Fan Phil misses moment of glory (From Penarth Times)

Fan Phil misses moment of glory

THE Old Penarthians Club was the scene of joyous celebration last Saturday.

A full house of members celebrated the outstanding performance of the national side in achieving victory over France in such a marvellous match at the Stade de France in Paris.

For one club member however, the festivities were of a decidedly muted nature.

Fanatical follower Phil Davies had decided that the raucous atmosphere of the clubhouse was not the place to follow the fortunes of a side setting out on the next stage of the quest for possible Grand Slam glory.

Instead he opted for the quiet seclusion of his own home - only to be devastated by the manner in which France ran riot through the opening 40 minutes.

As a consequence he determined that he was left with no alternative other than to walk down to the Club with a view to drowning his sorrows in the company of some friendly faces.

Words cannot describe the sense of utter disbelief felt by the luckless Davies when, on arrival at the Club's Cwrt-y-Vil headquarters, he discovered that his heroes had secured two marvellous tries in the space of the time that it had taken him to walk the length of Lavernock Road.

Needless to say, there were plenty eager to regale him with full details of the scores he had missed.

There will be itchy feet this coming weekend when the side is kept out of action by virtue of being the odd team out in the 13 team league that is Division 5 South East of the national structure.

The Penarthians Club is, in fact, one of many questioning the wisdom of the WRU's decision to outlaw the playing of fixtures on days that the national side is in action.

In days gone by, the Club inevitably found itself involved in friendly fixtures against sides from other areas and such morning matches were of great enjoyment. Nowadays, most Clubs find themselves committed to the league competitions and it is appreciated that the importance placed on a need to gather league points means that many a selection committee would not be willing to risk fielding the less-than-full-strength side available for a morning match.

Nevertheless, the television requirements that have seen Wales kick off at 4pm and later in two of their three matches this campaign would have allowed a great many games to be played elsewhere with an early afternoon kick-off.

Certainly, from a Penarthians point of view, that situation could well have alleviated the need that now exists for a side to be fielded for mid-week games yet to be arranged away to Penallta and Deri.

That Wales's next match away to Scotland takes place on Sunday, March 13 has allowed the Old Boys to re-arrange one other match.

Ferndale, prevented from visiting Cwrt-y-Vil in September because of Cup commitments, will be the opponents on Saturday, March 12 in a game that is scheduled to kick off at 2.30 pm. Matches this weekend are restricted to a Second XV game at home to Rhiwbina, while Robert Crimp will be taking his Veterans/ 3rd XV side to Cardiff for their fixture with Clwb Rygbi.

While some senior players will no doubt be looking to fill any vacancies that might occur, applications for inclusion in the Crimp camp had to be submitted several weeks ago. Both matches will kick off at 2.30 pm.