Feature Match – Division Three (West):

 

Blues beat Mariners in absorbing local derby

Haverfordwest 22 - Milford Haven 12

 

Milford started brightly with a good counter by James Trueman from a kick ahead that opposing winger Logun Young had to use his speed to get back and touch down before the Milford chase.

But The Blues got a foot hold in the game and scored a good try through James Hart from a series of powerful drives before Adam Phillips, making a welcome return to the club, added the extras to make it 7-0.

Haverfordwest then got on the front foot again from the kick off after some good work by Jack Evans and Scott Candler to earn a penalty about 30m out which Adam Phillips slotted to make it 10-0.

Then came a big moment in the match as five minutes before half time Milford scrum half Dan McLelland looked to be over in the corner from a sweeping move involving Robbie Jones and skipper Dan Jenkins, but for an outstanding cover tackle by his opposite number Liam Eaton.

The Blues worked their way up the field and scored in the opposite corner through good build-up work by Dan Berry, Kieran Harries and especially Terry Lovell allowed hooker Iori Curtis to give The Blues a 15-0 lead at half time.

Straight from the kick off, Milford took back the momentum when Rhydian Watkins was adjudged to kick the ball through the ruck and got a yellow card and shortly afterwards Milford were back in the game as Zac Davies, Jordan Palmer and Ieuan Davies were involved with a well taken try by player/coach Zac France-Miller, with James Truman adding the difficult extras to close the gap to 15-7.

The next 15 minutes went back and forth, with both teams having chances but then Haverfordwest number 7 Mikey Griffiths found a way to stretch over the try line with Milford defenders on his back. Adam Phillips adding the extras to make it 22-7.

Fair play to Milford though, who came back into the game again with another try through their forwards, before James Williams claimed the touchdown.

James Trumans wide conversation narrowly missed to leave the scores at 22-12. That's how the score stayed until the final moments when both teams went in search of a bonus point but there was no further score.

For Haverfordwest, it was a tough game as always against local rivals but they were very happy to get back on track with a comfortable win, despite not being at their best – but both teams deserve every credit for an uncompromising, but entertaining contest!

 

Haverfordwest: Guy Barrons: Scott Candler; Iestyn Arnold; Jack Evans (Capt); Logun Young: Adam Phillips; Liam Eaton: Dan Berry; Iori Curtis; Terry Lovell: Rhydian Watkins; Karl Busch: Kieran Harries; James Hart; Mikey Griffiths. Replacements: Jamie Zambas; Teifion Owen; Devin Williams; Ioan Hawkridge-Jones; Jack Codd.

Milford Haven: James Williams: Robbie Jones; Dan Jenkins; Efan Morgan; James Trueman: Jonathan Thomas; Dan McClelland: Zac France-Miller; Luke Ryan; Ben Jenkins: Jon Fawcett; Zac Jenkins: Jordan Palmer; Ieuan Davies; Scott Buirds. Replacements: Arran Davies; Josh Palmer; Ethan Aldred; Dylan Morgan; Aaron Cookson.

 


 

WRU Premiership:

Big win for The Otters

Narberth 36 - Cardiff Met 15

 

Narberth: Ashley Sutton: Dylan Richjards; Harrison Griffiths; Aled Davies; Dean James: Nico Setaro; Lewys Gibby: George Rossiter; Jake Bowen; Ryan Rees: Sam Martin; Rhys Williams: Dewi Williams; Tom Powell (Capt); Roy Osborn. Replacements: Will Tucker; Tom Clarke; Josh Hamer; Jac Pritchard; Sam Davies/Will Boyd; Josh Thomas; Jonathan Rogers; Harry Fuller.

Championship Division (West):

 

Preseli Men miss out in second period

 

Tata Steel 47 - Crymych 17

 

Crymych were in with a chance against fellow strugglers Tata Steel at half time as they only trailed 10-21 but as so often has happened this campaign, they conceded a further 26 points and only responded with seven points of their own, after the oranges.

Skipper Daf Phillips and No 8 Tom Taylor scored their tries in that first period and  back rower Sion Wilson added a third, converted by centre Iwan Thomas – but as Tata scored at regular intervals it means the Preseli Men are bottom of the table, with only two bonus points to show after six matches, whilst The Steelmen are now out of the bottom three as they pouched maximum points from a second success in five starts.

Crymych:  Jac Griffiths: Fraser James; Ifan Phillips; Iwan Thomas; Josh Jackson: Deiniol Mathias; Daf Phillips (Capt):  Owen Charles; Lee Griffiths; Ben Cox: Dion Gibby; Matthew Freebury: Sion Wilson; Llyr Davies; Tom Taylor. Replacements:  Harri Vaughan; Owen Fletcher; Luke Freebury; Carwyn Phillips; Ellis Thomas.

 

Division One (West):

Seasiders stroll to victory at Parc Stephens

Kidwelly 0 - Tenby United 47

Tenby United gained a convincing away win at Kidwelly against a home side that is currently struggling at the foot of the table and still seeking a first win to get their season going.

But they found the Seasiders in no mood to give anything away and trailed 21-0 at the interval as the visitors had good performances from try-scoring youngsters like scrum half Bowyn Clark, winger Kodi Bratcher and marauding flanker Jesse James, Kyle Rossiter, Max Brindley, Geraint Jones and Gwion Jones also caught the eye, as did Jake Henson, who stepped up from the Athletic side and showed he can play at this level.

The other Seasiders’ scorer was Liam Price as Clark and Gwion Jones claimed a brace apiece, with Lloyd Thomas back in control at No 10 with five conversions alongside one from Clark, with coach Jonathan Evans pleased with the all-round team work but recognising the score could have been even higher but for a few handling errors at key times!

Tenby United: Geraint Jones; Kodi Bratcher; Liam Price; Jackson Gravatt; Gwion Jones: Lloyd Thomas; Bowyn Clark: Tom Richardson; Kyle Rossiter; Ethan Morgan: Luke Dedman; Alex Jenkins (Capt): Jake Henson; Jesse James; Max Brindley. Replacements: Hywel Baker; Tom Barrass; Rob Ayers; Dan Colley; Keanu Williams.

 

Division Two (West):

Seagulls surrender late on to deny themselves victory

Fishguard & Goodwick 21 - Pontarddulais 22

 

Pontarddulais still sit proudly atop the table, with five wins from six starts but they were pushed all the way by Fishguard & Goodwick as they trailed 10-14 at half time and were again in arrears at 22-21 with time almost up but The Seagulls gifted them two late, late penalties.

The first took them on the attack and a really soft second error gave The Bont place kicker Tyrone Payne the simplest of kicks at goal which he comfortably converted, to leave The Seagulls with a losing bonus point when they could have been celebrating a second win of the season.

Oli Rothero opened the scoring with a penalty for Fishguard but The Bont responded with a try from Dan Evans which Payne goaled.

Seagulls’ hooker Liam Wilkes maintained his try-scoring record and Rothero converted but prop Morgan Griffiths added the visitors’ second try, again converted by Payne

Things looked bleak for the home side when scrum half Ethan Dunn scored The Bont’s third try, converted by Payne, to put them 21-10 ahead – only for Fishguard’s skipper Rhys Lewis to smash his way over and Rothero converted – and they took what looked a winning one-point lead when centre Dec Thomas crossed the whitewash.

But then came that fatal late error – and it was a relieved Pontarddulais side who made the journey home with victory!

Fishguard & Goodwick: Kial Keane: Dan Cleary; Dec Thomas; Dylan James; Ed Rathbone: Oli Rothero; Max Jones: Will Delaney; Liam Wilkes; Iwan McVeigh: Cai Llewellyn; Osian Rowe, Jack Richards; Jac Delaney; Rhys Lewis (Capt). Replacements: Will Robinson; Ryan McVeigh; Will Lewis; Griff Williams; Will Thomas.

 

 

Borderers well-beaten at Parc Llwyn Ty Gwyn

Whitland 10 - Loughor 36

Whitland again failed to string together an 80-minute performance as Loughor ran in five tries to take a bonus-point win.

The Borderers were forced into changes as veteran prop Alan Proctor slotted into second row and coach Gareth Davies started at No 10, but they were in contention at the break at just 17-10 down.

Scrum half Rhys Nicholas grabbed their try with full back Shane Rossiter adding a conversion and penalty, but the visitors led through scores from Tom Davies and second row Gareth Howells - with No 10 Davies also adding two conversions and a penalty.

The second half was one sided though as hooker Kyle Tucker, No. 8 Reuben Hall and flanker Alex Eaton all went over for the Blues as Davies converted two of them to round off a difficult day for the hosts.

 

Whitland: Shane Rossiter: Josh Clarke; Lucas Dance; Tom Iraia; Tom Day: Gareth Davies; Rhys Nicholas: Shane Clarke; Matt Drivor; Ceiron Evans (Capt): Trystan Bowen; Alan Proctor: Aaron Cross; Gavin Smith; Benji Kirk. Replacements: Johnny Phillips; Daf Walters; Tom Hughes; Jac Jenkins; Luke Watkins.

Division Three (West):

Athletic collect welcome win in basement battle

Amman United 15 - Narberth Athletic 22

Narberth Athletic claimed their first win of the season after four successive defeats, beating fellow basement battlers Amman United, who have now lost all of their first five matches.

It will provide a massive boost in this challenging new section, with skipper Stephen Pilot and winger Stephan J Brown scoring tries for the Otters alongside a conversion and penalty by No 10 Brad Cramb.

Amman responded with a try by Matthew Madge, who also added a second after the break alongside a score from Dylan Mathews but the Athletic kept their cool and a second try by inspirational skipper Pilot, alongside another Cramb conversion and penalty, gave The Athletic a morale-boosting victory.

Narberth Athletic: Iori Lewis: Iestyn Doble; Rhys Kemble; Will Davies; Stephen J Brown: Brad Cramb; Elliot Evans: Declan Cole; Rhys Jenkins; Jac Norcross: Henry Foster; Tom Parcells: Sam Davies; Wil Nicholas; Stephen Pilot (Capt). Replacements: Richard Watkins; Ieuan Barnes; Kyle Williams; Corey Neilson; Kieran Allen; Andrew Williams; Rhydian Jones.

Cardis well beaten at home

Cardigan 19 - New Dock Stars 35

New Dock Stars showed their all-round strength at the top of the table as they gained a bonus-point over Cardigan with a polished performance at The King George Vth Field, already 28-5 at the break

And The Stars remained in control thereafter despite The Teifisiders grabbing. three tries from Llyr Jones, Kester Adams and Iwan John, two of them converted by Llyr Jones..

Cardigan: Llyr Jones: Josh Verrall; Iwan John; Emyr Harries; Sam Lloyd: Jac Davies; Ifan James: Andrew Jones; Luke Palmer-Davies; Ben Hughes: Dean Harries; Kieran Hurley: Sior Phillips; Rhodri Davies; Kester Adams. Replacements: Nathan Bowen; Joe Thomas; Connor Owen; John Lumb.

 

Division Four (West) A:

Wasps win well at Pill Parks

Llangwm 43 - Llanybydder 24

Llangwm gained their first win of the season as they comfortably beat fellow basement battlers Llanybydder at Pill Parks, running in six tries as their opponents picked up a rare bonus point for scoring four tries of their own.

Leading the way for The Wasps was centre Ollie Hughes, playing on permit and showing what an asset he would be if he could join them on a regular basis, speeding through for a hat-trick as others were scored by winger Aidan Rees (2) and No 8 Morgan Rees.

Also on the try sheet was influential outside half George James, who worked well with partner Dylan Philpott as he also landed five conversions and a penalty for a personal haul of 18 points.

Llangwm: Alfie Elrick; Aidan Rees; Ollie Hughes; Owain Jones; Ollie Kersey: George James; Dylan Philpott:  Ieuan Power; Liam Barber; Joe Newton: Jason Mock; Jake Thomas: Morgan Rees; Morgan Scott-Walker; Dylan Powles. Replacements: Callum Jenkins; Phil Llewellyn; Dan Woodward; Ian Richards; Ian Griffiths.

Saints suffer after close first half

St Davids 24 - Pontyberem 35

The clash between the two last unbeaten sides in the division at St Davids didn’t disappoint - and it was Pontyberem who prevailed in a game that produced nine tries.

The Saints did take it to their opponents and a series of early attacks led to Bob Froy going over out wide. But the Bont hit back with the centre pairing of Cory Hardy and Aled Rees making frequent inroads in midfield. Winger Luke Williams and second row Josh Farnell both crossed and No 10 Rhodri Lewis twice converted, while Saints full back Danny Voyce was sin binned to compound matters.
 

However, the hosts fought back after the break as a clever chip from Aaron Foster set up Ben Joyce to score, and Froy added the extras to make it a two-point game.

Pontyberem lock Ryan Morgan got their third try though after dummying his way through, and Hardy punished some weak tackling with a counter attacking score. Lewis did the honours both times.

Foster went over from close range to reduce the deficit but Hardy scored again, with Lewis maintaining his perfect record off the tee. St Davids had the final say though as replacement Ben Evans ploughed over after the visitors gave away a string of penalties, with Foster converting as Bruce Evans’ side at least secured a losing bonus point.

 “It was a really good performance, especially up front, against a team that will be more than comfortable in division three” the head coach told Pembrokeshire Sport. “Ten minutes into the second half the game was in the balance. They pulled away then but we stayed in it and got the fourth try.”

 

St Davids: Fred Dorn: Luke Bamford; Ben Joyce; Harvey Lavin; Bob Froy: Aaron Foster; Zac Morgan: Ethan Griffiths; Adam Williams; Dan Morgan: Iestyn Owen; Ben Lloyd: Aled Davies; Nathan Foster; George Raymond (Capt). Replacements: Charlie Lavin;  Ben Evans; Will Savage; Osian Sutton; Danny Voyce.

Sheratt steers Scarlets home in tense finish

Teirw Crymych 26 - Pembroke 29

Jared Sherratt was the toast of his Pembroke Colleagues against Teirw Crymych as he not only won their man of the match plaudit but landed the late penalty that turned whet seemed to be heading for a draw into a bonus point victory for The Scarlets.

Sheratt had converted one of the two tries scored in the first period by No 8 Dai Rogers and hooker Danny Davies – with the score reaching 12-12 at the oranges as the Preseli Men had two tries from prop Tomos Davies and No 10 Tomos Davies!

No 8 Osian Thomas and centre Aled Lewis added further tries for the home side, both converted by No 10 Davies, whilst The Scarlets responded with further tries by prop and skipper Lloyd Davies plus centre Lewis Davies, both converted by Sherratt.

Then came that late penalty which Sherratt converted with seeming ease – but at least Teirw Crymych had the consolation of two bonus points after coming so close to a draw!

Teirw Crymych: Will Boulton: Gruff Wilkins; Ianto Davies; Aled Lewis Steph Rees: Tomos Davies; Owain Rees: Lloyd Hughes; Harri Worthing; Tomos Davies: Tomos Tagg; Rhys Davies: Steff Morris; Griff Lloyd (Capt); Osian Thomas. Replacements: Rob Davies; Iwan Laugharne; Gwion Jones; Jac Jenkins; Luke Watkins.

 

Pembroke: Rhys Johns: Evan Davies; James Allen; Lewis Davies; Tobi Pratt: Jared Sherratt; Iolo Williams: Lloyd Davies (Capt); Danny Davies; Jamie Brayford: William Edwards; George Jones: Deryn Williams; Rhydian Eynon; Dai Rogers. Replacements: Seamus Wiseman; Scott Powell; Theo Davies; Toby Hounsell; Jack Oliver; Lukas Kersey.

Seasiders surrender victory as Donovan dives in for a  last -ditch victory

Tenby Athletic 27 - Pembroke Dock Harlequins 32

 

There was high drama at Heywood Lane as Pembroke Dock Harlequins grabbed two tries in the closing minutes so that Tenby United Athletic had to settle for two bonus points as they had only just before looking to claim maximum points with a 27-18 lead.

But then replacement Rhys Doyle ploughed over and from the late move the Quins launched a powerful raid which saw another replacement in Donovan race away from half-way, kick ahead and gain a friendly bounce and Ben Hathaway converted to finish in style.

There was no inkling of the drama to come as The Seasiders led 10-0 at the break through a Fletcher Broadhurst try alongside the conversion and penalty from No 10 Jack Gooding.

The Quins opened their account with a Jack Price try before prop Rob Clarke pounded over for Tenby before skipper Hathaway landed two penalties before the classy Price sliced through and Hathaway added the extras.

The homesters added further tries by centre Joe Andrews and hooker Iorri Richards, one converted by Gooding to appear to make the game safe for The Seasiders.

But then The Quins found that late inspiration and find themselves in second spot in the table, with the Seasiders perhaps asking themselves how they managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory!

Tenby Athletic:  Jordan Asparassa: Dylan Johns; Joe Andrews; Joe Owens; Darcy Langstone: Jack Gooding (Capt); Fletcher Broadhurst: Rob Clark; Iorri Richards; George Osborn: Rhys Grigg; Lewis Catt: Cemlyn Bolton; Taz Richards: Liam Pugh; Replacements: Jimmy Davies; Cian Knights; Rhys Parker; Wyndham Williams; Iestyn Richards; Ryan Hill.

 

Pembroke Dock Harlequins: Ben Hathaway (Capt): Gethin Bradney; Jack Price; Jake Griffiths; Jack Brown: Craig Barnett; Morgan Rogers: Sean Willington; Jack Hagan; Dan McLeod: Mark Van Rhyn; Liam Baker: Aaron James; Danny Wilkes; Harry Owen; Replacements: Alfie Ball; Rhys Doyle; Adam Cawley; Ollie Turner; Tom Donovan.