Match Report - 24th September 2011
Old Penarthians RFC 1st XV 28 v Ferndale RFC 1st XV 11 (SWALEC League)
Old Penarthians played their second home game of the season at Cwrt-y-vil and emerged as worthy winners of the match against fellow strugglers, Ferndale. The Penarthian team played with much more focus and intent than in their previous three league fixtures and reaped the reward of a 28 point to 11 point victory. Following the dressing down given to the team after the defeat at St Josephs, coach Jeff Norman was very pleased by the response of the players at both training and in the pre-match build up that saw a much more positive attitude
That positivity could have been destroyed at the start of the match when the Ferndale kick off was collected by the home forwards, taken into contact, but were then penalised for pulling an opponent out of the maul. The resulting penalty was kicked by Jamie Lewis to give Ferndale a three point lead. This lead however lasted only four minutes before the first of many Ferndale indiscretions earned Scott McCarthy the opportunity to level the scores, which he duly did with a kick from thirty-five yards.
A series of powerful raids into the Ferndale half led by impressive scrum-half Gareth Jones enabled Penarthians to regain their positive approach and pressure on the line eventually led to a try for number eight, Paul Langley who managed to stretch his slimmed down figure the extra six inches by holding the ball in one hand and touching down near the corner flag. The conversion was missed but an eight point to three lead was no more than was deserved. This score was added to after 23 minutes when McCarthy kicked a penalty after an aggressive charge by hooker Ross Meadows resulted in another infringement by the visiting forwards. This led to a warning to the away team captain that further misdemeanours would result in more direct punishment.
Ferndale did respond and a brief foray into the Penarthian half saw the home forwards penalised for holding onto the ball when tackled and Lewis kicked the penalty. By this stage the referee was beginning to lose patience with both teams and it was to become a feature for the rest of the match when after thirty three minutes referee Chris Lewis issued the first of the five yellow cards to be awarded during the game to one of the Ferndale threequarters. The absence of a player meant that there were spaces wide out on the touchline to be exploited and a probing run by Jones from a maul saw him pass back inside to the supporting James Williams for him to run in near the posts for a try, converted by McCarthy to make the half time score 18 points to six. That was however not the last action of the first half as the referee still had time to issue two more yellow cards, this time both to Penarthians’ players, firstly for a push in a player’s back when he was not in possession of the ball, and then for not releasing the player in the tackle. The offending players being try scorer Langley and Sean Leach, playing his first game for nine months following an injury sustained last season
The absence of two players for the first ten minutes of the second half meant that the play was disjointed but none-the-less the six man pack led admirably by front row forwards Lee Brennan, Meadows and Peter Harry more than held their own and when at full strength they dominated their opponents with strong scrummaging. The second row of Tim Ursall and Tony Kemp added their weight to the scrums and both were noticeable in the loose with Ursall carrying (and retaining) the ball and Kemp making two outstanding tackles, one of which at full stretch may have been a try-saver.
The absence of players did however have an effect and Ferndale scored a try in the first ten minutes of the half through flanker Matthew Storey, which went unconverted to make the score 18 -11. The return to a full complement of Penarthians players was obviously too many players for the referee to manage so he yellow carded another Ferndale player for continued infringements after 12 minutes. Some spectators were critical of the referee for his decision making but in all aspects he was consistent. He was initially patient, taking due consideration of the level of rugby he was officiating, he then warned both captains of the punishment for continued offences, and he then carried out the punishment in a unbiased manner for the remainder of the game. The players should have taken due note of the referee’s intent and acted accordingly. The fact that not all referees interpret the laws in the same way match-to-match is probably what leads to frustrations, but that is true at all levels of the game and not only Division 5SE.
The break in play did however lead to the introduction of Huw Liddel as a replacement for Scott McCarthy at outside half and Jippy Evans, playing against the advice of not only his father but team physio Ellie Murphy, in place of impressive first team debutant Ross Meadows. Ross, watched by legendary forward father Sammy, was exceptional in the loose with strong running with ball in hand that led to one bone crunching impact with a Ferndale forward that left spectators surprised that either man was able to stand afterwards.
The play in the second half became a little more loose and the backs were offered room to show their paces with one break by Tom Draper from deep within his own half a notable effort that saw him burst though a couple of tackles before entering the opposition twenty two. At this point Tom must have been the only person on the ground who did not think he would get to the corner and a turn inside took him into the arms of a defending tackler and the move broke down. Another attack into opposition territory saw backs and forwards combining well with skipper Mark Sadler offloading to fellow centre Tim Naylor, newly returned to the field after his enforced touchline break, who only had to find unmarked winger Williams, but a desperate tackle from the defending team, prevented the scoring pass.
The pressure did however tell and a penalty to Huw Liddle eased the touchline nerves. The resulting restart brought the best move of the day, when Langley caught the kick off, passed to fellow forwards Ursall and Kemp who drove into opposition territory to set up a ruck, before releasing quick ball to the backs who passed without complication to winger Richie Moir who scored the try for Liddle to convert. Penarthians then pressed hard for the fourth try that would have brought a bonus point and James Coslett, who had been tireless in attack and defence, made a half break that deserved a pass to a supporting player but instead he attempted a kick and the move floundered
This match did however show that there is an obvious desire amongst the players to prove that they can compete at this level and to be a force later in the season, however that ambition has to be tempered by the fact that Ferndale are not the best team in the division and that decision making has to be sharper at crucial times of the game.