| Sunday 22nd January away to St Joes
Pentyrch 48 St Joes 5
Try scorers Ben Jones 1 for Pentyrch and 1 for St Joes,
Dylan Palmer 3, Archie Torkington 1, Jordan Sakkas 1,
Jacob McCarthy 1, Lloyd John 1
Conversions Carwyn Herbert 4
Sunday 15th January 2012 Penarth at home Pentyrch 60 - Penarth 10 Try scorers, Ethan Williams 2, Dave Owen 1, Ben Fry 1, Dylan Palmer 2, Joe Williams 1,Tomos James 1, Ben Jones 2
Conversions Carwyn Herbert 5 Sunday 11th December
Pentyrch V Tondu at home
Pentyrch 19 Tondu 17
Try scorers - Dave Owen 1, Dylan Palmer 1, George Harris 1
Conversions Carwyn Herbert 2
Sunday 4th December 2011 Pentyrch home to Cowbridge
Pentyrch 14 Cowbridge 0
Tries Dylan Palmer 2, Conversions Joe Williams 2 Sunday 27th November 2011 Pentyrch away to Caldicot
Sunday 27th November Caldicot 7 Pentyrch 27
Dylan Palmer 4 Tries Ben Jones 1 Try Carwyn Herbert 1 Conversion
Sunday 20th November 2011 Blues Cup Game Pentyrch v Llanishen
Pentyrch 20 Llanishen 24
Try scorers
Dylan Palmer 2, Jordan Sakkas 1, Dave Owen 1 Sunday 13th November Pentyrch v CRICC at home
Pentyrch 39 CRICC 0
Try scorers
Ben Jones 2, Dave Owen 1, Dylan Palmer 3, Ethan Williams 1
Conversions 2 - Carwyn Herbert
Pentyrch 39pts CRICC 0pts
On a fantastic autumnal day the Pentyrch boys really put in a performance to match, against a determined CRICC side, eminently confident that they would win. With a number of school friends on either side, bragging rights were at stake – however there was only one winner.
The game started with a fluency that had seemingly been lost forever and so it was, with less than 5 minutes on the clock, the team combined brilliantly to give Ben Jones a chance which, showing huge confidence in his undoubted talents, he took brilliantly to give an early lead.
As has been the case this season, the forwards took control with strong carrying from all but this was cleverly mixed with combining with the backs and superb variation from half backs Caerwyn Herbert and Lloyd John.
The commitment to fluency led to the second try of what was turning into a very pleasing half of rugby. Again the ball was spread wide with Ben Webb providing a good pass to the industrious George Harris who put Captain David Owen over in the corner.
Using the wind to good effect, territorially Pentyrch were having the best of the game. However this was not via the easier option, kicking, but rather through varied angles of running and clever support play.
It is indicative of how the team has matured and are now enjoying their rugby, that none of the XV got ‘white line fever’. With the forwards working hard as a unit and the backs running well, it was the all round performance that the coaches, and parents alike, have been looking for all season.
Pressurised rugby, and a commitment to get the ball back when it had been lost, led to the ever present Ethan Williams showing his fantastically strong mauling technique to rip the ball and take 3 opponents over the line for a try in the first half also.
Either side of this however, unsurprisingly, scores came from the ever impressive Dylan Palmer. This season, he has never failed to keep working, always for the good of the team. His ploy is not always to use his size, although you could guarantee that it would work, but to try and beat his opponent with deft footwork and speed.
Dylans’ second try was to complete the scoring for the 1st half at 25-0 (5 tries to nil).
Now playing into the wind, the tactics were now one of pragmatism and playing cleverly to the conditions. It was CRICC’s turn to have territorial advantage but, showing real team spirit with backs to the wall, the determination to keep out their opponents was admirable. It was definitely a case of ‘when the going gets tough’.
All the boys, but Jordan Sakkas and Ben Fry in particular, never let CRICC players have an inch and along with their fellow forwards harried and harassed until the opportunity to get the ball back came.
When, in the middle of the second half, Pentyrch got some foothold in the middle of the park, firstly Ben Jones, and then Dylan Palmer wove their way through the CRICC team to score close to the posts to allow the conversions by Caerwyn Herbert.
At 39-0 it would have been easy to take their foot off the gas, but the character and determination that has grown in the Pentyrch boys meant that they defended with all their hearts. Even when CRICC got over the line, still they were denied.
Before the game the boys were asked to produce a special performance to mark Remembrance Day and the memory of Gill Evans. They did that and more, and played some particularly outstanding rugby both in attack and defence. All the boys, both personally and as a team, took their performance to a new level.
How amazing it is to see the enjoyment and enthusiasm of each and every one of the boys. There is a really special buzz ahead of the important Blues Cup game next Sunday – another performance like the one today and we may be in with a shout. Written by: Richard Brice Sunday 23rd October District Tournament at Rumney RFC
Pentyrch 5 Llanishen 5
Try scorer Dave Owen
Pentyrch 30 St Josephs 0
Try scorers Dylan Palmer 3, Dave Owen 1, Ben Fry 1, Elis Morgan 1
Pentyrch 5 Llandaff North 0
Try scorers Dylan Palmer 1
Pentyrch 0 St Peters 20 "Although coming up short in the semi finals, it was good to mix with the better sides in the District and to experience the cut and thrust of knock out rugby. It was equally disappointing that a number of teams turned down the opportunity to participate and experience the very warm Rumney hospitality. Nevertheless those teams that did take part would have enjoyed themselves. Pentyrch were drawn out of the hat 5th which meant they avoided, what was very quickly labelled, the group of death with Rumney, Llandaff, Cowbridge and St Peters. However we still had to contend with Llanishen (always a dangerous side), Llandaff North (recent previous vistors over Pentyrch) and St Josephs (with a strong rugby pegigree). First up were Llanishen who attacked dangerously out wide from the start and got an early try in the first period of 6 minutes. This jangled the nerves of players and parents alike and, despite playing the better rugby, a number of golden opportunities, particularly out wide, were wasted. Entering the last 2 minutes, with the pressure really mounting, David Owen went over in the right corner after a very clever off load from Dylan Palmer. Drawing 5-5, Pentyrch again went on the attack but ran out of time to get the crucial score. With a 2 match rest, all the Pentyrch players knew that only victory in the next 2 games would be good eneough. It was also sufficient time to reflect to ensure they did not let themselves down, and to start well. Having made 3 changes to the team, it did not deflect from a very impressive performance producing 6 tries which came from the supremely effective Dylan Palmer (3) , David Owen (1) who was having a very influential day, Ben Fry (1) who again worked tirelessly for the good of the team and Elis Morgan (1) who took the game to the opposition at very opportunity. The whole team gelled particularly well and showed their best against a highly committed and determined St Josephs team who persevered to the end. However everyone knew that this quality had to continue for another 12 minutes against Llandaff North in the next game. This proved to be a more physical game against a team who we had lost to in a Tournament last year. It was refreshing to see however that the standard of rugby did not diminish and largely the Pentyrch team kept their minds on the job in hand. Fine teamwork and the ability to stick together in a defiant 12 mins. meant that the Tyrchs were the Group winners after Dylan Palmer finished a fine move. The semi finals were to see us pitted against last years Blues Cup runners up, St Peters. It was essential that the Pentyrch players played with a confidence in their undoubted abilities, from the start, and continue with the good form that they had showed so far on the day. Unfortunatedly it was not to be as Pentyrch went down 2 tries very quickly, only to realise that they could make an impression against their illustrious opponents. Although another 2 tries were scored by St Peters, the reaction had been good to the early scores and the way Pentyrch had stirred themselves. It is always good to benchmark yourself gainst the best in any walk of life, and for this reason the Pentyrch boys can hold their heads up high. Not everything went to plan in all of the games and for this reason there is plenty to work on. However the maturity that the squad is showing will mean that they will be a better team for the experience. Confidence is everything with this group of boys in realising what they are capable of achieving." Richard Brice
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Sunday 16th October Pentyrch v Cowbridge Away
Pentyrch 31 Cowbridge 26
Tries Dylan Palmer 4, Ben Fry 1
Conversions Dylan Palmer 3 "On a lovely bright morning, Pentyrch put in another excellent performance to win what turned out to be a tight game against our nemisis, Cowbridge, by 5 tries to 4. Building on the previous week, Pentyrch played some of their best rugby, particularly up front, to squeeze their opposition who they lost to three times last season. There were huge elements of those 2010/11 games to the fore as the Cowbridge scores came from capitalising on Pentyrch mistakes through their excellent backs. From the whistle, Pentyrch took a strangle hold on possession and for the first 25 minutes Cowbridge bearly got out of their half save for kicking off. With Morgan Brooks, having his best game for a long time, harrassing at the breakdown, he was assisted by text book ruck work by Owen Goddard and Ethan Williams, whilst Jordan Sakkas, Ben Fry and Dylan Palmer punched the ball up and Jack Molton supported excellently. At the same time Lloyd John was consistantly catching his opposite number 9 at the base of the scrum to put Pentyrch on the front foot for the forwards to exploit and regain possession. This enabled Ben Jones to get his hands on the ball regularly at outside half to help him to feed centres Tom James and David Owen to make good ground and set up a target for the backrow, where Jake Burge flourished, to continue the attack. Ben Webb, using all his footballing ability, entered the line intelligently and made a good number of decisive breaks which showed variation in the point of attack and create overlaps. If there were to be a downside, to such a decisive half of rugby, it was that too often the undoubted talents of wings George Harris and Archie Torkington were stifled by lack of time and room to work their magic. However there could be no complaints with leading 19-0 at half time against such a very dangerous side such as Cowbridge. The danger was to display itself right from the kick off for the second half as Cowbridge, having some decent possession for almost the first time, ran the ball through their talented and speedy backs to pull back 2 tries immediatley with the left wing especially excelling. If ever a wake up call worked it was this time as the more experienced Caerwyn Herbert, taking over at no.10, began to pull the strings and the team got back to the task in hand with everyone taking control and imposing themselves on their opposite numbers. Excellent examples of this were to be found in the scrum where, countless times, the ball was won against the head by Morgan or the pack shove proved decisive. If Cowbridge did win a scrum Lloyd John, playing out his skin, scragged or harrassed his opposing number in turning the ball over. The pressure was consistant and this led to the try of the game with good interaction between forwards and backs. Exemplary running and offload took the ball through countless numbers of hands until telling thrusts by Jordan and Jack put Ben Fry over for a try in the corner. Not to be outdone, Cowbridge used their best route to the oposition line and seized on room out wide to score from the half way line. At 24-21 the scoreline, from a Pentyrch point of view, was far closer than it should have been but this showed the need for concentration and consistent effort. However, from a 5 metre scrum, Dylan Palmer scored his fourth try to add to his 3 conversions. This effort was, along with the rest of his play today, out of the top drawer showing athleticism, strength and awareness. Not to be outdone, Cowbridge replied in the last minute to make the final score 31-26 to Pentyrch. Against adversity Cowbridge really showed why they were 2010/ 11 Blues Cup Semi Finalists and it will be a fine tussle when we meet in Pentyrch later in the year. Against such good opposition, it was hugely satsifying to witness such a dominant performance. As a team and as individuals the boys are responding and turning themselves into a good unit. There are, naturally, things to work on but the hardwork that everyone has started to be prepared to put in will make these easier to rectify. Well done boys for a second week!!"
Richard Brice |
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Sunday 9th October 2011 Pentyrch 14 - Pontypridd 31 There was a fanatstic approach from the boys today as we found ourselves with only 13 boys against the Blues Cup Champions.With a teamwork ethic not to leave their teammates in lurch, it was refreshing to see a positive attitude which will bring a confidence that all the players can use in the weeks to come. From the start all of the Pentyrch players showed a disregard for the reputation of their opponents which was typically display by Ellis Morgan, having agreed to play out of position, harrying his opposite number and the counter rucking by the forwards against their bigger opponents. However it was Pontypridd who got on the scoreboard first when, from a mistake they broke through and used their advantage of numbers to score under the posts. Not to be outdone, outside half Ben Jones excellently marshalled his backs and used the wind to kick and chase, forcing the Ponty full back into a mistake only for the strong Ponty pack to deny Pentyrch a good platform and the field position to lost. Ethan Williams, along with Jake Brice, worked tireleslly in the tight and loose where their scrum work was outstanding and Morgan Brooks was his normal 'livewire' best epitomising the never say die atttitude. Everyone now showed their spirit as the big runners 'Sonny Dyl Palmer', Jordan Sakkas and Jack Molton charged at their opposition and the smaller runners, George Harris and Ben Webb jinked past theirs. The Pentyrch boys were really giving a good account of themselves from 1 to 13 but unfortunately it was Ponty who scored next, again from a handling mistake, in the wet and windy conditions. Not to be outdone, the distribution skills of Lloyd John and Jake Burge conspired to put the standout player from both sides, Dylan Palmer, through for a converted try. Confidence boosted, the team knew that it would be tough, but in the second half they could build on the work they had put in in the first half. And so it proved with Aled Davies, showing commitment to the cause by not coming off with a painful foot injury, making a number of decisive runs. The second half started with real cut and thrust however Ponty now using the wind intelligently, as Pentyrch had done so in the first, kept Pentyrch in their own half and used this as a platform to score a few tries that went unreplied. However the effort, attitude, and spirit, did not drop at all with, if anything, Pentyrch realising that they were providing problems for their opponents and growing in confidence. Keeping the spirits up, they were encouraged and led well by their captain and the team seemed to come of age without a number of boys, who in previous weeks, have been first choice. Late in the game, Dylan Plamer again broke through and scored under the posts to brighten up the morning further before Ponty finished the scoring with a try. Heart and soul were behind a really excellent perforemance which gave the coaches an insight into the character of the squad. Richard Brice Sunday 25th September 2011
Pentyrch v Llandaff away
Pentyrch 5 Llandaff 12
Try scorer Ben Jones
"Experience dictates that Llandaff Fields is a tricky place to go to and win these days, and it was no different for the U13's this year. Whether it is devine involvement from Llandaff Cathedral or intervention of another kind, who knows, however it is a bitter pill to swallow for young players to know that they were the better team, played all the football only to be denied by someone or thing more powerful. From the off, the Pentyrch forwards dominated and the backs harrassed only to see their efforts chipped back, both literally and metaphorically. Some typically strong attacking runs and detemined tackling unluckily did not bring their rewards and the inevitable happened half way through the first half when a kick behind the Pentyrch backs led eventually to Llandaff scoring a try, however the conversion was missed. The rest of the half was punctuated by Pentyrchs scrummaging, rucking, mauling and determined back play dominating territory and possession, however fluency of play was only to be restored when Llandaff had the ball and were allowed to build their phases. Turning around only 5-0 down all who represented Pentyrch had confidence that, if the Tyrch's players continued in the same vein, then justice would be done and the scores would come. Pentyrch started the 2nd half as they had the 1st and, if it were possible, territory and possession were dominated even more, only for the pressure to be released at strategic times. However in a text book move, from one side to the other and back again, saw right wing Ben Jones round the defence to score unopposed. With the TMO not available Pentyrch had drawn level 5-5 with the conversion missed. With their tails up, it seemed only a matter of time before Pentyrch got the winning score. However as the effort was upped it always seemed to be matched by that 'devine intervention' and the scoring opportunities were denied. With 5 minutes to go, the Llandaff outside half gained his 500th kicking metre of the game and a concerted chase led to a try under the posts which was converted. With 2 minutes left all the Pentyrch players tried to use the upsetting injustice to a postive effect and try and score but their chances were denied. From the coaches point of view it would have been a hugely encouraging performance but the disappointing point of view will be to see how the players reacted in not realising how well they had done. With text book attacking ploys, strong forward play throughout and all of the stand out performers on the day it was a let down not to win. However confidence and heart should be taken in huge doses as well as taking a huge step on the ecclesiastical learning curve of life.
Richard Brice
Friday 2nd September Pentyrch v Machen
Pentyrch 46 Machen 5
Try scorers
George Harris 2, Dylan Palmer 2, Ben Jones 2, Archie Torkington 1, Jordan Sakkas 1
Conversions
Carwyn Herbert 3 | | | |