Old Penarthians out of luck in league

The opponents at Cwrt-y-vil were fellow strugglers Markham who had failed to honour the scheduled fixture earlier in the season due to player unavailability. 
The WRU had imposed a four-point penalty on Markham for not fulfilling the fixture which they were to do on two other occasions during the season, leading to further points deductions.
So it was a surprise to the Old Penarthians that Markham arrived for the rearranged fixture with a large, much changed squad from that which had played in the reverse fixture in the Rhymney Valley in early March. It was, perhaps, not so much of a surprise to observe that there were many different coloured pairs of socks on display, suggesting players were perhaps not all home grown talent.
That said it is within the league regulations for a team to field up to four permit players in any match provided they are all identified in the team sheet presented to the referee before the start of the match. In fact, the players who were brought into the team certainly made a difference and they were major contributors to the result which saw Markham win by 22 points to 18.
This was a match that Old Penarthians thought they could win and had hoped that the result would ease the worries of relegation from Division 5SE of the WRU National Leagues. The losing bonus point gained, for being within seven points of the winning team, was some comfort but not the main ambition.
The game could not have started more poorly for Old Pens as, within two minutes, a ball kicked away needlessly whilst attacking was recovered by Markham who scored a length of the field try under the posts for a converted try.
A dangerous tackle five minutes later on Mark Smart allowed Liam Union to kick a penalty and, on 15 minutes, a bullocking run from Aled Morris carried on by Dale Norris and Simon Barry was halted a metre from the try line. Lee Brennan was, however, on hand to pick up and score in the corner - his third try of the season. Union converted to give Old Penarthians a 10-7 lead.
From the restart Mark Sadler caught the kick and, having spun out of a tackle, passed to Lloyd Davey. Unfortunately, the effects of touring meant that Davey was unable to back himself for the 70 metres run to the line and the move fizzled out.
On 38 minutes, after a series of attacks had been well defended within the Old Penarthians 22, a penalty was awarded to the visitors. The Markham centre was the quickest to react, taking the kick to himself and crashing over to give Markham a 12-10 half time lead.
The second half started strongly for Old Pens but they never looked to threaten the opposition try line and, in fact, it was Markham who had two reasonable opportunities from penalty kicks to extend their lead. These opportunities were missed but when they were awarded a series of scrums about 10 yards from the home teamÕs try line, the Markham No 8 committed Jonathan Crimp to the tackle. He passed to the outside half who held the ball up sufficiently to give a well timed pass to his centre who scored his second try. The conversion was added to make the score 19-10.
An indiscretion 10 minutes later by the try scoring centre earned him a yellow card and Union kicked the resulting penalty. Union was to add a try to his tally on 30 minutes when a scrum won in the Old Penarthians' 22 was spun wide to Crimp and Sadler who released Union through the gap vacated by the missing centre and he was able to race 70 metres to score.
With the score at 19-18 it was time for a big finale but it was not to be and, with five minutes remaining, Markham extended their lead with a penalty to edge the result and assist their chances of surviving to the detriment of Old Penarthians.
Regular readers may have noticed through the season that due credit is given to all the opposition scorers by naming them during the article; unfortunately, on this occasion, it is not possible as the Markham management refused to name their scorers when approached after the game.
Following that disappointment it was inevitable that the next game played on Saturday, May 4, would be against title chasers Abertysswg where a positive result would be unlikely. That result was thought to be even less likely when, 25 minutes before kick-off, Old Penarthians could not name their starting XV due to late withdrawals and players not notifying the team management of their unavailability.
A lot of credit must, therefore, be given to the team that took the field who played their part in a thoroughly entertaining match which will see many Penarthians sporting cuts and bruises to show they were in a battle.
The final score of 40-10 in favour of Abertysswg was probably warranted and justified their team's ambitions of promotion from Division 5SE. An opportunity that appears will have to wait for another season as, despite the five league points gained here, will be insufficient to see them catch leaders St Josephs.
What is not reflected in the scoreline is the number of tackles made by the whole team but, in particular, Noel Etxragary, Jippy Evans, Jonathan Crimp and Mark Sadler to ensure that the margin was not greater. Their commitment was an example of the effort that all the players not playing in this match will have to achieve if league status is maintained and there is to be a successful campaign next year.
The match itself was not as one-sided as the score suggests although, after two minutes and a series of Old Penarthians' mistakes, Jamie Parry scored a try, converted by Richard Theophilus. Penarthians fought back with good interplay between forwards and backs that saw Evans, Dale Norris, Richie Moir and Lloyd Davey all attack the Abertysswg line. The reward, however, came from a Liam Union penalty after 14 minutes
Then came a period of intense pressure that only good defence from Mark Smart, Simon Davies and Tim Ursal prevented scores as they collectively and individually made tackles. The effort, however, could not be maintained and Abertysswg scored two more tries before half time on 18 minutes from Gary Jones and on 20 minutes from Parry. The second try was converted by Theophilus to take the score to 19-3.
A try and conversion by Theophilus four minutes after the restart could have been the end of the game but Penarthians launched one of their best attacking phases which eventually resulted in a line out 30 metres from the try line. A good throw from Evans was taken by James Williams and, with the forwards in union, the drive took them over the line with Ursal in control of the ball and a try was awarded. The kick was unsuccessful.
Unfortunately, the last 10 minutes was all played in the Old Penarthians' 22 and two further tries were scored by exceptional No 8 Michael Worgan and Steve Brown. Both were converted by Theophilus.
On the adjacent pitch, the Second XV, without injured skipper Ian Buckley, were playing their last league fixture against Llandaff. This was a hard fought game that saw the visitors edge the result with the last play of the game with a try under the posts which was converted for a final scoreline of 35-29.
Try scorers for Penarthians were Dai Cleaver, Simon Hennessey, Damian Flynn and Steve Thomas who also kicked a penalty and three conversions.
The midfield duo of Tom Parkinson and Scott Hill was probably the smallest centre partnership in Welsh rugby and it was good to see Kiwi Brent Muggeridge back in Penarthians' colours 18 hours after his flight back to the UK had landed. Also making cameo appearances were Gareth Shaw and Dave Bennett who were both thankful for passive scrums requested by Llandaff, unlike Crevvie and Gary Carpenter who were looking forward to a proper end of season physical encounter.
The last fixture of the season sees the 1st XV travel to bottom of the table Pontllanfraith with relegation still a possibility according to the WRU website, but club sources suggest that points deductions have not been taken into consideration in this table.  The only sure way to survive, however, is for the team to win in their