Penarth Seasiders do just enough to lose

ONCE again Penarth faced opposition at the other end of the table, this time leaders Llantrisant. In a tight game where the result was in doubt up to the final whistle, the Seasiders managed to do just enough to lose, which must be frustrating for all concerned.

The opening phase was hard on Penarth, as a string of penalties in favour of the opposition meant any offensive moves were halted in their tracks and Llantrisant sailed into a 6 - 0 lead after only four minutes. Referee Carwyn Roberts eventually relented and the game settled into a more even contest, with the first try arriving on 18 minutes.

Running back a long clearance after a failed attack by the Seasiders, outside half Adam Lewis weighed up his options on his own 10 metre line before accelerating through the narrowest of gaps on half-way, sprinting to the 22 and throwing a huge wide pass to Tom Smith on the left wing. The full back scored in the corner and although the conversion was missed, it was a huge lift for the hosts.

Smith extended the lead five minutes later following a high tackle in front of the posts and the Black Army were beginning to look distinctly rattled. Penarth piled on the pressure but the seeds of their later disappointment were sown as they persistently laid siege to the visitors’ line and then turned over possession after several phases, coming away with nothing. Llantrisant were now conceding strings of penalties, but no further action was taken as half-time arrived with the Seasiders still leading 8 - 6.

It was the eminently-beatable visitors who were quickest out of the traps in the third quarter and the momentum they established in this phase was to carry them to victory. A swift move down the left flank needed just the one missed tackle to allow wing Elliott Jones in for a try and outside half Jason Williams followed up his conversion with a penalty to put his side into a 16 - 8 lead.

Now it was the visitors piling on the pressure and although the Penarth defence held out well, a well-judged long pass from Williams found loose head prop K Davies at the corner flag for a one metre dash to the line. The Seasiders sent on the replacements and, as so often before, dominated the final quarter.

With all the action taking place in the Llantrisant half, Penarth were mostly relying on the backs to pull them back into the game and several ambitious attacks were skilfully set up without leading to any score. The turning point came with 10 minutes to go as the referee finally reached for his cards and binned replacement prop T Smith.

From the resulting penalty, the catch and drive led to another lengthy siege, but as several drives were repelled a single flash of brilliance from Rhys Morgan, digging the ball out of a ruck and throwing an overhead reverse pass to Matt Allen at the corner flag for the score. Smith converted coolly from touch to bring the Seasiders within eight points.

Penarth threw everything into the search for the tries that should have brought them a well-deserved victory and while the pack took the Black Army apart, they were consistently frustrated as scrums were taken down.

Sometimes they were reset, but more often the visitors were penalised, leading to yet another scrum. No further cards arrived and against all expectations, no penalty try either. Since a score always seemed imminent, the opportunity of claiming a bonus point by converting one of the penalties was spurned. Two tries apiece and the Seasiders ended up without reward for a sterling effort.

Next Saturday they visit third-placed Aberdare (kick-off 2.30pm) and while Penarth always look capable of beating anyone in the division, the drop to 11th place means that league points are becoming a priority.

Penarth: Tom Smith, Paul Collett, James Crothers, Tom Luck (C), Ben Donovan (Tom Hillman), Adam Lewis, Gareth Mathias (Rhys Morgan), Jerome Bryan (Richard Merrett), Mason Good, Alan Doyle, Matt Allen, Anthony Pine, Dan Seal (Scott Mackie), Alex Thau, Owen Thomas.

Scorers: Tom Smith, Matt Allen (tries), Tom Smith (one penalty, one conversion)

National League Division 2 (East Central)

P W D L F A Pts

1 Llantrisant 5 5 0 0 137 91 22

2 Dinas Powys 6 4 0 2 138 103 21

3 Aberdare 6 3 1 2 141 119 19

4 St Peters 6 4 0 2 117 98 17

5 Abercynon 6 3 1 2 107 106 15

6 Llanishen 5 3 0 2 85 83 14

7 CRC Caerdydd 6 2 1 3 128 130 12

8 Barry 5 2 0 3 122 118 11

9 Gilfach Goch 6 2 0 4 107 124 11

10 Pontyclun 5 1 1 3 87 93 9

11 PENARTH 6 2 0 4 91 141 8

12 Old Illtydians 6 1 0 5 69 132 6