Match Report - 12th November 2011

Old Illtydians RFC 1st XV 36 Old Penarthians RFC 1st XV 0 (SWALEC League)

At the end of last season the Old Penarthians finished strongly against Old Illtydians when the anomalies of the fixture list meant that the sides met twice within a week and both resulted in wins for the Old Pens.  Unfortunately the meeting of the two teams last Saturday at Eastern Leisure Centre was to see a reverse in fortunes with the Cardiff based home team winning by 36 points to nil.

This was the team’s worst defeat of the season with respect to points difference and points conceded but it was far and away a better team performance than the previous week against St Josephs. Old Illtydians were however superior opposition to the Joes and in outside half Adam Staniforth they had the stand out player on show.  Staniforth not only kicked four conversions and a penalty but he also dictated the play territorially as well as with tell-tale distribution.  It was therefore somewhat of a surprise to learn after the game that he is a reluctant rugby player and he rarely travels to away fixtures with the Illtydians.  It is hoped that he does not fancy the eleven mile and twenty five minute journey to Penarth after Christmas.

The game started with Penarthians playing with the advantage of the slope but despite several good bouts of possession inroads could not be made into the opposition half.  In fact on nine minutes the lead was taken by the home side through a penalty given away for offside by the back line.  The restart allowed the ball to hang in the air giving Tom Sidford the opportunity to challenge for possession and with forward support from Dave Mason and Alun Haines Penarthians ventured into the opposition twenty-two.

This territory was however soon lost and back at the top of the slope a five metre scrum was conceded and from the ensuing scrum and several phases of play Michael Leaman scored a try converted by Staniforth.  Again from the restart the Penarthians pack was able to pressure the Illtydian forwards and the front row of Brennan, Barry and Webber enabled a scrum to wheel and the feed to change hands.  The scrum this time stood solid and Paul Langley was able to give quick ball to Gareth Jones to feed outside half Huw Liddell.  The passing was however not accurate and heavy tackling in mid field saw Old Pens concede good field position.

Back in their own twenty-two good tacking by Sean Leach, Langley and Mark Sadler was undone by a loose hand on the ball in a ruck and a quick penalty by the Illtydians scrum half fed the always available Staniforth who released the ball around the back of the Penarthian tackler to release winger Dai Jones for a score under the posts.  This try was converted to make the half time score 17 points to nil.
The second half started in much the same vein as the first had finished when after four minutes number eight Phil Morse scored a try, converted by Staniforth.  The visitors were however not completely demoralised and rallied with good forward drives led by Langley and Brennan, followed by probing kicks from Jones.

When the backs were given chances Simon Davies was always available to counter attack and from one such move nearly broke through the Illtydians defence.  James Williams also had a few opportunities as did Richie Moir when he came on as a second half substitute but the final effort always fell short with too little support to carry the move further.  The introduction of the remaining substitutes by coach Jeff Norman saw Peter Harry replace tight head prop Webber and Dave Finlay replace Liddell but these backfired somewhat when  three minutes later Lloyd Davey injured a knee in a slide tackle more appropriate for the Cardiff City Stadium, leaving the team to complete the last twenty minutes with fourteen men.

Penarthians were however still able to mount some pressure and from a quickly taken penalty by Jones on half way he was obstructed within ten metres of the kick allowing another penalty to be taken.  Scott McCarthy kicked to within ten metres of the try line but the ensuing line out was lost through a miscommunication of calls and the Illtydians cleared their lines.  This was particularly galling because last season the line out had been a primary source of possession through the athleticism of Haines allayed to the accuracy of the hooker.  The inability to select the same combinations each week does not help in this respect.

It was then the turn of the Old Pens to defend their try line as Illtydians launched a series of forward drives but the defence held firm and they were awarded a penalty when a home team forward complained too loudly to the referee when he had not agreed with their protestations that a try had been scored.

Relief was however short lived and after 32 minutes of the half hooker Mike Hiscocks eventually broke down the defensive effort to score a try under the posts for Staniforth to convert.  Penarthians had one final assault in the opposition twenty-two with four or five phases of driving plays by the forwards but a dropped pass was then kicked thirty yards down field to end the pressure.  This seemed to drain the last efforts from the visitors and with three minutes of the match remaining the hooker again crossed for his side’s fifth try.  The resulting conversion was missed bringing about Staniforth’s only blemish of the day.

After the game coach Norman was more encouraged by the performance but recognised that there was still an enormous amount of work to do to turn around a season that is almost half way through but has only two wins to show for the players’ efforts.