Penarth RFC cruise to Division 1 promotion with victory

HERE at last was where Penarth RFC could finally nail promotion to Division 1 East Central. Having lost only two league games so far this season, they faced bottom club Llantrisant, who were still looking for their first win.

On a beautifully sunny afternoon and a flat, dry pitch Penarth lost no time in opening the scoring. As the hosts attacked on the Seasiders’ 22, George Roberts plucked a high pass out of the air and sped along the tramlines to score in the corner. The thing was, the Black Army weren’t going to take this lying down and maintained pressure on Penarth throughout

Another turnover on the Penarth 22 brought the second try on 15 minutes. Harry Williams hared off, chipped ahead on the home 22 and won the race to score. Continuity was hard to find for a number of reasons during the next ten minutes, but when the chance came, a fine bit of juggling by Williams put James Candy in at the corner.

Then, on the point of half-time, the Seasiders were awarded a rare penalty. There was no interest in taking the points and after a phase or two, Miles Jones found a gap and surged through for the fourth try and a bonus point.

Penarth RFC hammered Llantrisant (Image: Penarth RFC)

The first twenty minutes of the second half didn’t feature any further scores, but a number of substitutions, resulting in a remarkably competent second row line-up of Alan Doyle and Man-of-the-Match Dan Cahalane.

The next try arrived on the hour as scrum ball was shipped wide to Luc Keane-Adams on the left wing, who scored in the corner. After another ten event-free minutes, as similar position brought Williams into the line and his second try.

The lack of continuity that had plagued the first half continued throughout, but Penarth can always rely on ‘Flashes of Brilliance TM’. This time it was a line-break by Thaine Baker, and Keane-Adams made no mistake for the seventh and final try.

The Seasiders will have faced third-placed Llanishen at home on the Wednesday 24th April and this was expected to be a tough assignment, as this represents the only real opportunity for the Lions to lay claim to second place. All three of the top clubs in Division 2 East Central have now confirmed their promotions.    

Penarth: James Candy, George Roberts (Andy Richards), Harry Williams, Osian Coates (Rhys Beynon), Luc Keane-Adams, Ben Jones, Tom Hillman, Harry Wood, Mason Good, Ryan Jones (Sam Sully), Harrison Pugsley (Thane Baker), Dan Cahalane, Tom Griffiths, Miles Jones ©, Alex Thau (Alan Doyle)

Scorers:  Harry Williams (2 tries), Luc Keane-Adams (2 tries), Miles Jones (try), James Candy (try), George Roberts (try), Ben Jones (4 conversions)