Old Pens lose thriller (From Penarth Times)

Old Pens lose thriller

THE FIRST round proper of the W.R.U.'s Principality Cup produced a cracker of a match at Cwrt-y-vil last Saturday when Old Penarthians lost to West Walian visitors Hendy RFC by 23pts to 18.

The two sides had not met since the late 60's and, the Carmarthen based side having won all six of those encounters and currently operating in Division 4 of the National league were favourites.

Gareth Shaw's men produced the performance of the season to ensure that the result was in doubt until the final blast of Referee Viv Williams's whistle.

It was completely against the run of play that a length of the field break out produced a sensational score for left wing Steve Jones after just nine minutes. The Penarthian response was almost immediate as Skipper Shaw celebrated his return to action by burrowing under the cover for a try at the corner.

With Gary Davies and John Colderley exchanging penalty goals, the scores remained level as the break approached.

An accidental clash of heads involving Bow and scrum half Craig Thomas saw players of both sides involved in a nasty eruption, Andy Hopkins being forced to leave the field for attention to a severely bloodied nose. The half ended with Kidwelly edging ahead, outside half Davies kicking a simple goal.

Whilst Penarthians were boosted by the return of Hopkins after the break, they allowed themselves to be caught napping when centre Andrew Jones burst clean through the middle for full back Steve Richards to cross for a well worked try that was not converted.

In the 11th minute, however, having missed with an earlier attempt, John Colderley closed the gap with a 25-yard penalty.

Lock Tony Kemp secured the ball 15 yards out, and with his fellow forwards adding their weight, did superbly well to make it to the line for the try that Colderley converted to put the side two points clear.

Tempers were now clearly fraying and Mark Bow was sin binned for his retaliation to an unseen attack from the Kidwelly lock, this incident being exacerbated soon after when flanker Chris Cray and Penarthians Simon Hennessey were similarly sidelined.

The tension now was at fever pitch and still the Old Boys attacked, only for disaster to strike. Kidwelly finally cleared their line and John De Maid did well to get back to cover the kick ahead. His attempt to find touch, however, was misplaced and the ball, falling short of it's target, went straight into the hands of winger Steve Jones who touched down in the corner for Davies to convert superbly.

Still the drama continued. At the opposite end, De Maid tackled winger Aled Daniels in the corner and the winger's response was such that he became the fourth player to be consigned to the touchline.

Time was now fast ebbing but still the Old Boys were far from finished. Full back Ben House timed his entry perfectly but, with the line seemingly at his mercy, chose to pass to the completely unprepared Nigel Boucher and the final chance was lost.

Clearly, the defeat was a disappointment for the Old Boys but at last, the forwards showed their true potential. With the shortage of front row forwards causing the cancellation of the Seconds game with Rumney, the Thirds were the only other side in action. That game, too, suffered from the front row malaise, opponents Cardiff H.S.O.B. opting for uncontested scrums from the outset. After trailing by 8 points to nil Old Pens went on to secure a thoroughly deserved win in the 16-8 score line.

The Old Boys points came from a Steve Goodfellow try whilst Phil Marks, unable to sustain his avowed intention to retire, weighed in with a conversion and three penalties to cap a fine afternoon's work.

This weekend's fixtures see the Firsts entertain St. Peters in a league match whilst the Seconds and Thirds are similarly engaged against Fairwater (away) and Tongwynlais at home. All matches kick off at 2.30 p.m..