By Chris Thau

Bolton XV 22

Morgan XV 22

THIS was one of those rare occasions in rugby, when the two sides got engaged in combat with a smile on their faces, yet determined to apply the basic rules of rugby warfare by making no allowance for the previous’ day indulgence.

The Boxing Day match between Matt Bolton’s XV and Rhys Morgan’s men, was fast and furious from the moment go, with the 50-odd participants tackling each other with relish, while attacking with the ball in hand at every opportunity.

It was very much a huge family reunion, with fathers and sons, brothers and cousins, veterans and newcomers, former players and stars of the future joining the entertainment. “This reminded me of my senior debut back in 1964, in the Boxing Day match, while I was still a Youth players,” Club President John Davey recalled. “This was a fixture that started just before the Second World War, so for us, fulfilling it was a matter of keeping the tradition alive. It is a great occasion, producing a fabulous mix of players, young and old, friends and family members,” he added.

Bolton’s men, helped by some searching runs from former captains Alex Thau and Tom Luck, with the young guns Harry Williams, George Roberts and Spencer Robinson adding pace, guile and dash, looked as if they were going to run away with the game. Somehow, the generous Christmas spirit that reigned on the day helped even the odds by allowing Morgan’s troopers to battle their way back into the game, to snatch an improbable, yet thoroughly deserved draw, with the two sides scoring four tries and one conversion each.

“At the beginning it felt that the match was getting a bit pear-shaped and we were in for a right thrashing” said scrum-half Tom Parkinson, also a wicket keeper with the Penarth cricket team and captain of the club’s second hockey XI. “But then, the anticipated disaster did not materialise, as we fought our way back into the game, and levelled the score,” he added

“I have never had such fun in my whole career,” said former Penarth and Cardiff lock forward Jason Allen, who started alongside his teenage son Ryan for Morgan’s XV. “I just went down with the ball in a tackle and hoped that support would materialise, when I saw Ryan on top, locking the ruck, like in a team practice. Absolutely superb,” said Allen senior who is one of the coaches of a highly successful Penarth Youth team. “I remember how I started playing alongside my late dad Ken in a festive match at Dinas Powys, many years ago,” added Allen.

“I was great fun. So nice to play with the boys after two years,” confirmed former Penarth and Wales U20 back rower Owen Lloyd, who is currently studying for a sports science degree at Loughborough University. “It was brilliant to play with the boys again” confirmed Morgan Humphreys, a former Youth player, nowadays a talented club cricketer, who had joined rugby club regulars Miles Jones and George Roberts on the touchline. “If you think of it, this was very much a nice mix of rugby, cricket and hockey players, which is what an Athletic club is all about”, Spencer Robinson observed.

“I loved every minute of it! It was great fun. We enjoyed it on the field and the crowd responded in kind from the touch line”, said prop emeritus and former skipper Richard Merrett, who together with Matt Bolton and young Harry Wood formed an impressive front-row unit. However, neither them, nor the opposite trio of Dai Morgan (one of the Youth coaches), Gary Power, a former club captain and hooker and young Geraint Williams, had many opportunities to lock horns with Bolton’s men, simply because referee Chris Hunt, very much in the spirit of the day, allowed the game to flow, rather than penalise every infringement. As the time wore on, more front rowers took the field, including the current Penarth regulars, Alan Doyle, Rhys Jones, Mason Good as well as Lloyd Ellis and Jerome Bryan, not to mention the young Rhys Newman, the grandson of club legend Paul and son of Mike, the third generation Newman to wear Penarth colours. “The referee made all the difference. He has got a great sense of humour and entered the spirit of the occasion”, said Doyle.

“In fairness the ref did a great job. He is a farmer in Chepstow and had to get up very early to milk 500 cows before coming to Penarth for an early noon kick-off,” said rugby fixture secretary Peter Docherty who is also a fine cricketer and Chairman of the Cricket section, and played a big part in organising the fixture. His son James Docherty, the rugby club’s secretary, came on at outside-half in the second half for Morgan’s XV adding a few more points the his club career record. He came on for veteran fly-half Gareth Davies, a top Fleet Street journalist by trade (Breaking News Editor with the Telegraph) watched with legitimate pride by his father, the former hooker Phil Davies.

Another club official to make a cameo appearance was Director of Rugby Paul Williams, a former Neath and Penarth player and coach, who was a member of the successful 1989 Welsh Schools touring side, the last Welsh team to have the better of their New Zealand counterparts in an international.

The game was a delightful melange of holiday rugby and fun that entertained the sizeable crowd, probably the biggest at the Athletic Field, since Good Friday, the other major crowd pleaser of Penarth rugby faithful. Similar to Good Friday rugby, the Boxing Day match is part of the Penarth rugby DNA and the unanimous verdict of both participants and spectators at the end of the match was sheer delight. “Absolutely superb! Let’s have more of this!” was the verdict of former Penarth players Matt Sutton, Louis Chandler and Rhys Goodfellow.

The presence of 30-year old Rhys Goodfellow, who had recently undergone lung and liver transplant at the Queen Elisabeth Hospital in Birmingham, was particularly moving, as the two neighbouring Penarth clubs had organised a series of auctions and raffles to help raise funds for his aftercare.

“In many ways”, says skipper Rhys Morgan, “other than the presence of the club’s former players, this abundant turnover is a consequence of the club’s successful recruitment campaign, which includes the integration of the new boys, joining us from a very productive Youth section as well as the development of a full fixture list for the Seconds. The new boys have been brilliant. They have all joined into the spirit of the club and have really added to the whole atmosphere, both on and off the field.

The 2nds have also had a huge impact on the club as a whole. Boys are getting games week in week out, which boosts training numbers massively, and pushes the boys in the first team. We have a lot of options now in certain positions which can only be a good thing. We’ve had a few narrow losses which were disappointing. But overall we can be happy with how the season has gone so far. A few tweaks here and there and the future could be promising.”