Championship Division (West):

 

Otters gain last-ditch double and maintain their proud 100% record

 

Llangennech 15 - Narberth 18

 
Narberth had beaten Llangennech by 44-15 at home but knew they would face a tougher challenge from the second-placed outfit when they travelled away – and that is exactly what happened as The Otters trailed by four points with time running out but then struck from half-way as winger Dean James raced over the try line and man of the match Jonathan Rogers added the conversion to add insult to Llangennech injury!
 
What it did show was the never-say-die spirit established by coach Liam Gadd which has been taken on board by his squad, so that even the fact that they were without some key players those drafted in played with the same vigour to widen the gap at the top and Llangennech’s loss meant that Brecon was able to leap-frog them in the table. One of those stepping up was former centre Jack Price, now playing in Division Three (West) A with Pembroke Dock Harlequins, and he certainly played his part.
 
Yet it was the home side who held a deserved 12-3 interval advantage in continuous rain as prop Iestyn Lewis opened their account from close range before Steff Marshall converted, and after Otter No 10 Rogers had landed a penalty there was a second try from the homesters’ pacy backs as right winger John Davies sped over the line.
 
In a tight third quarter, Rogers and Marshall exchanged penalties but after bringing on Alex Williams and switching Lewys Gibby to the wing, the Otters excellent fitness levels paid off as they grabbed their first try when Rogers kicked play into the home 22 and from a scrum five the ball was given to the ubiquitous Gibby and he sliced over for a deserved unconverted try.
 
At 15-11 in front Llangennech played well in keeping The Otters out until the very last move of the match but then Narberth’s will to win saw them start a move near half way which ended in some excellent recycling in the foul conditions and good work by Alex Williams and Rogers saw ace try-grabber Dean James add another to his impressive tally this season as he dived over the line.
 
Rogers supplied the icing on the cake as he slotted the extra points with the final kick of the match to make it 15 wins in as many starts for The Otters – and a 12-point lead at the top of the table!!
 
Narberth: Ianto Griffiths: Dean James; Aled Rees; Jack Price; Josh Davies: Jonathan Rogers; Lewys Gibby: Bradley Davies; Kyle Hamer; Tom Slater: Will Blackburn; Rhys Williams: Richard Rees; Tom Powell (Capt); Roy Osborn. Replacements: Tom Clarke; Lewis Davies; Alex Jenkins; Josh Hamer; Alex Williams.






 

Quins gain revenge as Preseli Men miss out on a double

 

Maesteg Quins 21 - Crymych 17

 
Maesteg Quins played with a commitment beyond their place in the bottom two in the table as they gained revenge for a 24-33 reverse at Parc Lloyd Thomas earlier in the campaign building a 12-6 interval lead to confine Crymych to a rather disappointing losing bonus point, although the game was inevitably something of a lottery in the worsening conditions that tested both squads to the full.
 
The Quins grabbed a try by influential No 8 Travis Huntley alongside a penalty try before half time – whilst all Crymych could muster were two penalties from full back Adam Phillips, who had a solid game in defence as well as slotting four penalties alongside a good try by winger Laurence Headlam in the second period.
 
But The Preseli Men missed other half chances as they mishandled in the conditions and occasionally took the wrong option and although finishing a tantalizing score from victory couldn’t really complain about the final verdict as the hardy band of home supporters who braved the elements could celebrate a fourth win from 15 starts – and a closing of the gap between them and Ystalyfera above them!
 
Crymych: Adam Phillips: Ianto Davies; Tomos Phillips; Ifan Phillips; Laurence Headlam: Ifan Davies; Dafydd Phillips: Aled Hughes; Carwyn Rees; Alfie Evans-Fecci: Luke Freebury; Matthew Freebury: Osian Davies; Trystan Griffiths; Carwyn Phillips (Capt). Replacements: Lee Griffiths; Luke Griffiths-Dawes; Iestyn Wood; Sion Wilson; Tristan Jones.
 
 

Division One (West):

 

Borderers miss out to Joel’s boot

 

Whitland 8 - Waunarlwydd 12

 
Whitland produced another battling performance to score the only try of the game in testing conditions against Waunarlwydd, a team which had beaten them by 52-17 earlier in the campaign, but in the final analysis they had to settle for another losing bonus point when with a little luck they might have been celebrating victory.
 
They trailed by 8-8 at the break, with Zac France-Miller again on the try sheet as reward for his yeoman work at No 8 and full back Geraint Jones notching a penalty.
 
In response, Waun had three penalties from outside half Joel Marushke, who had played well in partnership with Rhys Morris as they tried hard to keep their forwards going forward – although they were pushed all the way by Raff Williams, skipper Benji Kirk and the rest of the Whitland forwards.
 
Marushke added his fourth three-pointer after the interval and Whitland had their chances to snatch victory but good defence in the worsening conditions by Chris Smith, Owain Green, Caradog Lloyd Maniewski and Sam Kirwan helped keep them out to deny The Borderers a victory to boost their run-in to the end of a long season.
 
Whitland:  Geraint Jones: Oli Bujega; Gino Setaro; Dom Davies; Trystan Rees: Jonathan Thomas; Rhys Nicholas: Morgan Thomas; Marc Jones; Trystan Bowen: Raff Williams; Benji Kirk (Capt): Lewis Tingay; Cian Evans; Zac France-Miller. Replacements: Sam Clarke; Luke Marsh; Owyn Griffiths; Dylan Kelly.
 
Waunarlwydd: Charlie Smith: Scott John; Kieryn Lewis; Owain Green; Rhodri Williams: Joel Marushke; Rhys Morris: Gruffudd Tomos; Andrew Lloyd; Peter Hinder: Sam Kirwan; Jac Meredith: Jacob Rees; Caradog Lloyd-Kaniewski; Marcus Besley. Replacements: Chris Seeley; Rhys Cherry; Daniel Moyle; James Cleary; Madoc Jenkins.
 
 

Division Two (West):

 

Seasiders claim a vital victory at Nant

 

Nantgaredig 8 - Tenby United 13

 
Tenby United had to battle all the way for victory against a determined Nantgaredig side who are never easy to overcome on their home territory and in doing so this was The Seasiders 11^th win in 14 starts and keeps them firmly in the top four but knowing that they have to keep winning tight tussles like this if they are to gain promotion.
 
The game also marked Dan Colley’s 200^th game for The Seasiders and the veteran No 8 maintained his impressive try-count for the campaign with a very import score.
 
Coach Jonathan Evans said afterwards that he had rarely seen such awful weather conditions and praised his players for sticking to their task throughout, with Rob Luly an example as he switched to second row from his regular front-row berth and joined skipper Luke Dedman in leading by example, with half backs Tom Lewis and Lloyd Thomas trying hard to keep their pack moving forward on an inevitably heavy pitch.
 
It was Thomas who kicked Th Seasiders in front with a penalty but Nant gave notice of intent as a well-worked lineout move near the Tenby line saw Simon O’Leary driven over in the corner for an unconverted try.
 
Then home full back Lloyd Williams slotted a penalty before Colley popped up at the end of some excellent Seasiders’ possession to score near enough to the posts for Thomas to add the extras and give them a 10-8 interval lead.
 
The second half showed both teams with total commitment but with handling errors aplenty and a stop-start format to play – and the only score came from a second Lloyd Thomas penalty.
 
But as coach Evans told us the game was a lottery in terms of who would make the fewer mistakes and he was relieved that his team had completed the double after previously winning 32-20 at Heywood Lane – and pouched the vital four points in such abject conditions!
 
Tenby United: Gwion Jones: Geraint Powell; Brad Cramb; Luke Waygood; Luke Hartland: Lloyd Thomas; Tom Lewis: George Rossiter; Kyle Rossiter; Ethan Morgan: Luke Dedman (Capt); Rob Luly: Tom Barrass; Jack Brown; Dan Colley. Replacements: Dan Allen; Rhys Grigg; Harry Rossiter; Jack Gooding; Will James; Frankie Boyd.




 

‘Jiffy’ earns Seagulls a late share of spoils

 

Fishguard & Goodwick 6 - Lampeter 6

 
Fishguard & Goodwick skipper James ‘Jiffy’ Griffiths landed two late penalties in horrendous conditions late on at The Moors to earn The Seagulls a merited share of the spoils against third-placed Lampeter in a match where both teams deserve credit for battling it out until the final whistle – as does young referee Joseph Kiff for preventing a mud bath turning into a blood bath on occasions as tempers flared and he ended up sending a player off from each team!
 
Lampeter certainly had the better of the first half as skipper Brynmor Jones, playing at centre instead of his usual back row berth, led by example and left winger Dan Morgan looked elusive despite the increasingly muddy state of the pitch alongside No 9 Curtis Ebsworth until he was forced to leave the field injured.
 
Outside half Osian Jones landed two penalties and Fishguard went close as centre Dylan Scott hacked a loose ball to the line but Morgan was back in time to clear.
 
It was a similar story after the interval as Fishguard had slightly the better of the elements but made handling errors as they tried to force their way over the line – but Lampeter then defended well and Griffiths missed two penalties from 22 and 35 metres as well as his team over-complicating line-out drives to the corner.
 
With six minutes left he again opted for a shot at goal and his penalty slid the right side of the crossbar – and three minutes later he took his fourth penalty kick with some supporters calling for another kick to the corner and line-out drive but he decided to try for a draw and belted the ball over from almost 40 metres.
 
And so honours ended even but in view of the conditions it was a game where a draw was the best result – although The Seagulls avenged their previous 31-7 loss at Lampeter and certainly didn’t look like a side places below their opponents in the table!
 
Fishguard & Goodwick:  Creegan Foot: Ed Bendall; Dylan Scott; James Griffiths (Capt); Osian Lewis: Jake Jenkins; Max Jones: Will Delaney; Liam Wilkes; Iwan McVeigh: Ben John; Cai Llewellyn: Will Lewis; Sion Colella; Jac Delaney. Replacements: Osian Rowe; Gavin Walsh; Ryan McVeigh; Steve Goss; Kial Keene.





 
 

Mariners miss out after recent good performances

 

Milford Haven 8 - Mumbles 15

 
 
Milford Haven went into their home game with Mumbles in confident mood after recent good wins over Pontyberem and Amman United alongside a last-gasp defeat at leaders St Clears, but they were unable to replicate that sort of play against a Mumbles’ side who started the match two places below The Mariners but adapted to the poor conditions better and completed the double after an easy 43-7 success when the teams last met.
 
Mumbled led 15-5 at half time through to two tries, a conversion and a penalty but with second use of the prevailing conditions a try late in the half by influential Mariners’ skipper Zac Davies from a well-controlled drive to the line gave them hope of a seventh win and a climb into the top half of the table.
 
And The Mariners had chances but things didn’t quite go to plan as some solid defence by Mumbles alongside errors by Milford at key times, saw the minutes tick away with nothing to show for their efforts.
 
In the final moments they were awarded a penalty and sensibly decided to let winger James Trueman take the penalty to earn them a deserved bonus point – which he slotted to give The Mariners at least something for their considerable efforts in defeat.
 
Milford Haven: James Williams: Robbie Jones; Efan Morgan Dan Jenkins; James Trueman: Ollie Rothero; Danny McClelland: Ben Jenkins; Luke Ryan; Aaron Mayne: Jay Goodall; Dai Sweeny: Zac Davies (Capt); Ieuan Davies; Scott Buirds. Replacements: Ethan Aldred; Ryan Williams; Lee Riley; Dean McSparron; Jamie Lewis.


 
 

Division Three (West) A:

 





 

Saints’ success over The Scarlets earns them the Willington Slate

 

St Davids 31 - Pembroke 24

 
The Willington Slate trophy is now in the hands of St Davids after the home side held on to beat Pembroke in a game that defied the atrocious conditions, having already won 12-7 at Crickmarren, writes Fraser Watson.
 
The Saints scored five tries and looked home and dry, metaphorically at least, when the visitors were awarded a late penalty try that set up a frantic finish. But it was Morgan Griffiths and co who secured a second straight league win against the Scarlets, and end of run of three agonising bonus point defeats.
 
There was a poignant moment before the game when Pembroke RFC member Darrell Willington was handed the match ball by St Davids RNLI member William Chant, after it made the journey from Angle Lifeboat Station to St Justinians in St Davids the morning of the match. It was part of a fundraising effort for the RNLI in memory of Gareth and Dan Willington, whose family has very strong links with Pembroke RFC and who the annual trophy is played for after they tragically died at sea in 2016.
 
And when the action did get going it was the Saints who struck first when Pembroke No.10 Luke Alderwick spilt a ball near his own line, and Zak Morgan hacked on before diving on the loose ball to score.
 
Jack Jones missed the conversion and Alderwick was then off-target with a penalty but the away side duly responded through outstanding No.8 Robin Badham, who crashed over following a quick-tap penalty. Alderwick added the extras but the lead was short lived, as at the other end it was No.8 Jones who went over for a try he also converted.
 
The home lead became 17-7 when Jones again did damage, breaking from a scrum and slipping a pass for scrum half Morgan to go over in the corner - but Pembroke replied with a five pointer of their own before the break as veteran second row Scott Powell rounded off a series of pick-and-go’s to score.
 
The back-and fore scoring continued in the second half as home prop Ben Lloyd picked a superb line 30 metres out and after ghosting through a gap, went under the posts unopposed for Jones to convert. But after player-coach Griffiths himself was dubiously sin-binned, Pembroke again responded as winger Barry Alderman-John crossed out wide after linking with Badham.
 
As the half wore on the Pembroke scrum became dominant, but St Davids seemingly got the breathing space they needed when outstanding second row George Raymond powered over and Jones did well to convert.
 
But from 31-17 down, Pembroke secured themselves two losing bonus points. Powell went close again as he was hauled down inches short, but after a series of pressure scrums the Scarlets were awarded a seven-pointer still with time left on the clock. Their final attack was turned over by the Saints though and replacement Aaron Foster duly booted the ball off the park to seal an enthralling win.
 
Morgan Griffiths said afterwards: “It was a tough game and Pembroke really brought a good attitude and determination. But we were good enough to hold them off and after a frustrating couple of games we deserved the five points.”
 
St Davids: Luke Bamford: Harvey Lavin; Ben Joyce; Will Savage’ Bob Froy: Morgan Griffiths; Zac Morgan: Ethan Griffiths; Adam Williams; Ben Lloyd: George Raymond; James Goldsmith: Aled Davies; Nathan Foster; Jack Jones. Replacements: Ryan John; Gethin Bateman; Rhys Symonds; Michael Gurney; Aaron Foster.
 
Pembroke: Barrie Alderman-John: Darcy Langstone; Charlie Sheils; Rhys Marchant; Josh Griffiths: Luke Alderwick; Rhys John: Lloyd Davies (Capt); Dan Gosnold; Jamie Brayford: Will Edwards; Dai Beynon: Jordan Evans; Rhodri Walters; Robin Badham. Replacements: D Jackson, M Rees; P Muller; E Lewis.
 

All Blacks win – but lose key players through injury

 

Llanybydder 8 - Neyland 15

 
Neyland made the long journey into Mid Wales to play Llanybydder and completed the double after a 44-10 home win but it was achieved at a cost as they lost three players through injury in an absorbing encounter that was a credit to both clubs as they battled to overcome the conditions.
 
The All Blacks played against the elements in a tight first half but led 5-3 thanks ton unconverted try by excellent skipper Owain Evans from a well-controlled lineout drive – but Llan responded with a penalty from Llyr Tobias as their reward for a period of pressure.
 
Neyland had a second try by skipper Evans and added a third from outstanding prop Ben James, who played well alongside Alex Swales, Iestyn Evans, Mark James and Andrew Slark – but after losing place kicker George Evans in the first period then lost young winger Jasper Endean (hip) and influential forward Iestyn Evans later on.
 
Llanybydder reduced the deficit with an unconverted try by Josh Jones but were unable to add any further scores, although they picked up a losing bonus point – and this sixth success of the season kept The All Blacks in sixth place, with the chance of improving their status if they can maintain this sort of commitment to their cause.
 
Neyland (from):  Owain Evans (Capt); Callum O’Riorden; Matthew Coles; Jasper Endean; Joel Thomas; Lewis Hallett; Kieron Cookson; Alex Codd; George Evans; Owen Hamer; Iestyn Evans; Mark James; Andrew Slark; Ben James; Alex Swales; Ebenezer Sokoiwasa; Simon Phillips.
 

Six-tries Cardigan defy the mud to stay in contention

 

Pembroke Dock Harlequins 12 Cardigan 38

 
Cardigan maintained their thrust for promotion with a six-try victory over Pembroke Dock Harlequins as they defied the inevitably heavy conditions to prove too strong for the home side, who never gave up battling away but were already 19-7 down at the interval and never looked like catching up.
 
The Teifisiders had already beaten The Quins by 41-0 at The King George Vth Playing Fields and looked assured of the double as they claimed early tries by skipper Emyr Harries and hooker Luke Palmer-Davies, the second converted by Shaun Leonard before the outside half added a further seven points as he rounded off a sustained period of pressure.
 
But The Quins kept plugging away and were rewarded near half time when good handling allowed winger Sam ‘Rasher’ James to score a try which full back Ben Hathaway converted.
 
Cardigan started the second period well as hooker Palmer-Davies rounded off another concerted forward drive but again The Quins fought back as Craig Barnett and Morgan Rogers caught the eye and a clever cross kick by Aaron James allowed Hathaway to cross for a try which he was unable to convert.
 
But home hopes were soon dashed as Cardigan raised the tempo again, despite the cloying conditions and dynamic flanker Aaron Tomkinson and No 8 Tom Taylor crossed the whitewash, with conversions by Tomkinson and Leonard to complete the scoring and help The Teifisiders to a deserved bonus-point victory.
 
Pembroke Dock Harlequins: Ben Hathaway: Owain Turner; Gethin Bradney; Aaron James; Sam ‘Rasher’ James: Craig Barnett; Morgan Rogers: Rob Clarke; George Bellmaine; Dan McLeod: Taylor Rees; Andrew Edwards: Callum Jones; Jordan Palmer; Ryan Gammer. Replacements: Alfie Ball; Lewys Scourfield; Rhys Doyle; Danny Wilkes; Josh Thomas.
 
Cardigan: John Lumb: Alun Jenkins; Marcus Castle; Emyr Harries (Capt); Jack Taylor: Shaun Leonard; Llyr Jones: Nathan Bowen; Luke Palmer-Davies; Ben Cox: Sion Phillips; Dean Harries: Aaron Tomkinson; Jackson Tucker Lynch; Tom Taylor. Replacement: Will Brice; Ben Hughes; Kester Adams; Jac Davies; Iwan John. Travelling Reserves: Rhodri Davies; Kieran Greenland.
 
 
 

Top match called off – ground unfit to play

 

Haverfordwest P Aberaeron P

 
Haverfordwest: Ollie Roberts:  Jack Evans; jake Evans; Iestyn Arnold; Scott Candler; Liam Eaton; Lee Summons; Dan Berry; Jamie Zambas; Terry Lovell: Jack Clancy; Karl Busch (Capt): Mike Griffiths; Matty Phillips; Jonathan Mason. Replacements: Ben Llewellyn; Rhydian Watkins; Paul Dungey; Jake Robers; Johnny White.
 
Aberaeron: Morgan Llewellyn (Capt): Dyfrig Dafis; Ollie Sawyer; Rhodri Jenkins; Steffan Jones: Steffan Rees; Owain Watson: Owain Wozencroft; Rhyan Williams; Alex Danton: Richard Francis; Bleddyn Thomas: Bruce Gaskell; Hefin Williams; Will James. Replacements: Rhys Jones; Ceri Davies; Osian Davies; Gethin Dafis; Matthew Harries.