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In their final league game Penlan logged up some outstanding achivements in their home game against Llandybie.  In their 14th. game without a try scored against them, they notched up 6 tries to reach a final magic 100 league points in their 100th game in the Swalec League.

With 6 tries on the board against Llandybie they also reached an impressive 600 tries in their Swalec League history with just 75 tries conceded and were 14 league points ahead of no. 2 table placed Tycroes.  This season Penlan have scored 93 tries with just 10 against.  There were 14 games in which they conceded no tries and just 8 when they had one try against them.  There was just game with 2 tries against them which was when the majority of the players were attending a team wedding and Cwmgors had refused to re-arrange.  Recent games have all been hard with teams out to make a mark on Penlan.  Last week we sustained two bad injuries, a brken leg to Adam Glover and a broken arm to young full-back Luke Davies.


It was a fine sunny day as referee Andrew Alsept from Cardiff got the game underway with a good turn out of spectators.  

First points went to Llandybie by Penlan conceding two penalties within the first 10 minutes but just 5 minutes later the home side landed their first try.  Penlan won their scrum on the Llandybie 5m line and determined rucking pushed the defence back which led to No. 8 Robert Di’Lulio grounding the ball to make it 5 to 6.

Just before 30 minutes Penlan had a scrum on the visitors 22 from which they made fast ground forward thanks to scrum-half Bobby Scrine and prop Callum Llewellyn.  The ball reached flanker Rob Green who advanced towards the goal-line before off-loading back to Bobby Scrine who landed the try and put Penlan in front by 10 to 6.

Just before the half time whistle Penlan won their scrum on the visitors 5m line from which Robert Di’Lulio advanced to the line before a fast timely off-load to captain and flanker Ian Scrine who was unstoppable as he landed the ball near the goalpost.  Winger Stuart James made the safe conversion to give Penlan the 17 to 6 lead at half-time.

Half time reflection and it was clear that Penlan were having another hard game.  Llandybie had come determined to run the champions to the wire and even though last but one in the table, intent on making an end of season impression.  Penlan’s defence was resolute though and they were playing well at all phases.

Determined though they were there was to be no respite for the visitors as just after 5 minutes second row Luke Mooney won ball from a Penlan lineout on the Llandybie 22 line.  Some fast passing in mid-field led to a determined Penlan ruck for the line which pushed the defence back enough to allow Robert Di’Lulio to land his second try and make it a 22 to 6 Penlan lead.

Llandybie worked hard to set up their own attacks but the Penlan defence was just too strong and at 20 minutes another attack from the visitors 22 line led to another rolling maul for the line with top try scorer, flanker Robert Green, landing his 17th. try of the season.  With another safe kick from Stuart James Penlan pushed the score to 29 – 6 for Penlan.

At 30 minutes Penlan landed their 6th try after constant attacking from both the forwards and backs that gained ground into visitors territory.  The ball reached outside half Lee Banfield who proved that he could do what, as backs coach, he preached.  A fast sprint and he was through the remaining defence to fly over the goal-line and make the final score 34 to 6.

Man of the match was prop Callum Llewellyn for his determination throughout the game.  Thanks Colin Rush for your photos which are shown on our Gallery with some others from me.  Great to see our local hero Liam Williams watching the game on Saturday and taking the time to put in some practise with one of our younger supporters.  Crowned the Scarlets player’s player of the year Liam was presented with a rather smart wristwatch to mark the occasion.  He was getting rather fed up after a while by all his Penlan mates asking him how long was left in the game but they are all very proud of him.  Congratulations Liam.

A fantastic evening followed our last game with Llandybie taking part in the traditional after game drinking games - never mind who won, it was an enjoyable night.  It got even better when club Treasurer Leighton Quinn, on behalf of sponsors Advanced Heating Wales, put on a free bar for all the players.  It was greatly appreciated and taken advantage of by the boys, thanks Leighton.

Now the season has closed and Penlan look forward to even bigger challenges in Division 4 next season.  New teams and new locations come along with the promotion and it just what players and spectators have been longing for.  

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The WRU on their website have paid tribute to Penlan RFC as champions of Division 5 South West in their report of last Saturday's memorable presentation.

Their report by Graeme Gillespie says :-

Can their ever have been a more consistent, clinical and successful side in SWALEC National League history than the newly crowned Division 5 South West champions Penlan ?

In a mere five seasons in the WRU system they have played 99 league matches, won 93, drawn one and lost only five times. They have been crowned champions three times in those five seasons, lost a fourth title in controversial circumstances after failing to complete their final fixture following an unbeaten run in their previous 21 games and finished third in the other campaign.

Not content with having a 94% success rate since joining SWALEC Division 6 West in 2007/08, they have run in an incredible 594 tries and conceded only 75. The sharpest attack and the meanest defence in the business!

Skipper Ian Scrine, in his eighth season in charge at the club, was delighted to be able to cast aside the memories of just missing out on promotion last year while his team marched inexorably to the SWALEC Division 5 South West this season. The title was safely secured with a 43-6 home win over Baglan last weekend and there is one final fling to look forward to on Saturday.

The season will come to a close at Mynydd Newydd Playing Fields with Llandybie the visitors. Penlan were 35-14 winners in the away game and in their 100th SWALEC National League match will be looking to maintain their proud record of having scored 100 or more tries in every league season.

They have scored 97 so far this season - the club motto is, rather aptly, 'To Try is to Succeed' - and they will also be seeking to notch 100 league points for the first time in their history. A bonus point victory will take them to the century mark and end their 45th year in style.

"The attitude of the boys has been a lot better this year. We've had a lot more out training every week and a squad has been stronger," said skipper Scrine, whose dream has always been to lead the club into SWALEC Division 4.

"I think we're really confident about going up, but we know we'll be the underdogs next season. Hopefully, we can attract some new players and, if we can do that, I believe we can do quite well.

"Kurt Velardo has had a brilliant season for us. He's only 23, and has played mainly in the second row, but his game has really improved. He's only been with the club for two years but he hasn't missed a training session, is one of our main ball carriers and there has been a lot of improvement in his game."

Head Coach Mark Llewellyn has enjoyed his debut season in charge at the club, but doesn't want the players to rest on one promotion. He wants to use this season as a catalyst for further rises through the SWALEC ranks.

"I'm hoping that promotion will increase our chances of attracting new players. I've already had at least six phone calls from players who are interested in playing for us next season and I know there are a lot more," said Llewellyn.

"Our defence has played a huge part in our success this season and we've had a lot of push over tries even though we have quite a small pack. But we all know we've got to hit the ground running next season if we are going to push for another promotion. The key thing

To see the item jamong the latest SWALEC Leagues news just click on the website link below.  

http://www.wru.co.uk/eng/club/swalecleagues/latest_news.php

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Already Swalec Division 5 South West Champions, Penlan were presented with their WRU trophy after their home 7 try win against Baglan in their penultimate fixture.  They secured a 43 to 6 point win against a Neath team that had no intention of giving them an easy end of season game.  In the final analysis Baglan were no match for Penlan who seem to get better in every game they play.  

It was a fine but slightly cloudy day at Mynydd Newydd as Baglan kicked off to start the game under the control of referee Mr. Richard Brace from Maesteg.  The Neath visitor’s side had quite a few changes since our away fixture and they went all out from the off to gain dominance.  The play was fast and furious and within two minutes flanker Adam Glover was being helped off the field with an ankle injury that ended his game for the season.  

Initially Penlan were forced to pull out all the stops and in a fast first 15 minutes were under pressure, giving away a penalty in front of the posts.  They were stung by the slender lead and the Penlan play went up a notch pushing the visitors to their 5 metre line. Winning the ball from their lineout the pack set up a classic rolling maul with their pressure being too much for Baglan.  It fell to hooker Dean Davies to safely land Penlan’s first try and put them ahead 5 to 3.

At 22 minutes another Baglan penalty edged them back in front by a point and constant pressure from Penlan was held at bay for a while.  Then at 35 minutes some fast and accurate attacking by the Penlan backs advanced the ball well into Baglan territory with centre James Jenkins providing some sound cover. Finally the ball reached winger Jason Garmey who made an awesome sprint up the wing to land a try near the corner flag.  Outside half Scott Davies made a superb conversion to put the home side back in front at 12 to 6.

The Penlan team was back in the driving seat and left Baglan no time to recover when just 3 minutes later the backs had set up another rolling maul which was unstoppable with No. 8 Robert Di’Lulio touching down for try number 3.  Scott Davies took the safe conversion to make it a 19 – 6 lead at the half-time whistle.

Both teams reflected on their performance and took on some welcome refreshment and advice in the break but for Penlan it was to be more of the same.  In just 7 minutes Penlan took a quick penalty and advanced the ball up the wing leading to a maul for the line that saw second-row Kurt Velardo landing Penlan’s fourth bonus point winning try.  Conversion number three made it 26 to 6.

The onslaught continued despite Baglan’s desperate attempts to stem the tide and at 12 minutes another rolling maul was formed after a lineout on the visitor’s 22.  The Penlan strength overwhelmed the defence and it was scrum-half Bobby Scrine who took the ball across to push the lead to 31 to 6.
Just 5 minutes later there was a Baglan lineout on their 22m line which was ably won by Penlan. Fast passing across field got the ball from Scott Davies to centre James Jenkins who made great ground for the line before a fast off-load to full-back Luke Davies who sprinted over the try line.  Brother Scott Davies made another skilful conversion kick to extend the home lead to 38 to 6.

The Baglan side valiantly attempted to play as a team and find a way through but the close-knit Penlan side were playing a true team game which was a pleasure to watch. They had done more than enough but had more to give and in the dying moments of the game landed their seventh try.  Some fast and skilful passing between James Jenkins and flanker/captain Ian Scrine got the ball to Dean Davies who off-loaded to winger Jason Garmey who sprinted clear and over the line to land his second try and make the final Penlan score 43 to 6.  It was a fine win that was a classic performance by the Division 5 South West champions and put them 9 points ahead of second place Tycroes with one last game still to play.  Man of the match was deservedly made to second row Kurt Velardo but with the close team game being played at the moment there were many fine individual displays.  

As the players left the pitch they were presented with their Division 5 South West Championship trophy by District E representative Richard Gwynn on behalf of the WRU.  As you can imagine the champagne was shooting everywhere and it was a great sporting gesture as well by Baglan who stood and applauded the Penlan players alongside the home supporters.

More festivities followed but Penlan is acutely aware that we have one more game to complete the season next week and that will be home to Llandybie.  Although lying in last but one table place, Llandybie we know will be out to make their mark while Penlan dare to hope that they can secure a final win, maybe with 5 points to make their final point total a magic 100 points.  In another game of interest, Chinwig reports that Gorseinon beat Penclawdd by 38 to 11 in the final of the Swansea & District Gowerton Danks Cup.

The WRU official photographer was on hand to record the presentation for their website and the local press.  Also present was our faithful resident photographer Colin Rush who provided the great photographs that we are now posting on the gallery.  Following our website changes the Gallery has now been re-established and many of our game fixtures have been posted there.  With players wishing to have their photo taken with the trophy, Colin made a point of recording the sets of brothers that we have playing in the team as shown below.

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The Swansea & District Rugby Union Annual Presentation Dinner will be held at Bonymaen RFC on Friday 18th. May 2012 - tickets £10.  Penlan players and members wishing to attend should contact Mike Thomas by Sat 12th. May.