THE 66th running of the Old Penarthians Seven-a-Side tournament took place on Saturday, May 16, at Cwrt-y-Vil Playing Fields and true to form the sun shone, the crowds turned up and the Sevens was of the highest quality.

After a few wet days leading up to the event there were some worried looks on the faces of the organising committee under the chairmanship of Jon Vaughan but those concerns were blown away by the westerly winds that were the only blemish on an otherwise perfect day. It did mean that some of the spectators went away a little redder that they had anticipated but a good day out was had by all.

Unlike last year when there were three late team withdrawals, this time there was only one team unavailable. This meant that the tournament reverted to its familiar knock-out format with first round winners progressing in the Main Cup Competition and their defeated opponents passing into the Plate Competition.

As has become the norm the competition was preceded by an exhibition game of tag rugby given by the Old Penarthians very successful U7s and U8s teams. In advance of that there had been a training session for the U6s development squad which ensured a full contingent of parents and supporters throughout the day. If their numbers and tents get much bigger they will be competing with the main sponsors’ marquee which was again a great success under the management of Neil Warren

The absence of one team meant that the first game on pitch one was not as scheduled and Glantaf Goats were awarded a bye straight through to the second round of the main competition. It meant that the first game on pitch 1 was played between Clwb Rygbi and Old Cantonians, who along with the hosts are the only ever present side in the competition

Next up were last year’s beaten semi-finalists Welsh Charitables who defeated Cardiff & District OB to ensure they remained on course for a rematch with the opponents who beat them last year, Glantaf Goats

Other first round winners saw victories for last year’s winners, Voyagers, Llandovery OB and newcomers Shangri La Squirrels (based around the successful Rhiwbina squad) and Glamorgan Wanderers. The other game in the first round was between Old Penarthians under the leadership of Chris Poole and Breakthrough, a team of Fijians returning to the tournament after a year away. The quality of the physical playing style of the opposition was unfortunately too good for the Old Pens and there was an early exit to the Plate completion.

Stanwell School OB were also making their tournament debut and although first round losers it was good to see a high proportion of the team had passed through the Stanwell education system to progress to play for Penarth Youth and ultimately the Penarth RFC 1st XV.

The second round of the Main Competition generally went the way of the seeded teams with Welsh Charitables, Glantaf Goats and Voyagers progressing to the semi-finals. The final match however saw something of a surprise with Shangri La defeating Breakthrough by 5 points in a very tight game. Breakthrough have however promised to return next season with a younger and stronger team

In the Plate completion there were wins for St Josephs, St Peters, featuring two players who represented their native Uganda at the Sevens tournament that formed part of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Glamorgan Wanderers and Old Penarthians. The Old Pens winning a very tight game in the last couple of minutes when from within his own half Chris Poole kicked ahead and backed his own pace to collect the bouncing ball and race under the posts to score.

Unfortunately in the semi-final of the Plate it was heartbreak for Old Pens who had fought back from an early deficit to lead by 19 points to 14 through tries from Chris Roberts, Chris Thau and inevitably Chris Poole but with the last play of the match St Peters broke the Old Penarthians defensive line to score under the posts and with the successful conversion win the game. The second Plate semi-final was won by the other catholic Old Boys team as St Josephs defeated Old Cantonians.

The first semi-final of the Cup Competition saw Glantaf Goats again play Welsh Charitables but on this occasion the Charitables ran out the victors by 27 points to7. The other semi saw Voyagers defeat Shangri La by a similar scoreline of 21 points to 5.

After a break to allow the finalists in each of the competitions to get their breath back it was the Plate final between St Peters and St Josephs. The game started in a slightly one-sided fashion with St Josephs taking an 18-point lead but to their credit St Peters fought back and in a very high scoring game were unlucky to lose by 40 points to 33

The final of the Cup Competition was arguably between the best two teams at the tournament and therefore it was fitting that they should compete in front of a large crowd. It was a match played at high tempo, with thumping tackles and quality skills at ball retention and attacking flair. There was hardly a bad pass or knock on in the whole game and the fitness of all the players representing The Welsh Charitables and the Voyagers was outstanding. There could however only be one winner and in the end and Charitables ran out worthy champions by 41 points to 20.

After the match the presentations were made to the winning and losing finalists of the Plate and Main Cup competitions by Old Penarthians Chairman Jon Vaughan. Jon also presented the Man of the Tournament to Sam Evans of the Welsh Charitables who plies his trade in the 15-man game for Llanelli RFC.

Main event results.

Round 1: Ysgol Glantaf Goats. bye; Old Cantonians 5, Clwb Rygbi 51; Welsh Charitables 55, Cardiff & District O.B. 10; St. Josephs 26. Llandovery OB 31; Old Penarthians 7 Breakthrough 26; Hen Fois y Fro 19, Shangri La Squirrels 21; Voyagers 34, St Peters 0; Stanwell School OB 7, Glamorgan Wanderers 49.

Round 2: Ysgol Glantaf Goats. 49, Clwb Rygbi 7; Welsh Charitables 52 Llandovery OB 7; Breakthrough 12, Shangri La Squirrels 17; Voyagers 29 Glamorgan Wanderers 0.

Semi-finals: Ysgol Glantaf Goats 7, Welsh Charitables 27; Shangri La Squirrels 5, Voyagers 21.

Final: Welsh Charitables 41, Voyagers 20.

Plate Round 1: Old Cantonians, bye; Cardiff & District O.B. 14, St. Josephs 31; Hen Fois y Fro 14, Old Penarthians 21; St Peters 33, Stanwell School OB 5.

Plate Semi-finals: Old Cantonians, 0, St. Josephs 50; Old Penarthians 19, St Peters 21.

Plate Final: St. Josephs 40, St Peters 33.

The chairman’s last action of his very busy day was to draw the winning raffle ticket for the signed Wales rugby shirt, the proceeds of which were for the ongoing club refurbishment fund. The happy recipient was Mr Hooper of Wordsworth Avenue, Penarth.