PHOTOS:
Fishguard scrum half Alun George sets his backs in motion
Fingertip control for Fishguard by Richard Hunter
Sam Smith on a charge for the Scarlets
Sam Kurtz celebrates his try

 

Featured Match:

 

Super Seagulls slam Scarlets in first half

Fishguard & Goodwick 50 - Pembroke 19

Section leaders Fishguard and Goodwick sounded a clarion call to the other teams in this division as they served up as good a first half display as coaches Huw Evans and Nathan Jenkins could wish for against a bemused Pembroke side which was in second spot but found themselves 21 points adrift after 15 minutes and losing 38-0 at half time.

To be fair to the Scarlets they didn’t allow the Seagulls to walk all over them again in the second period and a smashing hat-trick of tries by powerhouse centre Mark Williams meant they actually scored more points in the second half than Fishguard did!

Scarlets surrender to a try blitz

The home side served notice of intent early on when winger Matthew George went close but with Alun George and James Griffiths orchestrating some powerful forward surges it was George who scored the opening try from a scoring pass by skipper Simon James, followed almost straight from the kick-off as outstanding flanker Chris Shousha blitzed his way through some ineffectual tackling.

Ed Bendall and especially Ben John then combined to put Mike Jenkins in at the corner before full back Bendall also got on the try sheet as James Griffiths converted all four tries and notched a penalty!

Then Sam Kurtz rounded off the first-half scoring with a corner try after some lovely handling amongst forwards and backs, and Griffiths almost inevitably converted.

Pembroke battle hard after the oranges

Sam Smith, Dom Colman and skipper Max Hayward led the Pembroke counter after the break and Mark Williams opened their account before the Seagulls came back with a try by replacement forward Mel McVeigh.
Williams added two more tries as reward for the Scarlets’ persistence, his third set up by a lovely flat pass from Billy Wood.

Shaun Dalling converted two of them but the Seagulls had the final word when Griffiths waltzed through the middle and added the simple conversion to give his side a half century of points and a big win in the circumstances.

Fishguard & Goodwick: Ed Bendall: Sam Kurtz, Mike Jenkins; Ben John, Matthew George: James Griffiths; Alun George: Gerwyn Davies; Gavin Walsh; Andrew Morrillo: Richard Hunter; Gwilym Evans: Owain Morgans; Chris Shousha; Simon James. Replacements: Melvyn McVeigh; Mark George; Randall Williams; Dai Evans; Gareth Adamson.

Pembroke: Toby Williams: Barry John; Shaun Dalling; Mark Williams; Rhys Johns: James Davies; James Skeels: Sean Willington; Max Hayward; Rob Hearn: Scott Powell; Cyle Weatherall: Dom Colman; Steve Dyde; Sam Smith. Replacements: Jamie Bradford; Jordan Gwilliam; Billy Wood; Rob Jones; Owain Johns.

Referee: Mike Bulpitt (Bynea)



 

Championship:

 

Otters come back well after the break

Narberth 30 - Glynneath 21

Narberth showed their battling qualities as they raised the second-half tempo to come back from a one-point deficit against Glynneath to gain their seventh win and move into fourth place in the table.

It was the visitors who took an early six-point lead from two penalties by centre Jack O’Reilly and after Ianto Griffiths had slotted a penalty for the Otters the first try of the game fell to the visitors as winger Steffan Stone rounded off a good handling move.

But the Otters had the final word in a tight half when No 8 Steff Phillips crossed for a try which Ianto Griffiths converted.

In a bright start to the second period, winger Nick Gale put Narberth in front for the first time with a try converted by Griffiths and although O’Reilly was on target with his third penalty the Otters stayed in control as skipper Steve Martin maintained his excellent recent form with an unconverted try.

Lively flanker Stuart Warrell earned Narberth a bonus point with their fourth try before replacement Glynneath second row Liam Pluckett scored a try to which O’Reilly grabbed the extra points – but a late penalty from Ianto Griffiths set the seal on a deserved Otters’ win.
 

Division One (West):

 

Coles cashes in for battling Borderers

Carmarthen Athletic 12 - Whitland 16

A try from pacy Whitland winger Shaun Coles proved to be the only one of a tense match against Carmarthen Athletic, who are languishing at the foot of the table without a win to their name but still looking to succeed and raise morale in this local derby tussle.

The Borderers looked sharp early on as Rhydian Thomas and Scott Newton caught the eye and they took a ten-point lead through a penalty by James Stephenson, who also added the extra points when Zimbabwean speedster Coles rounded off some good handling.

But back came the Athletic as scrum half Scott Maynard landed three penalties before Stephenson replied with another three-pointer towards the end of the half which put the Borderers 13-9 ahead.

The second half was even tighter as neither side gave an inch and although Maynard landed his fourth successful penalty another three points from Stephenson earned Whitland a welcome win, their fourth success in eight games.

Crymych injuries cost them dear

Crymych 15 - Loughor 17

Crymych played well against Loughor before losing out to a team in the top half of the table by just two points.

The Preseli Men trailed 10-8 at half time as prop Gethin Jones scored their try and although outside half Sam Phillips missed the conversion he added a well-struck penalty.

No 8 Jonathan Phillips crossed for Loughor and his try was converted by experienced centre Stuart Lynch to go with a penalty.

Crymych prop Jones added his second try after the interval which Sam Phillips goaled but No 8 Phillips also scored a second for Loughor and Lynch again converted.

The Preseli Men were in contention throughout and earned a bonus point but several injuries to key players cost them dearly in the final analysis.
 

Seasiders struggle in ‘game to forget’

Gorseinon 27 - Tenby United 0

“A game to forget” was the general verdict from the hardy band of Tenby United supporters who travelled to cheer the Seasiders on against a Gorseinon outfit with only one win to their name and sitting in the bottom two of the section table after six defeats in seven games.

Someone in the home club must have forgotten to remind their players that Tenby had been tipped as promotion contenders not so long ago because Gorseinon were 12 points to the good at the oranges, stopped the Seasiders from scoring a single point and added a further 15 points to their own total.

Flanker Ingram Craig and full back David Rees scored first-half tries alongside a conversion by centre Andrew Steele, and as Jason Ronowitz was one of the few Tenby players to live up to expectations the home team picked up a bonus point with further tries from Steele and scrum half Jack Gronow, plus a conversion and penalty from Steele.
 

Division Two (West):

Blues bag welcome win

Haverfordwest 16 - Llanybydder 3

A hard-fought home win over Llanybydder moved Haverfordwest out of the bottom three in the table as they leap-frogged their opponents and Pontarddulais.

Darrell Griffiths missed an early chance of three points with a penalty and was off-target again shortly after outside half Steve Williams had kicked a good penalty for the Blues as the only score of a tight first period where the home pack had played well as a unit but the team was unable to turn pressure into more points.

When Williams went off injured his half back partner Danny Morgan took over the kicking duties and landed a penalty before Griffiths replied in similar fashion for Llanybydder.

Then Morgan added the conversion of a good try from Zac France-Miller and Scott James eventually became the third successful Blues’ place kicker as the centre also chipped in with a penalty to help the Blues to a deserved victory.

Some shirt tugging as the Blues go on the attack. Picture by Keith Bryant.

 

‘Disappointed’ Cardis collect deserved bonus point

Penclawdd 34 - Cardigan 27

“We were disappointed with the final result,” admitted a Cardigan spokesman, “but at least we had a bonus point for our boys’ considerable part in the game.”

It was a valid viewpoint because the Teifisiders 14-3 up at one time in the first half but the home half-back pairing of skipper Lee Gunnell at scrum half and fly half Dan Gurney played a major part in ‘The Cocklemen’s’ success as the former sped through for a hat-trick of tries alongside another by Richard Jones, whilst Gurney kicked 14 points.

It was Gurney who opened the scoring with a penalty before The Cardis claimed tries from scrum half Llyr Jones and centre Lloyd Harries, both converted by Iestyn Crompton.

Llyr Tobias joined the far to kick eight points, including a penalty try conversion that brought the score to 27-apiece but then Jones sliced through right on full time to rock Cardigan back on their heels and give the homesters a handy fifth place in the table whilst the Teifisiders have now lost eight league matches in succession.
 

Division 3B (West):

Wasps win a thriller at Pill Parks

Llangwm 25 - St Clears 24

“This was a cracking game,” said Llangwm team manager Richard Scriven and few would disagree with him at Pill Parks, other than the St Clears’ contingent, who at least had the consolation of two bonus points in a match where fortunes ebbed and flowed throughout.

The Wasps led 14-12 at the half way stage thanks to good tries by centre Andrew Brock and full back Joseph Kiff, both converted by No 10 Luke Brock, as James Gardener caught the eye after his lengthy lay-off because of injury.

Andrew Brock raced clear for his second try as he latched on to a clever little chip from his namesake Luke, who missed the conversion but also contributed two penalties as the Saints had tries by Luke Gardiner, Dafydd Walters, Luke Hannon and Andrew Davies, plus conversions from Ceri Jones and Matthew Lewis.
 

Plain sailing for Mariners as Matthews grabs three tries

St Davids 3 - Milford Haven 71

Three tries by replacement centre Dean Matthews helped Milford Haven overwhelm a gritty St Davids’ side which never gave up trying but conceded 11 tries and lost their eighth league game of the season in the process.

Craig Challonder scored the Saints’ only points with a first half penalty but they were already adrift by 31-3 at half time and conceded another 40 points without reply in the second period.

Team manager James Hall said afterwards,

“We were pleased not only with the result but the fact that we gave a chance to five youth players and they all played well – and Leigh Broome returned to action with two first-half tries and eight conversions for a personal haul of 26 points."

Joining him and hat-trick man Matthews on the try sheet were No 8 James Passmore (2), winger Steve Picton, flanker Sam Dolling (2) and centre Jimmy Thomas as Milford Haven moved into the top three as reward for their power play.
 

Quins slammed in Laugharne

Laugharne 78 - Pembroke Dock Quins 8  

Pembroke Dock Harlequins continue to struggle to field a settled side and paid the inevitable price at Laugharne as the home side were good value for 34-8 interval lead and ran away with things even more in the second half.

Laugharne took a 17-0 lead early on thanks to tries by outside half Owen Thomas, full back Aled Rees and hooker

Tom Walters, one converted by Thomas Jameson before the Quins opened their account with a penalty by centre Danny Woods.

Second row Carl Smith added a fourth Laugharne try and then the Quins responded with a Josh White  try – but Laugharne pulled further in front with flanker Mike Williams and winger Tom Thomas crossing the line.

Luke Starkey, Owen Thomas, Aled Rees, Walters, Smith and Williams added further tries for Laugharne after the break, two of them converted – and moved into second spot in the table, whilst the Quins still longer in the bottom two!

 
Bereavement sees Blacks’ fixture postponed
Aberaeron P-P Neyland
A bereavement within the Aberaeron club resulted in this game being postponed, with the All Blacks readily agreeing to the postponement in these sad circumstances.