Old Pens fail to pick up vital points in relegation scrap

WRU Division 5 East Central league action returned to Cwrt-y-vil last Saturday when Old Penarthians hosted third placed Cefn Coed and it was another game of ‘maybes’ and ‘what ifs’. Cefn Coed were the eventual winners by 34 points to 23, but with five minutes remaining in the match, Old Pens only trailed by three points and were pressing for a surprise result and much-needed league points in their battle against relegation.

Whilst Cefn Coed probably deserved the victory in an entertaining encounter, it was a very disappointed Old Pens team that returned to the changing room, having given a full commitment but still coming up short. The mood was lightened somewhat by the fact that fellow relegation strugglers Cardiff Saracens had lost their fixture against Brecon Athletic by 116 points to 12, but with Old Pens and Saracens both having 15 league points, it makes next week’s match between the two sides the clichéd ‘six-pointer.’

Last weekend’s game had started brightly when, from the kick off, captain Joe Francis-Oaten and Liam O’Brien had driven into opposition territory with strong carries, but a loss of possession saw the Cefn Coed outside kick long with the wind at his back, and a charged down kick by full back Richie Moir handed an attacking option to the visitors. An initial attack was repulsed, but pressure could not be fully released, and from loose play, Cefn Coed forwards muscled over for a try that went unconverted.

James Reynolds prepares to throw in at a line out in the Old Penarthians match against Cefn Coed (Image: AR Crimp)

Penarthians were soon back on the attack themselves and well-linked forward drives from Mike Jones, Sam MacListen and James Reynolds, combining with the threequarters earned the home team a penalty when Ethan Galsworthy was high tackled. Crimp converted the resulting penalty for a 3-5 scoreline.

A breakout from defence through an Ieuan Harris interception and a good kick ahead put the defending full back under pressure from Rhys Stout, and whilst Cefn Coed retained the ball, Francis-Oaten won a penalty at the breakdown. Crimp’s kick was again successful, and Old Pens led 6-5 after 15 minutes.

Play then fluctuated between the two teams with Penarthians trying to engage their three-quarters as much as possible while Cefn Coed concentrated on their forward effort with controlled kicking from their outside half, Nathan Cotterall. On the 25 minute mark, Jac Davies broke free from the side of a ruck, but from the inside pass that followed, the ball went forward and again momentum was lost. Unfortunately, the Cefn Coed forward power won the latter part of the first half with territory gained and quick thinking allowing two late tries leading to a half time score of 19-6 to the visitors.

The half time interval saw the introduction of Mark Smart for Jonathan deClaire in a straight swap at second row, but there was no let up in the scrummaging effort that had been solid throughout and was good enough to win a scrum penalty early in the second period. Not something that has been the best part of the Old Pens game in recent matches, so credit goes to all the forwards for their improvement. In fact, the set piece lineout also functioned well throughout the game with Reynolds regularly hitting his targets of Will Davis and Jac Davies.

And from one of those lineouts close to the try line, after a yellow card had been shown to a Cefn Coed centre, a driving maul was formed, and after a controlled drive, Reynolds scored a try. The conversion from Crimp hit the post, but Penarthains were very much in the game.

And their position improved after 18 minutes when another penalty kicked to the corner allowed the set-piece lineout to work again, with the same result of a try to Reynolds. The conversion was off target, but at 16-19 Penarthians were playing with confidence.

Old Penarthians defend a Cefn Coed attack (Image: AR Crimp)

As has become the norm, however, when you are not a winning team, you lose some confidence, and Cefn Coed were back on the attack and pressurising the home tryline. Resilient defence held out the initial forays, but two failed opportunities to clear the ball led to an inevitable visitor’s try and a conversion from the touchline. Cefn Coed now led 26-16.

The game was however, still in the balance after 34 minutes when Craig Haines intercepted a pass inside his own half and despite looking for support after 15m and running on empty, he had enough in the tank to cross for a try under the posts.  Crimp converted, and Penarthians were only three points in arrears.

That was, however to be as close as the team came, and in the last five minutes Cefn crossed for another try and a late penalty to seal the victory by 34-23 and in doing so, deny Penarthians a bonus point in defeat that their efforts deserved.

There will now be a need for a concerted training effort from all the players this week as they prepare for the game against Cardiff Saracens at Roath Park next Saturday. Any supporters looking to travel should note that the kick-off is at 11.30am.