Fighting spirit in defeat (From Penarth Times)

Fighting spirit in defeat

Old Penarthians 13 Penallta 50

OLD Penarthians completed their fixtures for the season when they entertained Champions elect Penallta in a final league clash on Wednesday of last week.

The game was brought forward from its scheduled Saturday date to accommodate opponents undertaking a tour over the Bank Holiday weekend.

The Caerphilly-based men have proved to be the outstanding side in Division 5 South East, even though this is their first term as members of the Welsh Rugby Union.

Victory at Penarth was essential for Penallta if they were to approach their final fixture at Cilfynydd safe in the knowledge of an unassailable position at the top of the division.

Penarthians had been hammered by 87-0 when the sides met at Penallta just two weeks ago, but the line-up looked much stronger on this occasion.

Slack Penarthian cover was to blame when centre Sean Powell scythed through for the opening score after 13 minutes. Two tries from flanker Carl Rees were a tribute to the support play of that player and, with outside half Gareth Davies converting all three touchdowns, it seemed that Penallta were coasting to victory.

The Old Boys had other ideas and good work from the forwards with Dave Mason and Mark Smart saw the visitors forced on to the defensive. A tap penalty appeared to bring a score for lock Paul Langley but play was recalled for a scrum.

Gareth Shaw's strike produced clean ball for Simon Davies and the scrum half darted to the blindside for a fine try that he converted.

Penarthians narrowed the gap even further when Davies was again successful with a penalty from the 25.

Penarthians began the second half with Paul Kemp replacing injured Skipper Simon Hennessey at flanker, but three tries in the space of 14 minutes - touchdowns being secured by Sean Powell, Chris Harries, and Geraint Thomas with two conversions from Gareth Davies - certainly settled Penallta's nerves as the visiting tally came close to doubling.

To their credit, Penarthians continued to provide spirited resistance and Simon Davies was again on target with an excellent penalty from 35 yards, while a seemingly certain try for Paul Langley was only prevented by a superb cover tackle from a Penallta player that saw the individual unfortunately injured in the process.

Malcolm Penberthy and Bob Denning were replaced by Mark Curtis and Ross Turpitt as the pace of the game finally took its toll, but the changes were unable to prevent a further score from winger Sean Roberts.

After Ieuan Moorcraft had taken over from Huw Williams, lock Kieron Mahoney stormed away for the final try, Gareth Davies' kicking form finally deserting him so that the final score remained 50 to 13.

While clearly outplayed by the better outfit, there was much to take comfort in from the Old Boys' display.

Up front, Dave Mason and Gareth Shaw were in outstanding form with fine support from Mark Smart, Paul Langley, and Lee Brennan, while Malcolm Penberthy and Bob Denning belied their advancing age with committed performances.

Simon Hennessey was in the thick of things until injury took its toll, and subs Ross Turpitt, Mark Curtis, and Paul Kemp all played a full part.

Behind the scrum, Simon Davies produced another excellent performance, but the backs lacked control in attack, several times kicking poorly and wasting other chances through sloppy handling - but all defended well with Steve Roberts, John Aubrey and Chris Dacey to the fore while Huw Williams, Steve Thomas, and Ryan Harper worked hard, if not blessed with the best of fortune.

It is to be hoped that the Old Boys can carry the spirit shown in recent weeks through to next season.

Now that they have had an opportunity to assess the strength of this division, the players will know that they are quite capable of holding down a much higher placing with just a little more dedication and self belief on their part.

Seconds

Old Penarthians 12

Sully 40

Unfortunately, the season ended in abject fashion for the Seconds on Saturday, when Ieuan Moorcraft's scratch side showed little or no appetite for the game.

They were completely outplayed by an enterprising Sully side that was full value for the convincing margin of their 40 points to 12 success.

Skipper Russell Welsh showed the way as he charged over with barely a minute on the clock, and further scores followed at regular intervals as the visitors capitalised on the poor defence and shoddy application that was the feature of a disastrous display.

Ahead by 26 points to nil at the break, Sully scored two further tries in the second session and deservedly rested on their laurels.

Penarthians were able to pirate late tries through Simon Davies and Mark Smart, Davies adding the conversion of his own score to complete the tally in a match that brought obvious relief to the hosts when Referee Tony Crimp blew the whistle, ending their embarrassment.

These comments are, of course, aimed squarely at Penarthians - for Sully deserve full credit for the enthusiasm of their teamwork and the clinical manner in which they took the several chances afforded to them by poor opponents.