Match Report

Hopes that Old Penarthians could maintain an unbeaten record throughout the month of October were dashed in the space of just 15 minutes at Cwrt-y-vil on Saturday last. That was the length of time in the second half that it took table toppers Barry to wide out the lead that their hosts had earlier built up during the course of an impressive opening session. But, whilst there was no doubt that the visitors were full value for the margin of their 21 points to 13 success, Scott McCarthy and his men had given them food for thought with a performance that belied the wide difference currently separating the respective positions of the two sides within the Division 5 South East table.

Whilst Barry are currently head-to-head with Blackwood Stars in a battle for the top spot that involves the only two sides with 100% records, the Old Boys are languishing in 10 th position in the twelve team division, having won only one of the six games played to date. Quite frankly, this state of affairs does not reflect the true potential of the side but, in a sport where success is judged largely in terms of victories, it is essential that Penarthians acquire the winning habit as a matter of urgency.

The season is now one third spent and already an inability to close out games can be seen in the defeats to Cilfynydd and St. Albans. In addition, supporters are becoming increasingly frustrated as, week after week, they see their favourites fail to perform in more than one half of the games. Almost inevitably, Penarthians do well enough in the opening half of their fixtures whilst it is the opposition that takes charge after the break. Whether or not this is simply down to fitness is hard to judge for Coach Jeff Norman has been delighted with the commitment currently being shown to the weekly training sessions in terms of attendance and effort. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that only once – the game at home to Cardiff Saracens a week earlier – has the side played well in the second session.

Once again weather conditions were perfect for this, the first of Penarthians local derby games and it was a measure of Barry’s excellent start to the campaign that their touchline support appeared to be more than double the number of those supporting the hosts. They were, however, given little to cheer early on for the Old Boys took charge and Skipper Scott McCarthy opened up a 6 point lead with successful penalty strikes in both the 3 rd and 13 th minutes, the second of these clearing the crossbar having struck the upright. Five minutes later, the lead was further extended through a fine try. Wing Gareth E Jones was put away on the right and, when challenged, put in a neatly judged chip before following up to regain possession. Support was immediately at hand and quick passing was well executed going left before Scott McCarthy fed Tim Naylor in space and the centre wasted no time in racing through for the touchdown that was converted by McCarthy.

Barry responded with spirit and a charge from the number eight looked dangerous until the forward was put to ground by a forceful tackle from centre Steve Mohring. Soon after, a collision in midfield resulted in flanker Stuart Gunnarsson being forced to leave the field, David Mason taking over as replacement. Gunnarsson’s value as a lineout option was immediately missed when, Scott McCarthy having drilled a penalty kick into the right hand corner, the subsequent lineout throw went loose and was cleared by the visitors. A similar situation existed soon after although, on this occasion David Mason was only just beaten to the touchdown by a desperate defender. The final blow to Penarthians hopes of extending the lead came with the final kick of the half, Scott McCarthy being wide of the target with a penalty attempt from close to the right hand touchline.

The second half opened with Barry making a couple of changes up front whilst the Old Boys mounted the first attack that came to nought when an abortive miss man move saw the side run out of space on the left. Gareth E. Jones was then forced to leave the field with a recurrence of the previous week’s injury, Gareth D. Jones taking over the vacant wing position.

Barry were now creating more of an impression to proceedings but Penarthians were afforded a let off when the normally reliable Chris Cummings failed with a penalty attempt from 35 yards out and on the right. In the 12 th minute, however, the hosts suffered an unfortunate setback. Centre David Provis made excellent ground with a run into the home 25 but he was halted short of the line. Driving play from the visitors stretched the home defence to the limit and Steve Mohring did ever so well to keep out the attack. Referee Hoole, however, decided that the tackle was illegal and promptly despatched the player to the sin bin. It was then as an afterthought that he determined that the infringement prevented a probable try and changed the original award of a penalty to a penalty try, Chris Cummings adding the conversion points from in front of the posts.

With Penarthians clearly disrupted, Barry now took control territorially and the hosts were forced into desperate defence. Sparked by the promptings of outside half Chris Cummings, the visiting backs, previously surprisingly anonymous, ran with purpose to keep the hosts constantly on the back foot. A forward drive took play into the corner in the 25 th minute with the scrum following allowing wing Ben Taylor to just make it to the corner. Cummings converted brilliantly. From the restart, a loose hack set the ball bouncing wildly close to halfway before being gratefully swallowed by centre Alan Evans who set off on a 40 yard sortie for an outstanding opportunist try. Cummings again added the conversion to put Barry two scores clear and the visitors then scorned a couple of penalty attempts in favour of the further try that would have earned an extra bonus point.

The Old Boys, however, defended bravely and even contributed a breakout through Tom Draper that forced Barry into hurried defence before the game finally coming to an end with Scott McCarthy falling short of the target with the long range penalty that would have given his side the losing bonus point that had been deserved.

Whilst the tireless foraging earned James Evans the Man of the Match award, Alun Haines again did well at the lineout where the expertise of Stuart Gunnarsson was missed following his departure. Scott Hill tackled with great determination around the fringes with Paul Langley again adding direction to the loose play.

Behind the scrum, Simon Davies continued his lively form and it was good to see Tim Naylor back on the score sheet with Tom Draper contributing another impressive game at full back.

With Fairwater unable to muster a side, the Seconds broke new ground with a trip to Maesteg Harlequins and impressed their hosts with a fine first half performance that saw them lead by 18 points to 3 at the break. Sadly, the unforgiveable loss of discipline that disrupted their own play whilst alienating the Referee throughout the second half proved costly with the Quins making the most of their chances to win by 23 points to 18.

Penarthians played some superb rugby during the opening session with the backs particularly impressive. Indeed, the two excellent tries scored by David Owen and James Beaton could well have been supplemented by three or four more had the choice of options been better. However, the decision of the hosts to opt for passive scrums added to visiting frustration despite the excellent contributions from Sean Leach, Matthew Sutton, Matthew Franklin, and a surprisingly lively Gareth Boulton.