side, it did seem that the Fourths were to be thwarted for a second time this term. A blank date for Cardiff Saracens meant they were able to plug the gap at the last moment although it is doubtful that the visitors were prepared for the opposition that was provided by the Penarthians senior citizens.

Brothers David and Richard Smith proved to be more than a match for their opposite numbers whilst Ian Thompson was outstanding at the lineout with Stuart Lewis again contributing the many tricks in his vast repertoire.

Mike Parry was as fearsome as ever in the centre but an encouraging feature was the form shown by youngsters Sam Docherty, Ieuan Moorcraft and Jack Parkinson, all of whom made notable club debuts.

Penarthians points came from a try by Sam Docherty with Jim Candy kicking two penalties whilst Richard Kynaston made full use of his recently acquired weight to land a third.

Altogether an excellent team performance that pleased skipper Rob Crimp to such an extent that he almost used his own money to fund the post match drinks.

Saturday's fixtures see the Firsts travel to Blackweir for their league game with St Joseph's whilst the Thirds travel to Bridgend Sports for a friendly. The Thirds entertain Old Tylerians at Cwrt-y-Vil, all matches scheduled to kick off at 2.30pm.

Finally, older members of the club will be delighted to learn that Mary Whitaker, wife of our first President, Bill, is hale, hearty and celebrating her 80th birthday on Saturday, November 10.

The occasion is being marked by a celebratory evening to be held at the Oxford University Rugby Club and we have no doubt that Mary would be delighted to hear from Penarth residents. The temporary address for cards is 1 Bannister Close, Oxford, OX4 1SH, the home of her son John.