Penallta played their last game of the season  already having been relegated back to Division Two East & maybe this had some bearing on the outcome of the game.  This and the fact that Rumney came with several of their players also having played the night before for their second team and a line up that consisted of less than 50% of the players from our first Div One encounter.  The Penallta teamsheet was made up of the same blend of youth & experience of previous games with the addition of some 'fresh blood' on the bench and a familiar face in the form of Shaun Powell - making his first appearance for his 'home' club this season.

The match started in the rain - what happened to a pleasant early summer evening of rugby?  - and first blood went to Rumney when Penallta were penalised for holding after 10 minutes.  The referee's whistle was the star of the first half as both sides repeatedly infringed & the game never really got off  the ground.

From Penallta v Rumney 7 May

  Rumney had the better of the possession but some determined defence by the Pitmen kept the scoreline to 3 points to nil.

Less than half an hour into the game Rumney were again threatening the Penllta line when an ankle injury to winger Lee Thomas forced the early introduction into the game of Curly - sending a buzz around the Penallta faithful.  

From Penallta v Rumney 7 May

From the next play, Penallta were running from deep when the ball was blatently knocked on by a Rumney hand.  Rumney centre Mike Bendon astutely played the whistle and pounced on the ball  over the line. To the surprise of even the away supporters, a try was awarded and Penallta found themselves staring at a 10 point deficit.

Worse was to come 5 minutes later when Curly was sin binned for an illegal tackle - one in which he suffered a broken arm - and the Pitmen were down to 14 men.  Penallta held on until half time with the scoreline at 10 points to nil.  Veteran Lee Acreman lead the half time team talk & the faithful could only hope that another second half drubbing was not on the cards.  

With Richard Rowe replacing the injured Powell - Penallta attacked from the restart and within 2 minutes a break & offload from Steve Richards saw winger James Powell dance through the Rumney defence with some footwork reminiscent of the 'old days' to score under the posts.  With Steve Davies duly converting, Penallta were back in the game.  

From Penallta v Rumney 7 May

For once Penallta were able to maintain the pressure following a score and continued to press the Rumney line for the next few minutes.  Some quick thinking from Steve Davies following a 10 yard penalty for back chat saw him dive over the Rumney line from close range - sending a Rumney player to the sin bin in the process.  The home team now had their noses in front 12 points to 10.

The visitors were obviously tiring & the Penallta forwards took advantage of this, playing with aggression and attitude.  Dale & Andrew Powell tackled tirelessly and the jumpers secured good line out ball.  

From Penallta v Rumney 7 May

From one such lineout, captain Dale used his strength to break through the defence and finished his season in typical form by sprinting in for his 51st Penallta try.

From Penallta v Rumney 7 May

With Rumney again reduced to 14 men for killing the ball, Davies slotted over a penalty to increase the lead to 20 points to 10 with a little over 10 minutes remaining.  

From Penallta v Rumney 7 May

Penallta rang the changes up front bringing on prop Palmer and youth team players Purnell & Dix.  Penallta appeared to be relishing the 'no pressure' game and were now running the ball with flair despite the windy conditions.  A classic scrum half break from Howie Walsh set up Steve Richards  (showing that experience still counts) to slip a perfectly timed pass in midfield to No 8 Geraint Thomas who used his loping stride to score Penallta's fourth try for only their second try bonus of the season.

Rumney Teamsheet : 15.Ben Morris 14.Lincoln Plummer 13.Danny Clark 12.Michael Bendon 11.Richard Read 10.Anthony Solomon 9.Rob Jones 1.John Leadbeatter 2.Michael Feneck 3.Darren Fenton 4.Paul Bull 5.Joe Mills
6.Ryan Sutton 7.Simon Barry 8.Matthew Way
Replacements : 16.David Evans 17.Colin O'Donoghue 18.Emyr James 19.Chris Milton 20.Lewis Fox