Fixture

Another home fixture for Old Penarthians 1^st XV in Division 5 East Central and another bonus point victory by 39 points to 30 against Hirwaun. That is three wins now at home which sees the team sitting third in the division behind Cefn Coed, who defeated the Old Pens by one point in the season opener at Cefn Coed, and Pontycymmer, who are also unbeaten.

Home form is always critical to a team seeking a good league position and hopefully a standard has been set which has to be maintained.  It is in the away games that league points have to be gained however if good league position is to be converted into possible promotion opportunities.

It is also important that the team performs at the highest standards against all their opponents for the full ninety minutes and if the lack of concentration in the latter part of the match against Hirwaun, when 14 late points were conceded, were to happen against some of the better teams in the league then staying towards the top of the table will be difficult.

The game against Hirwaun did not start well either with multiple penalties conceded in the first six minutes saw the visitors take the lead with a kick in front of the posts for a 3-0 lead. It took Old Pens another seven minutes to respond when attacks from left to right on the pitch saw Rowan Alcock make the decisive break in midfield from a pass from Jon Crimp. Alcock was well tackled but the ball was recycled and despite a poor pass from James Greenfield the bouncing ball was picked up by Richie Moir who gave the scoring pass to Mark Sadler.  The conversion was unsuccessful but Old Pens took the lead.

This lead was overturned shortly afterwards when the seventh penalty (out of twelve in the half) was converted by the Hirwaun outside half. The Old Pens threequarters were however a much more efficient unit than their opponents and on numerous occasions chances were created but were squandered. Unfortunately, Ieuan Harris spilled two of the chances but some of the blame may lie with Dai Langdon, the team’s first aider, who bandaged a cut over Harris’s eye and at the same time restricted his vision.

Before the end of the half however Harris made amends having been put into space by a Rhys Lakin pass when he deftly kicked ahead and the bouncing ball was missed by the defender and James Reynolds pounced to score a try that went unconverted. Three minutes later a good lineout drive was taken to ground and from the ensuing ruck captain Tom Sidford drove over the line and Old Pens led 15-6.

The bonus point try was earned after 35 minutes when another midfield move gave Josh Preece the opportunity to chip the ball ahead. He didn’t quite mange to collect his own kick but the Hirwaun full back knocked the ball forward into the hands of Reynolds who showed a clean pair of heels to the remaining defenders and dived into the corner to score.  Preece missed the conversion but at 20-6 the game seemed to be secure. With Old Pens this is never an easy watch for the spectators and in the remaining time of the half instead of controlling the ball and taking territorial advantage from penalty kicks awarded to them Hirwaun were back in the game with a converted try and a penalty and an interval scoreline of 20-16.

Some composure returned at the start of the second half when from a penalty award under the Hirwaun posts a scrum option was selected. The ball was hooked and Jake Thomas passed to Gareth Clancy who moved it on to Josh Preece. He sold a dummy to Lakin and crossed to score a try that was converted by replacement kicker Crimp. The absence of a scoring pass obviously upset Lakin as he made two very strong runs down the touchline soon after bouncing players off with his strength and power.

Another try was added soon after, when a penalty taken quickly in midfield released substitutes Chance Marsden and Craig Haines who passed to Mark Sadler in from his opposite wing.  Sadler made ground and with men outside decided he couldn’t pass to his left and instead stepped inside towards the defending Hirwaun players.  Sadler somehow manged to evade their tackles and scored to make the score 32-16.

The game continued to be played in a scrappy fashion but with Old Pens showing the more adventure trying to play out of defence whenever possible. One of these opportunities was turned into more points when Clancy and Moir combined to put Preece in for his second try converted by Crimp.

At 39-16 that should have been the match over but in the last six minutes Old Penarthians again let their concentration lapse and Hirwaun bounced back with two converted tries to make the final score 39-30 to the home team.

The next 1^st XV fixture for Old Penarthians is in two weeks’ time away to Ogmore Vale on 2^nd November however the 2^nd XV have a game at home to Fairwater in the East District Cup Competition with a 2.30pm kick off on Saturday 26^th October