Seven tries see Penarth proudly at top of table (From Penarth Times)

Seven tries see Penarth proudly at top of table

LAST week, it was noted that the Penarth mini, junior, youth conveyor belt is feeding through nicely to the senior side.

To emphasise the importance of this supply of talent, it was pointed out at kick-off this Saturday that seven of the Penarth players lined up had played previously for the youth.

This is great for the club and even better when it is blended with the experience of the inspirational Penarth number 8, Hemi Taylor, who charged round the park all afternoon with undiminished enthusiasm.

Although one or two will get a special mention, the secret of this season"s Penarth squad is that they are all stars and the continuity that comes from knowing each other well leads to good communication and good support play. Under the captaincy of Andrew Edwards, this is a well-coached squad without obvious weaknesses.

In near perfect playing conditions, Saturday"s opponents were Llandaff North: a lively outfit and one of last season"s "banana skins" for the home side.

North came out all guns blazing and early pressure gained them three penalty points.

That was the last time in the first half they were to trouble announcer David Hughes.

Although the game wasn"t all one-way traffic, the score was. Penarth"s accustomed dominance up front plus their new-found fluency behind brought a regular sequence of tries by first the strong-running James Crothers on the wing, then two by way of an introduction to new signing Ross Olney at centre and lastly and inevitably a powerful Penarth maul which allowed Richard Ball to touch down.

Accurate penalty and conversion kicking by Danny Brookman from all angles and distances made the half-time score Penarth 32 Llandaff North 3.

The breather did North more good than it did the home team and a repeat of their early onslaught, combined with Penarth weak tackling and unwise verbal advice to Mr Tony Evans of Aberbeeg, profited them two tries: one from their barging number 5 Kell Ross and the other from their number 13 Chris Burke.

On 50 minutes, the score stood at a much less secure 32-15.

At such times, the requirement is for steady control and Penarth had two significant influences. Hemi Taylor made great advances from the back of scrum and maul and added his own name to the score sheet on 55 minutes. In the lineout, Richard Ball totally dominated, so Penarth had all the ball they needed to work off.

Kevin Fitzgerald replaced Jason Allen.

By the late stages, North were flagging and using all their substitutes to try to find a combination that could get them into the game. This was in vain as by then, Penarth"s short passing and straight running were creating dominance in all departments, particularly the back row. There were further tries from flying wing three quarter Ceri Moorcraft and from Dai Morgan.

Penarth brought on Rob Pierce and, celebrating his 100th appearance for the club, Gavin Seymore.

Saturday sees a home tie in the first round proper of the WRU Cup against Pontyates, a division 5 club who have yet to win this season, while Penarth sit proudly at the head of division 4 south east

Penarth: Brendan Bush; Ceri Moorcraft; Ross Olney; Andrew Edwards; James Crothers; Danny Brookman; Chris Mortimer: David Morgan; Geraint Evans; Richard Merrett (Gavin Seymore); Jason Allen (Kevin Fitzgerald); Richard Ball; Michael Hopkins; Alun Bonello (Rob Pierce); Hemi Taylor.