Penarth Sport
Old Penarthians lose out to local rivals
8:00am Thursday 16th February 2012
Old Penarthians 9 DINAS POWYS 14
AFTER a week without rugby due to frozen pitches, which saw the cancellation of the much awaited Veterans fixture against Richmond Heavies and the Club fixture against Tondu, it was a return to Division 5SE SWALEC League rugby for Old Penarthians first team on Saturday, when they played host to local rivals Dinas Powys.
The match earlier in the season had been a hard fought contest that went to the final whistle when Dinas emerged 23-18 winners, and the partisan crowd were expecting an equally tight game this time around. And so it proved, with both teams trying to claim the bragging rights in a feisty contest that left players and spectators in no doubt that there is no love lost on the pitch when rivals come together. It was nothing more than could be expected and it was good to see that the players were exchanging more friendly banter in the bar after the match.
Unfortunately for Old Penarthians, the honours went to the visitors and it will be at least seven months before the chance comes again to avenge this 14-9 defeat by the Villagers.
It is in fact the first time since the 2006/7 season that Dinas have completed a double over the Old Pens, when Mark Smart was the unfortunate captain, but it does not make the defeat easier to take.
Since then both clubs have had their ups and downs but the recent run of good form from Dinas probably established them as the pre-match favourites, having played an expansive game in recent weeks. On the other hand Penarthians had won their last two games playing a tighter, forward oriented game. It was therefore no surprise that the game was one of contrasting styles which added to the excitement.
The game started under clear skies, on a pitch which was hard but thawing after morning inspections that had cast some doubt. The management of both teams and the referee were happy for the game to go ahead and it was the Dinas backs that were soon running the ball.
In fact from their first serious attack a chip ahead saw Mark Sadler make a late tackle and give David Lloyd the first opportunity for points. The penalty was missed.
Other chances went begging for Dinas when their fluent back movements, centred around Adam Williams, came up short with poor distribution and dropped passes when it seemed easier to score.
In the end the first score came after 23 minutes from two dominant scrummages inside the Old Pens 22 that saw Nick Vagges drive at the opposition defence before passing to Morgan Williams to score the try, converted by David Lloyd.
Old Penarthians were not to be outdone and from the kick off pressured the Dinas pack with a good chase from Tom Sidford and Andy Gill. The defence fumbled and when the maul collapsed the referee awarded a penalty to Old Pens for an infringement on the floor. Scott McCarthy stepped up and landed the penalty It was probably not until the 30th minute that Old Pens could put some concerted pressure on the Dinas line with an extended stay in their 22. The scrums were even but at this stage the driving forward play from Mark Smart, Noel Etxragary and Jippy Evans was beginning to come to the fore without really threatening the try line.
The pressure eventually paid off and on 34 minutes Scott McCarthy kicked his second penalty to make the score 7-6 to the visitors.
At the kick off it was the turn for Old Pens to make a mistake and only good tackling from Mark Sadler and Lloyd Davey in the centre stopped Dinas breaking through. The Dinas forwards again pressed the Penarthians front row and for the first time in a few matches, the Brennan, Evans and Harry triumvirate were not dominant.
Good ball from the Dinas forwards, after a series of controlled attacks had drawn in the Old Pens defence, released the backs and with a three man overlap Mike Smith did not want to take the chance of another dropped pass and he stepped inside Huw Liddell to score a try, converted by Lloyd.
There was still time for Old Pens to put together their best plays of the half with driving close quarter work along the touchline before stepping back into midfield through Tony Kemp and Liddell, but it all came to nought when the ball was turned over in front of the posts.
With the pressure released the half time whistle went with the score at 14-6.
The half time talk from coach Jeff Norman reinforced the message that the Old Pens must play with more forward control and dominate the ball to limit the Dinas backs' opportunity to run. Half time also saw the introduction of Dave Mason as hooker to replace Evans who had earlier been off the field with a blood injury.
The message must have been taken on board, as the second half was dominated by attacking forward drives by Old Pens and some solid, and at times desperate, defence by Dinas. It seemed that whenever Dinas released the pressure, either McCarthy would drive them back with well aimed kicks or Simon Davies would attack from the full back position.
The Dinas backs always posed a threat but did not have as much ball in the second half. This may have been due to an injury to replacement hooker Mason, probably sustained in a tackle when he had earlier substituted for blood-binned Evans, meaning that the last 25 minutes of the game were played with passive scrums.
With the line outs equally contested it meant the loose play was the big difference and in that department Old Pens had the advantage. Etxragary, Kemp and replacements Paul Langley and Sean Leach drove forward tirelessly but they could not score the all-important try. Their efforts were reinforced by Davey and Sadler, who was probably the best defensive and attacking player in the Penarthians line-up, but it seemed that at critical times patience was lost and the game plan of tight play was expanded into a depleted back line with insufficient support.
The physical effort began to take effect on both sets of forwards and there were some fractious moments, the worst of which saw winger Richie Moir sin-binned for an off-the-ball indiscretion. The lack of a player left the back line exposed but except for a couple of break-outs by Dinas, the Penarthians line was not really threatened.
Unfortunately the Old Pens could not take their opportunities either and all they had to show for their efforts was another McCarthy penalty on 35 minutes to make the final score 14-9. The team earned a bonus point in defeat for being within 7 points of the victors, but it was the win that had been targeted to add to the recent run of success and it was a disappointed set of players that left the pitch.
The contest throughout had been a contrast in styles and for the romantics it was probably the right result that the Dinas flair overcame the more purist robust forward effort of the Penarthians, but it was a close-run thing.
On Saturday the Old Penarthians 1sts travel to bottom-of-the-table Deri, in the Rhymney Valley, and it is hoped it will be a return to winning ways, before another break for the next series of Six Nations matches. The 2nds entertain Cathays at Cwrt-y-Vil with a 2.30pm kick off.