PHOTOS:
The victorious Narberth team
Battling runners-up Haverfordwest
Man of the Match Stuart Worrall receives his trophy from special guest Anthony Buchanan
The Match Officials

 
 

JT Auto Services Pembrokeshire Knockout Cup final:

 

Haverfordwest 0 - Narberth 31

 
Venue: Bierspool, Pembroke Dock
Referee: Justin Williams.
Assistants: Alwyn Harries and Adrian Slade.
Fourth official: John Griffiths.
 
Hot favourites Narberth fended off a strong challenge from a battling Haverfordwest side to receive the Pembrokeshire Knock Out Cup, but not before the Blues had restricted the Otters to just three penalties in the opening half.
 
The Otters were appearing in their first final since leaving the competition after the 2007/2008 season, and ran in four second half tries to seal the verdict after that tight first 40 minutes of immense physicality.
 
But then the Otters showed their higher skill levels to run in four second half tries and kept a clean scoresheet as they tightened their grip on the silverware in front of a large crowd at Bierspool.
 

A fierce first fling by both sides

 
The opening moments set the tone for the first half as the Championship side pressed hard but were met by some fierce Blues defence, and despite Narberth scrum half Rhys Lane making a sniping run, Barry John’s men held firm and full back Scott James was able to clear.
 
But after six minutes the Otters got themselves on the board when more pressure saw the Blues’ pack penalised, and outside half Ianto Griffiths slotted the resultant 20 metre penalty.
 
Narberth wingers Nick Gale and Laurence Headlam both went close on their respective flanks but were hauled down by the cover defence – and after weathering the early storm, the underdogs got a foothold and began to threaten in their own right.
 

Blues chances spilt – and a key loss in the back row

 
Otters No 10 Griffiths had a kick charged down under pressure in midfield, and from the ensuing ruck, the Blues went wide but skipper and winger Darren Salmon spilt the ball at the decisive moment.

 
Haverfordwest outside half Steve Williams, playing his final game for the club before retirement, was then just short with a long range penalty – but his side were dealt a major blow when influential flanker Jon Mason was forced off with a shoulder injury.
 
The Otters managed to re-exert some control, as a clearance kick from full back Ashley Sutton bounced into the hands of the chasing Headlam, who evaded two tackles before having his charge for the line halted by Blues full back Scott James.
 
But moments later Griffiths landed a second penalty from close range – and on the half hour mark long distance specialist Nick Gale made it 9-0, as he hammered over a kick from half way.
 
However, to their credit, the Blues refused to buckle, and they finished the half in the ascendancy.
 
Both Salmon and the impressive James sliced through in midfield, but on both occasions, the Blues were unable to keep their composure in attack and the chance was lost - and on the stroke of half time, further pressure resulted in a relatively straightforward chance for No 10 Williams, but in the now-heavy rain, he pushed his effort wide.
 

Otters finally wear the Blues’ defence down

 
The second half started in much the same vein as the first, and a charging run by Narberth No 8 Callum Tree put the Otters on the front foot, but the subsequent attack came to nothing when No 9 Lane opted to chip ahead, only to see his kick roll into touch.
 
After 52 minutes, however, the favourites finally wore down the Haverfordwest defence and second row Adam Clark, playing against his former colleagues, was held up over the line, and from the resultant five metre scrum, Lane went blind and fed Gale, and after he was hauled down, second row Alex Jenkins crashed over from close range.
 
Griffiths was wide with the conversion before the Blues came fighting back – and after Williams opted to kick a penalty into the corner, a spell of pressure was ended when James charged at the Narberth midfield, but his flicked pass to centre Dan Birch was adjudged forward.
 

Contest opens up as Otters turn the screw

 
A tight contest then began to open up and Narberth flanker Lewis Wood made fully 40 metres before knocking on under pressure from Blues replacement back rower Dan John, whilst at the other end, a cross-field kick from Williams was just too strong for Salmon.
 
But in the final quarter, the Otters, with outstanding flanker Stuart Worrall to the fore, began to turn the screw.
 
Hooker Dan Smith had a try disallowed for a double movement - before good work by winger Headlam set up replacement centre Jason Howells, and after he was bundled over in the corner, another replacement in outside half Nico Setaro took advantage of the extra space to dart over the whitewash before Gale added the extras.
 
The final stages were somewhat disjointed as both sides used all of their respective replacements, but Narberth’s next score proved the try of the night as a run-around move in midfield saw Setaro put Gale through, and he unselfishly offloadedfor replacement winger Rhys Davies to cross over.
 
There was still time for one more unconverted score, when Narberth skipper Steve Martin powered through in midfield and set up Luke Rodgers, who just minutes after entering the field, rounded off a hard fought final with a try in the corner.
 

Presentations made

 
The final scoreline was perhaps harsh on the Blues, and Pembroke and District Rugby Union Chairman John Purser rightly praised the efforts of both sides in the post-match presentations, and also thanked Pembroke Dock RFC for the successful manner in which they had hosted the final.
 
Special guest Anthony Buchanan presented the man of the match award to Stuart Worrall, and Purser handed mementos to the officials, before Huw Hughes, of sponsors HNO Hughes and Associates, gave out the runners-up medals to Salmon and his team.
 
It was then left to sponsor Jonathan Thomas to present the winning medals to the Otters, and the JT Auto Services Pembrokeshire Knockout Cup to Narberth captain Steve Martin – to successfully bring down the curtain on an interesting local rugby season in Pembrokeshire.
 

Coaches’ views

 
Afterwards, Narberth’s director of rugby, Jonathan Dodd, told Telegraph Sport: “I thought Haverfordwest were excellent and credit to Barry John for preparing them in the way he did.
 
“I didn’t feel we played with enough depth in the first half and made it easier for them to defend - but they just kept on knocking us back and knocking us back.
 
“We had to keep patient and eventually they tired, and thankfully in the last 20 minutes the game opened up for us.”
 
Meanwhile Barry John, coaching the Blues for the final time, admitted he had mixed emotions after his side’s brave performance.
 
“In the end their physicality was too much,” he said, “because what ball we did have was slow and we couldn’t relieve the pressure for long enough periods, so they wore us down and on the hour mark it began to tell.
 
“But I couldn’t have asked for anymore from the boys. I have mixed emotions because I’m proud of how we played tonight – but I know if we had been able to field that squad, and play with that intensity all through the season, we would have finished near the top of Division Two West and not been relegated.”
 
And the final word of the night went to  Pembroke and District Rugby Union Secretary Charles Davies, who told PembrokeshireSport.co.uk he was proud of the way both teams and local fans embraced the occasion, and thanked everyone involved.
 
Narberth: Ashley Sutton, Laurence Headlam, Steve Martin (capt), Morgan Griffiths, Nick Gale, Ianto Griffiths, Rhys Lane, Sean Lloyd, Dan Smith, Oliver Evans, Adam Clark, Alex Jenkins, Lewis Wood, Stuart Worrall, Callum Tree. Replacements (all used): Rhys Davies, Nio Aiono, Zac France-Miller, Gareth Jones, Luke Rodgers, Nico Setaro, Jason Howells.
 
Haverfordwest: Scott James, Darren Salmon (capt), Dan Birch, Mike Jones, Scott Candler, Steve Williams, Danny Morgan, Neil Phillips, Gareth Green, Terry Lovell, Gareth Phillips, Liam Brown, Moritz Neumann, Jon Mason, Ryan Banner. Replacements (all used): Jamie Zambas, Ashley Mathias, Dan John, Dan Richards, David O’Leary, Lawrence Hancock, Dave Williams.