Penarth 14 - 8 Barry
Having, for various reasons, missed league action since the beginning of November, the Seasiders could have been a little rusty on a chilly afternoon at the Athletic Field. As expected, neighbours Barry arrived with every intention of giving Penarth a hard time and, if possible, some easing of their own position near the bottom of the table.
Over the course of a largely featureless 80 minutes, the visitors achieved both of those objectives (with a losing bonus point), while the Seasiders climbed back to the top of the table. Unlike in ‘Hymns and Arias’, this was a slow and congested game. The Bombers’ defence was well organised and their tackling hard and effective.
You might have expected that the strong, low winter sun would have affected play, but this was rarely the case and as Penarth played into it in the first half, they dominated possession and territory. Not the scoring, however, as Barry took the lead on their first visit to the Seasiders’ half, converting a penalty.
Ultimately, the game turned out to lack any sort of continuity, as penalties abounded. This badly affected the area of the breakdown, as any going into contact would often end an attacking move.
The stalemate continued until the last minutes of the first half, when Penarth finally got their noses in front. A clever chip ahead by Rhys Mottram found the accelerating George Roberts, who raced up to the Bombers’ 22. A lengthy forward siege of the visitor’s line was spectacularly ended as Mottram flung out a long pass to Roberts, who dived over between the posts.
Normal service was resumed in the second half as a messy game with constant interruptions ground its way to a conclusion. The Seasiders continued to dominate, but if they ever looked as if they were going to piece something together, they were held at bay by the Barry defence. Until the 64th minute. With Penarth and the game itself crying out for a bit of invention to break the stalemate, it was Mottram again who came up with the goods. Another chip over the defence took a deflection and outside-half, who had followed though, grabbed the ball and charged 50m to the line.
Now leading 14-3 with 25 minutes remaining, it was down to the Bombers’ to come up with some sort of response. This took all of two minutes, as a rare sortie into the Penarth 22 yielded a 5m penalty, tapped and driven over. The final score at end of the second half that seemed to go on forever was 14-8, and there’s really little else to say.
Look on it as a warm-up for the main bout. The Seasiders travel over to East Cardiff next Saturday to face St.Albans at Tremorfa Park. Recent encounters have been tasty, to say the least, but this season the two sides are in close competition for promotion.
Most recently, Penarth won the corresponding home game in October 39-31, with tries by Harry Williams (3), Ben Jones, Spencer Robinson and Joe Williams. Not quite a ‘winner takes all’ scenario with so many league games remaining, but a Seasiders win against the ‘Buns would make a real statement.
Penarth: Luc Keane-Adams, Cian Lewis (Josh Marshall), George Roberts, Andy Richards, James Crothers, Rhys Mottram, Spencer Robinson, Geraint Williams (Harry Jones), Mason Good, Alan Doyle (Sam Sully), Cam Sultana, Matt Allen, Alex Abel, Owen Lloyd (Dan Cahalane), Lewys Williams.
Scorers: George Roberts (try), Rhys Mottram (try, 2 conversions)
WRU Division 1 East Central
Saturday, January 10, 2026
St.Albans v Penarth
Tremorfa Park,Whitaker Rd., Cardiff CF24 2RN
Kick-off 2.30pm
Share