PWLLHELI could have few complaints after visitors Penallta fully deserved to reach their quarter-finals of the WRU Plate with a convincing 25-0 win at Bodegroes last weekend.

They took their opportunities well, and their all round play really was top notch.

Pwllheli are renowned for their strong defence, but lessons will be learned from the structure and organisation that Penallta demonstrated throughout.

In front of a bumper crowd of over 300, with good support from the visitors, Pwllheli started with the wind in the first half, but they were rocked in the first minute. Penallta fielded a kick, shifted the ball along their backs and created an overlap, which put wing Aaron Owen in the clear.

His pace took him beyond the despairing cover and he triumphantly touched down in the corner. The conversion attempt drifted wide in the swirling wind.

The Llyn side responded positively and took the game to the visitors. In the set Pwllheli had the edge, and their scrum put pressure on Penallta ball, but their No 8 efficiently tidied up any loose ball.

Seven minutes in, Pwllheli were awarded a penalty and chose to kick for touch.

Winning the line-out, they edged towards the Penallta line; the driving maul collapsed and Pwllheli were awarded the scrum. The put-in was delayed, but Pwllheli were penalised for early engagement.

There were a number of stoppages, which impacted on Pwllheli’s momentum. The hosts were awarded a series of kicks, but they still went for touch and Penallta’s organised defence held each time.

Pwllheli’s best opportunity of the half came from a Carwyn ap Myrddin run.

Clever inter-passing put the hosts in the red zone, but two metres from their line a thunderous tackle dislodged the ball from the attacker’s grasp, and the line was cleared following the ensuing scrum.

Despite the opportunities, half-time came with Pwllheli trailing by five points.

The second period saw Penallta make effective use of the wind, but again Pwllheli were knocked back in the first minutes.

When Penallta won the ball from a scrappy line-out, they moved left and were able to create space for their fine full back Lawrence Pritchard to beat the defence for an unconverted try in the corner.

Three minutes later, Penallta decided to kick for goal rather than go for touch from their own half, and Lawrence Prichard’s huge kick bisected the posts for 13-0 lead.

It got worse still for the home team when the visiting team beat the cover defence for wing Aaron Owen to score his second try, and Pritchard added the conversion.

Pwllheli rallied and they had their chances to reduce the deficit, but Penallta held and they twisted the knife in when Pritchard scored a breakaway try on 30 minutes, but failed to covert his score.

Once again Pwllheli showed their character and came close twice to scoring, but the superb Penallta defence held the line.

Pwllheli must now put the defeat behind them as they prepare for another challenging match with Division One North leaders Nant Conwy at Bodgroes on Saturday.