RHIWBINA 56 PENARTH 7

ON A GLORIOUSLY sunny winter's afternoon at Caedelyn Park, fifth-placed Rhiwbina faced bottom club Penarth on a pitch which was remarkably soft, given the temperature.

The hosts were looking for their ninth win of the season, while the visitors were looking for their first league win since April last year.

The difference in the attitude of the two teams was obvious from the off as the Squirrels made a busy and aggressive start. Put immediately on the defensive, the Seasiders did well to keep hosts out, but this didn't last long.

During a first half that was otherwise remarkably evenly contested, Rhiwbina ran in tries from hooker Josh Madley and an unidentified starter in a 20 shirt. Outside half Dylan Casella was unable to convert either and the match remained poised at 10-0 to the hosts.

The Seasiders were showing considerable composure in spurts and immediately after the second try, hooker Joe Page popped up at outside centre and set James Crothers running, making 50m before being caught.

Ten minutes later the self-same formula set the left wing off down the tramlines again and this time he rode two tackles before showing the cover a clean pair of heels and grounding behind the posts.

A further home try by lock John Bickel extended the lead, but Penarth didn't look out of it by any means at 7-15 down as the teams turned around at half time.

You probably guessed that the second half would turn out to be a different story, and although Rhiwbina took 15 minutes to move further ahead with a try on the end of a forward-looking pass by number 8 Pat Howell, they followed it up immediately with a solo effort from blindside flanker Dan Murphy – and the Seasiders began to wilt a little.

A further 5 tries were run in during the final quarter. Right wing Brett Chatwin bagged a hat-trick, while lock Matt Hall and outside half Dylan Casella also crossed for tries.

The final score reflected a high work-rate and no little skill on the part of the Squirrels, while the hard-working Seasiders need to re-group in preparation for their next game on March 3, when they welcome Tonyrefail to the Athletic Field.

The away leg of the Ely Valley Derby‚ in October, resulted in a frustrating 19-20 defeat for the Seasiders, as they led until a last-minute penalty swung the game the way of the home side.

PENARTH: James Thatcher, Rhodri Smith (David Morgan), Ben Donovan, Steve Roberts, James Crothers, James Docherty, Gareth Clancy, Lionel Zulu, Joe Page, Tom Gent, Adan Cole, Richard Ball, Scott Mackie (Matt Sutton, Mike Clare), Alex Thau, Louis Chandler.