PHOTO:
Chris Shousha scores a try for The Seagulls

 

Feature Match:
 
Division Two (West):

 

Shousha seals Seagulls’ success

Fishguard & Goodwick 20 - Tenby United 18

A late try by outstanding flanker Chris Shousha helped Fishguard and Goodwick complete the double over high-flying Tenby United and helped haul his team further out of the relegation zone with this fifth win from ten starts.

Shousha was driven over the line by his forward colleagues to level matters and then full back Nico Setaro, playing on permit from Whitland slotted the vital conversion, no mean defeat in the cloying conditions, to snatch the verdict.

The Seagulls had won 15-11 on the opening day of the season at Heywood Lane but a repetition seemed unlikely as The Seasiders punished errors by the home side to establish a 15-point lead after half an hour.

Seasiders start so well

The first Tenby try came following a typically direct run by Shousha where the ball was lost in the ensuing ruck and Tenby winger Greg Lees-Griffiths kicked the ball forward over a distance of 65 metres before winning the touchdown.

Ashley Sutton, making a return to Tenby, missed the conversion before centre Toby Smith fired over a penalty and then created the platform for a sustained period of pressure which resulted in a close-range set-piece from which scrum half Will Crockford ploughed over the whitewash and Smith added the extra points.

Fishguard fight back

But The Seagulls showed their resilience as skipper Gavin Walsh joined Simon James, Luke Freebury, Andrew Morrillo, Jac Evans and Richard Hunter in setting up the platform to attack and when Tenby conceded penalties they were punished by two successful penalties by Setaro, the second from the final kick of the half.

Fishguard maintained their momentum after the interval with a powerful surge that saw prop Ryan McVeigh powered over the line and Setaro landed the conversion – but Tenby showed their determination as strong runs by winger Jordan Asparassa, Johnny Morgan and Smith earned their side a penalty and Smith slotted three points to put his side ahead by five points.

In a terrific finish The Seagulls tried desperately to claim the winning score but on several occasions, after penalty kicks into the corner, The Seasiders’ defence held firm as skipper Luke Hansford, Andrew Cooke and Barry Parsons helped with some crunching tackles.

Vital score by dynamic Shousha

But Fishguard finally broke the deadlock with one last pulsating drive over the line and it was appropriate that Shousha should emerge with the ball, setting up Setaro’s successful conversion that sealed the issue.

But both teams deserve immense praise for creating a cracking game in such heavy conditions, which was well refereed by Tony Pratt, and the only consolation for The Seasiders was the fact that their considerable efforts earned them a bonus point – and nearest rivals lost at home to Tycroes!

Fishguard & Goodwick: Nico Setaro: James Reynolds; Michael Jenkins; Ben John; Ed Bendall: Kial Keane; Andrew Williams: Andrew Morrillo; Gavin Walsh (Capt); Ryan McVeigh: Richard Hunter; Jac Evans: Luke Freebury; Chris Shousha; Simon James. Replacements: Neil Perkins; Gwilym Evans; Alun George; Gareth Adamson; Raff Williams.

Tenby United: Johnny Morgan: Greg Lees-Griffiths; Toby Smith; Mark Heywood; Jordan Asparassa: Ashley Sutton; Will Crockford: Dan McDermott; Joe Poole; Ethan Morgan: Mike Davies; Luke Dedman: Andrew Cooke; Luke Hansford (Capt); Barry Parsons. Replacements: Dan Allen; Lyndon Jones; Scott James; Jack Guerreiro; Alex Thomas.

PHOTO:
Will Crockford gets his backs in motion

 
 

Championship:

 

Otters successful in see-saw battle

Cardiff Met 24 - Narberth 27

Narberth completed the double over the pacy students from Cardiff Metropole University in a terrific match of running rugby where the lead changed hands several times before The Otters returned along the M4 with a narrow win to go with their 39-6 home verdict when the teams last met.

This win gave Sean Gale’s team a 12th win in 15 matches and keeps them firmly in third place behind Pontypool and Tata Steel as their reward, but comfortably ahead of the chasing pack.

They took the lead with a Nick Gale penalty before The Students responded with an unconverted try by winger Craig Lewis – but powerful centre Jack Price forced his way over for the Otters’ first try, which Gale converted, to give them a 10-5 lead at the break.

Cardiff Met started the second half well with a try from centre Luke Northmore, converted by George Simpson but as fortunes ebbed and flowed Narberth responded with a try from scrum half Rhys lane, converted by Gale.

Then winger Tom Bryan regained the initiative for The Students as Simpson added the extra points that nudged them in front by 19-17, only for Jonathan Rogers to land a Narberth penalty and then add the extras to a good try by centre Ollie Reyland, who did well to reach the try-line under real pressure.

At 27-19 The Otters could sense victory but there was still time for Cardiff Met to seal a second bonus point, this time with an unconverted try by full back Oliver Black which made sure that the hardy band of Narberth supporters was glad to hear the final whistle!
 

Division One (West):

 

Preseli Men miss out in first half

Waunarlwydd 29 - Crymych 3

Waunarlwydd gained revenge for a narrow 9-8 defeat at Parc Lloyd Thomas earlier in the season with this comfortable victory over a Crymych side which seemed to suffer a little travel sickness to trail 22-3 at the break but played better afterwards as they were unable to add to Jake Jenkins’ first-half penalty but restricted ‘One Eyelid’ to only one converted try.

In that disappointing first half The Preseli Men struggled to get into top gear as a mixture of powerful home defence and taking of wrong options on their part saw them limited in terms of scoring opportunities.

The host club grabbed three first-half tries and added another to secure a bonus point as prop Dai George, centre Dan Fox, full back Ricky James and No 8 James Clearey got their names on the try count.

Scrum half Lee Evans converted three of them and slotted a first-half penalty as this sixth success in 13 starts kept them firmly in mid table, just below a disappointed Crymych outfit.
 
 

Borderers game at Felinfoel called off
Felinfoel P Whitland P
*Match postponed by mutual consent because of illness and injury

 

Division Two (West):

 

Blues team stumbles at Mumbles

Mumbles 43 - Haverfordwest 0

Mumbles completed a deserved double over a Haverfordwest side which finds itself even further adrift at the foot of that table after Carmarthen Athletic’s win at home to Tumble.

The Blues had lost by only 11-7 at home but were already 21-0 behind at half time as Mumbles scored tries by outside half Adam Nicklin, prop George Jiwad and hooker Joe Rimmell, all converted by Nicklin.

Haverfordwest’s best chance came from a break by Ben Skudder but he had to leave the field with a damaged hamstring and Mumbles added further tries by Rimmell and Jiwad, plus others from full back Andrew Evans and winger Tom Powell, one converted by Nicklin to complete a miserable away day for the beleaguered Blues!

 

Division Three (West) A:

 

Boathouse Boys are deserved victors

Laugharne 29 - Llangwm 10

Laugharne gained their expected win over visiting Llangwm but were pushed all the way by a Wasps’ side which never rolled over under pressure from the home side’s powerful pack.

The home side had blitzed Llangwm by 50-6 at Pill Parks but there was never a likelihood of a repeat result points glut because the visitors tackled like demons and were only 14-5 adrift at half time – and a similar second-half scoreline ensured a bonus point win for Laugharne.

Indeed, there was no scoring until the 25th minute when flanker Mike Williams opened the scoring for Laugharne, followed by another by hooker Tom Waters, both converted by centre Tom Jameson.

Llangwm responded with a deserved try for Ian Griffiths, who was followed onto the try sheet by Dave Reynolds – but The Boathouse Boys added further tries by full back Tom Davies (2) and flanker Carwyn Thomas in the dying seconds, all three unconverted but enough to secure the spoils for them.

PHOTO:
Skipper Mark James drives hard for Neyland

 

All Blacks outlast jaded Scarlets

Neyland 20 - Pembroke 10

Neyland made an excellent start to the New Year with a deserved win over old rivals Pembroke at The Athletic Ground, gaining revenge for a 29-22 defeat at Crickmarren, showing the undoubted talents of a committed side, whilst The Scarlets seem to have hit a flat patch with this second successive defeat.

The win was all the more praiseworthy since the homesters lost forward Sam Katakai and scrum half Chris Morgan under the new high tackle rule but with Mark James and Chris Busby leading a young pack they did well in a busy second half after Luke Hartland had kicked Pembroke into the lead and Toby Hayman replied for Neyland to tie things up at 3-apiece at the half-way mark.

Pembroke had useful performances by young players Hartland, Tom Kinnear and Tom Lewis, and added a penalty try converted by Hartland to their tally but The All Blacks overcame their scrummaging struggles to grab good tries by No 10 Hayman and prop Luke Dawes, with Hayman converting both and kicking another penalty in a good all-round performance where hooker Richard Jones caught the eye with his work rate and ball winning.

PHOTO:
Pembroke scrum half Tom Lewis gets his pass away

 

Quins miss out in second half

Pembroke Dock Harlequins 8 - St Clears 26

Pembroke Dock Harlequins were 8-5 ahead at half time against St Clears and seemed in with a chance of repeating their previous win over neighbours Pembroke but were unable to resist the Carmarthenshire Saints’ second-half attacks and conceded 21 unanswered points that gave the visitors a share of top spot alongside Milford Haven as reward.

Ossie Boswell’s Boys started well as outside half Ben Hathaway put them ahead with a penalty followed by an unconverted try by flanker Sam James, who intercepted a floated pass and galloped 35 metres for his score.

But St Clears fought back with scores either side of the interval, the first from winger Jonathan Gosling and then straight after the oranges by experienced centre Mike Georgiou.

Then young full back Geraint Jones landed two penalties in quick succession as his team piled on the pressure, followed by a second score from Gosling and a late, late fourth try from outside half Shane Morgan that not only sealed victory and a deserved double since they had won 22-5 in the reverse fixture, but secured an all-important bonus point.

PHOTO:
Rhys 'Lossin' Price leading a charge for the Saints
Picture by Ceri Coleman Phillips

 

Cardis crush sorry Saints

St Davids 0 - Cardigan 95

Cardigan prepared for their important National Bowl clash with Denbigh next week by running in 15 tries at St Davids, maintaining their Division Three West A title ambitions in the process.

The Teifisiders had already beaten the Saints by 66-12 at home and in this return rampage converted a 38-0 half time lead into a huge 95-0 win, after a rampant final quarter in which they scored at will.

Full back Rhydian Jenkins grabbed a try hat trick, the pick of which was a 40 metre run to the posts early on after cutting a super angle in midfield.

Centre Emyr Harries also notched three tries, as did and skipper and No 8 Llyr Griffiths, including a powerful late run from half way after picking up from a scrum.

Centre Marcus Castle also crossed twice, and tries for scrum half Llyr Jones, and replacements Tomos Evans, Aled Phillips, and Owain Rees, plus ten conversions by influential outside half Iestyn Crompton, completed the rout.

It meant another difficult day for The Saints, whose problems were compounded by losing a number of key players to injury over the 80 minutes.
 

Mariners win hard-fought tussle

Tregaron 10 - Milford Haven 17

Milford Haven remain joint top of the table after their hard-fought victory at Tregaron which will have pleased head coach Steve Barnett because he was without several key players.

The Mariners had beaten Tregaron at home by 20-15 and from the start it was evident that this game would be equally tight as the home pack power sometimes negated Milford’s attempts at running the ball.

Milford opened the scoring with a typical try by second row Dai Sweeny as reward for his outstanding support play but a penalty from No 10 Gwion Jones restricted The Mariners to a 5-3 interval lead.

They increased their advantage with a long-range try from winger Jamie Lewis and when second row Archie Smithies added a third score which full back Craig Barnett converted it seemed as if a bonus point for four tries might be a possibility.

But Tregaron refused to wilt under pressure and a try by Gareth Phillips, converted by Jones, kept them in contention until the final whistle, where Milford Haven were pleased to secure their ninth win in 11 outings.