Match Report - 29th October 2011

Old Penarthians 2nd XV 13 v Cathays HSOB 18 (CADRU League)

With the Old Penarthians first XV enjoying an enforced rest due to an uneven number of teams in Division 5SE of the National leagues the spotlight fell upon the second XV and their away league fixture with Cathays HSOB at Heath Park, Cardiff.
It was to be an afternoon of mixed emotions as the side played particularly well for the first fifteen minutes, went off the boil for the rest of the first half and most of the second, before a slight recovery which brought victory in sight, only for it to be snatched away by two late drop goals by the opposition.

The final score was 18 points to thirteen in favour of the hosts, but this would never have occurred to the small band of spectators led by talent spotting first XV captain, Mark Sadler, after the first part of the game.  This saw the team play some adventurous rugby with Gareth Jones, fresh from his outstanding  appearance as Freddie Mercury the week before, very prominent with his quick breaks and penetrating kicking.  It was one such kick ahead from within his own half after seven minutes that saw Alex Lewis chase the ball and force the defending player into a mistake in his own twenty-two.  The supporting Tom Parkinson was on hand to complete the tackle before James Williams was able to rip the ball free and pass to Gareth Boulton who ‘sprinted’ clear to score.  The conversion from Steve Cross was unfortunately some distance wide of the posts.

Three minutes later an electric break from Tom Draper saw him carry the ball into the opposition twenty two before he passed to the toes of Mark Smart.  The flanker, with amazing dexterity, managed to collect the pass before off-loading to winger Lewis who raced along the touchline to score the try, which again went unconverted.

At this stage everything seemed set fair for the team’s first win of the campaign.  The scrummaging of Boulton, Parkinson and ‘Crevvie’ was solid, despite the opposition loose head prop refusing to bind correctly and the referee not understanding the laws sufficiently well to regularly penalise the wrong player.  The second row of Tom Sidford and Jon Vaughan were competitive in the loose if somewhat loose in the lines-out.  And the back-row of Smart, Cross and evergreen Alun Haines were always close to the ball.

It must however have been the arrival of the more persistent rain that saw the side’s adventurous start ebb and all the early competitive spirit was washed away.  The Cathays team then grew in confidence and their line-out became their main source of possession to which the Old Pens had no answer.  And it was from one such lineout, five yards from the Penarthians’ try line that the Cathays’ number eight surprisingly saw the ball fall into his hands for him to fall over and score.  The try from Chris Tofer went unconverted to give a half time score of 10 points to five in favour of Old Penarthians.

The second half started with Cathays again on top and only good defence by the three-quarters kept the score as it was until the twelfth minute when Simon Fry scored a try converted by Aki Davies to give the home side the lead for the first time.

On twenty five minutes the Penarthians began to stir themselves and a good passing move saw substitutes Jez Patterson and Huw Williams combine well with Dave Owen to drive towards the opposition try line.  The referee then saw an infringement by the attacking side and the move came to nothing.  Penarthians were however soon back on the attack after some goal line scrambling and passing along the line including Danny Godfrey coming in from full back only for the move to break down when Williams lost the ball in contact.
A period in the Cathays' half did bring about a penalty and after much deliberation it was decided that Jones-Mercury would kick for goal from 30 metres out and to the left of the posts.  It was however a ‘champion’ kick and sent the sidelined skipper Ian Buckley into ‘rhapsodies’ as his team were now back in front with seven minutes left to play.

The rest of the game was however played in the Penarthian half and whilst stout defence kept the try line intact two smartly taken drop goals by fly half Aki Davies left Cathays the winners.

This weekend the second XV return home to play Llanharen in the second round of the S.A. Brain East District cup competition, with the first team playing away to St Josephs in the first round of the WRU SWALEC Bowl competition.  This will be the team’s second visit to Blackweir this season and it is hoped that the result will be a reversal of the previous league fixture which saw the side loose by eleven points to six.
That was a game that could have been won and it is hoped that the numbers at training preceding this fixture do credit to the coaches’ efforts and that a positive outcome will be achieved.  It is then hoped that the players can proudly wear the polo shirts that were provided to them through the generous financial assistance from Chris Greenaway of Penarth Motor Company, Windsor Road, Penarth.

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