PHOTO:
Tenby United defend strongly at home against Gowerton
Picture by Brian McKehon

Division One (West):
 

Seasiders so close after conceding 26 points before they got started!

Tenby United 31 - Gowerton 33

It was another case of déjà vu for Tenby United and their hardy band of supporters as they finished a long and difficult campaign without a defeat but having pushed Gowerton all the way.

The Seasiders were 12-0 down at half time and had conceded 26 points before they finally got their game going and came so close to victory as players of the calibre of skipper Luke Hansford, Jordan Asparassa, Luke Dedman and Toby Smith managed to lift the tempo.

Smith, back for a game after playing all season for Pembroke, scored the Seasiders’ first and fifth tries as well as three conversions and was just wide with a penalty at a key time that would have nudged them ahead, with Connor Ennis, Rob Clarke and Hansford also crossing the whitewash.

But tries by Gareth John, Josh Hamer, Ryan Thomas, Lloyd Hedges and Richard Thomas alongside four conversions from Josh Hamer, gave Gowerton a narrow win and a few chewed fingernails!
 
Championship:
 

Otters end on a down-beat note

Llanharan 42 - Narberth 24

Narberth’s long season certainly ended on a down-beat note as they lost at Llanharan to give the opposition recourse to celebration of their first win after 23 defeats in succession!

The warning signs were there for The Otters at half time, when they trailed 13-5 as a Nick Gale try was their only score and although Llanharan had Rhys Haynes red-carded they still called the shots throughout the match with five tries by Huw Thomas, Liam Union (2), Evan Parry-John and Dafydd Carson. 

Place-kicker Scott Jones also had something of a field day with 17 points from four conversions and three penalties.

Narberth managed to secure a bonus point as scant consolation through further tries by Gale, who also slotted two conversions, Johnny Morgan and Ollie Reyland but this was a day to forget quickly for The Otters’ hardy band of supporters!

Narberth: Johnny Morgan: Jordan Roberts; Steve Martin; Ollie Reyland; Nick Gale: Ianto Griffiths; Jonathan Rogers: Ollie Evans; Dan Smith; Jamie Kaijaks: Gareth Bateman; Alex Jenkins: Pat Roberts; Llyr Morris; Lewis Wood. Replacements:  Dan Jacobs; Marc Jones; Dewi Williams; Mauritz Neumann.
 
 
Division One (West):
 

Preseli Men outfought at Waun

Waunarlwydd 29 - Crymych 3

Crymych battled hard against a strong Waunarlwydd side that showed just why they will finish in second spot in the table by running in four tries to pouch a bonus point whilst restricting the Preseli Men to a solitary first-half penalty from No 10 Tomos Phillips.

Waun’s tries came from full back Lee Evans, winger Callum Owen, scrum half Lee Deallio and centre Andrew Rees-Sprowatt, with ace kicker Jamie Moore landing three conversions and a penalty.

The Preseli Men still have one more match, on Saturday at home to Llangennech, where they will be looking to round off in style a good season in a tough division.
 

Kidwelly too strong for The Borderers

Whitland 16 - Kidwelly 52

There was no final flourish from The Borderers as they went down to a heavy home defeat against Kidwelly, but it mattered little as wins in their three previous games had already secured their place in the division for another season.

The home side, depleted through injury, started well when a slick backline move allowed full back Scott Newton to burst through out wide, and he gave the scoring pass to winger Sean Coles before outside half Nico Setaro struck the post with the wide angled conversion.

The visitors responded full back Dafydd Lewis set up a try for centre Ricky Williams, and former Narberth No 10 Stuart Williams added the extras.

Setaro then landed a penalty but Kidwelly crossed again when prop Celfyn Williams scored off Morris’ inside pass and the latter converted.

The end to end action continued as home scrum half Adam Davies buried over from a quick tap penalty, and although Setaro was wide the conversion he kicked a 35 metre penalty to make it 16-14.

But prop Warren James crashed over before the break for the visitors and Morris again converted to give his side a 16-21 half time lead.
The Borderers, playing their fourth game in 10 days, appeared to run out of steam in the second half - and Kidwelly dominated as slick handling put winger Sion Pearce over.

Replacement flanker Luke Thomas then rounded off some powerful forward play with a try, before No 15 Lewis burst through several tackles to score.

Kidwelly’s seventh and final try came late on when replacement winger Luke Marshall burst over in the corner – with Morris adding all four second half conversions as well as a penalty.

It meant Whitland’s league season finished on a losing note, but The Borderers now have a Pembs KO Cup semi-final to look forward to this coming Wednesday, against Tenby United at Parc Llwyn Ty Gwyn.
 
Division One (West) – Midweek fixture

Setaro steers Borderers to good away win

Loughor 10 - Whitland 19

"The boys played well tonight," said Whitland team manager Kristian Richards after their away win at Loughor and it would be hard to disagree as The Borderers continued their end-of- season run of good form.
His assessment was particularly accurate in the second half after they trailed 10-3 at the break but fought back to score 16 unanswered points as their pack gradually got on top and half backs Adam Davies and Nico Setaro directed operations well.

Davies has served the club well in the Nom 9 shirt for a number of seasons but vied for man of the match in the previous win and was heavily involved in this tussle, with Setaro notching an early penalty before the home side responded with a try for Kyle Tucker alongside the conversion and penalty from Trevor Jones.
Behind the scrum there were also useful performances by full back Ryan Davies and centre Aled Jones, whilst the Borderers' front row of Ryan Rees, Marc Jones and Brynley Toms ensured a rock-solid scrummaging platform whilst Raff Williams was again in inspirational form alongside veteran second row Dai Ebsworth, still giving amazing service to the club even though he is now in his mid-40s.

The graft of that tight five allowed the back row of Dewi Williams, Zac France-Miller and James Thomas to flourish and as Loughor conceded penalties under pressure so Setaro punished them with three kicks on target that nudged Whitland into a 12-10 lead.

They also had other half chances which came to nothing but made sure of another welcome win when a strong surge at a close-range scrum allowed No 8 France-Miller to plough over the line before Setaro added the extra points - and the Borderers were good value for victory!