Photo: The Blues' pack are on the drive 

 

Feature Match:

 

Division Three (West) A:

 

Lampeter hold on in top-clash tussle

 

Haverfordwest 7 - Lampeter Town 10

Lampeter stayed in first place in the table as they fended off a strong challenge by Haverfordwest at Pembroke Road – a disappointing result for The Blues as they certainly had their chances to win against a visiting team that was without several key players.

But they showed real stickability despite an obvious deficiency in the front row but had terrific performances from the back row of Dai Holmes, Rob Morgan and especially Jamie Edwards.

The Blues looked in charge in the opening quarter but Mikey Jones was off-target with two penalties and taking of wrong options cost them dear alongside the fact they were penalised on a regular basis by young referee Aled Jones (Carmarthen).

Lampeter battled hard and used their wind advantage for half backs Huw Thomas and Osian Jones to kick for territory – and it was Joes who finally put them ahead with a well-struck penalty that put his side 3-0 to the good at half time.

Jones jolts The Blues and outstanding Edwards powers over

But with the better of the elements afterwards it was expected that Haverfordwest might take control but they were rocked back on their heels from a mazy run by Lampeter winger Ryan Dowty, easily the game’s best runner, which set up the perfect play form for a prolonged series of drives which saw Edwards crash over the line. Osian Jones added the extra points and suddenly The Blues knew they had a real battle on their hands.

But their cause wasn’t helped by some aimless kicking and a seeming unwillingness to spread play wide in the drizzle – but Unaia Balekinasiga and Jack Evans needed more ball.
 

Clancy sets up a good chance – but Lampeter held out

Some excellent play by Jack Clancy, who set Tom Carrington thundering away before Balekinasiga was held up short, raised the tempo from the home side and Jack Evans eventually crossed in the right corner for Mikey Jones to convert with a quite magnificent kick and set up a grandstand finish.

From the final move of the match it looked as if The Blues might still snatch the verdict from a quickly-taken penalty but Evans’ dart for the corner was blocked by the excellent Lampeter cover.

So the credits have to go to the visitors and The Blues had to settle for a losing bonus point, which was disappointing to say the least in the circumstances!

Haverfordwest: Rhys Baker, Jake Evans, Unaia Balekinasiga, Craig Barnett, Jack Evans, Mike Jones, Elgan Roberts, Terry Lovell, Jamie Zambass, Tom Carrington, Ashley James, Jack Clancy, Geraint Sargent, Matty Phillips (capt), Ashley George. Replacements: Jon Mason, Lee Summons, Jon Mason, Gareth John, Joshua Watters.

Lampeter Town:  Emyr Richards: Ryan Dowty; Gareth Griffiths; Lyn Jones; Iwan Bowden: Osian Jones; Huw Thomas: Morgan Lewis; Jon Heath; Aled Bowen: Darryl Davies (Capt); Dai Heath: Rob Morgan; Jamie Edwards. Replacements: Sion Williams; Morgan James; Rhodri Williams; Owain Jones.

Photo: Mikey Jones carries for The Blues

 

Championship:

 

Otters throw away a big early lead

 

Beddau 41 - Narberth 22

Narberth somehow conspired to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory after taking a 22-0 lead after 32 minutes against Beddau but allowing the opposition to battle back to 15-22 by half time – and then take control thereafter.

Beddau began this match in 11th place after winning just two of their eight previous league fixtures and it looked as if this would be another defeat as The Otters made a bright start.
 

Great start – both Otter efforts tailed off

Jonathan Rogers grabbed their first try after 13 minutes and within six minutes they were 12 points to the good when scrum half Rhys Lane sniped through and Nick Gale added the extra points.

Alex Jenkins added their third try, again goaled by Gale, after 29 minutes, followed soon after by a Gale penalty.

But the warning signs were there for Narberth as Beddau opened their account with a try from Rhys Owen and in injury time claimed their second, this time by full back Connor Wheeler, which No 10 Hywel Chatham converted.

Second half one-way traffic

The second half was mainly one-way traffic and Wheeler moved smoothly to a hat-hat with another two tries, both converted by Chatham, who also landed the extra points to a try by replacement Lewis Egal.

The final Beddau try came after 83 minutes from winger Corey Baker and although Chatham missed the conversion it mattered little because Beddau were home and dry, leaving Narberth two wonder how they could lose such a big lead!

Narberth: Nick Gale, Josh Davies, Joe Hutchings, Jake Jenkins, Dafydd Pritchard, Jonathan Rogers, Rhys Lane, Dan Jacobs, Rhodri Owen, Lewis Davies, Jake Baker, Alex Jenkins, Rich Rees (capt), Steff Phillips, Roy Osborn. Replacements: Kyle Hamer, Bradley Davies, Tom Powell, Ianto Griffiths, Lewys Gibby.
 

Photo: Jonathan Rogers - gave Narberth a good start with an early try 

 

Division One (West)

 

Sutton stars as Borderers bounce back to winning ways

 

Llanelli Wanderers 17 - Whitland 25

Two tries from debutant Ashley Sutton helped Whitland to a bonus point win at Llanelli Wanderers and there some champagne moments from The Borderers in an entertaining game.

One of full back Sutton’s try came from a skilful reverse grubber kick from Nico Setaro -and the No 10 also created a sublime try for winger Jonathan Thomas with a ‘banana’ kick back over the scrum to the blindside where Thomas gathered to score in the corner.

There was also a score for winger Jac Howells, while Setaro also kicked a penalty and a conversion.

The Wanderers played their part as full back Lewis Jones and winger Jordan Evans had tries, with Jones adding two conversions and a penalty.

“It was a very good game and we played with a high tempo,” said Whitland coach Gareth Bennett.

Whitland: Ashley Sutton, Jonathan Thomas, Alex Codd, James Stephenson, Jac Howells, Nico Setaro, Josh Thomas, Aaron Mayne, Marc Jones, Michael Ryan, Courtney Bowman, Dai Ebsworth, James Thomas, Jamie Lewis, Jack Mason. Replacements: Ben Kirk, Tom Finucane, Ifan Lewis, Ryan Morgan, Gino Setaro.
 

Photo - Ashley Sutton - two tries on debut for Whitland

 

Preseli Men miss out at Penclawdd

Penclawdd 14 - Crymych 13

A late try from Penclawdd’s Johnny Hughes stopped Crymych from ending their losing run as The Preseli Men went down to a fourth straight league defeat.

And coach Randal Williams would have been frustrated with the outcome after seeing his side lead 13-6 in the second half only to throw it away and stay deep in relegation danger.

The first half was tight with the Crymych front row of Rhys Richards, Steff Harries and Ryan Rees standing out in a forward dominated contest.

It was 6-6 at the break as Dan Guarneri landed two penalties for The Cocklemen but Ifan Phillips responded in kind for the visitors.

And early in the second half Crymych seemed to take control as Phillips chipped ahead and flanker Jon Hill won the race to touch down under the posts, with his No 10 then converting.

But Tom Howell then took over the kicking duties for Penclawdd and kicked three points to make it 13-9, and then with two minutes left booted another penalty into the corner.

From the driving lineout that followed, Hughes grounded the ball to break Crymych hearts.

“We are just not getting the breaks at the moment,” admitted team manager Iwan James.

 

Scarlets suffer another injury-time set-back

Pembroke 24 - Gorseinon 27

Pembroke again conceded a converted try late in time added on at home to Gorseinon to leave home players and supporters fuming about the need for such a long period of extra play – but as coach Geraint Lewis told us afterwards, it is about not losing focus at these times in the second half of the campaign.

The lead changed hands on several occasions but The Scarlets looked in good shape as they led 24-13 at half time with tries by Alex Thomas, Tom Lewis and Geraint Powell, plus nine points from the boot of Toby Smith.

But Gorseinon came back to snatch the verdict with tries from Alan Evans, Andrew Steele and skipper Sean Haycock, all converted by Nial Phillips alongside three penalties – leaving The Scarlets with yet another bonus point for a narrow loss!

 

Photo - Alex Thomas - a good try for Pembroke

 

Division Two (West):

Mariners miss out at lowly Loughor

Loughor 14 - Milford Haven 10

It was a disjointed display from Milford Haven as they lost at Loughor.

The Mariners are yet to win away in Two West and never hit top gear against a team in the bottom two.

The Llanelli side led 5-3 at half time as Jonny Bowen got their try, but despite having player-coach Nathan Williams sin-binned Milford stayed in it with a penalty from winger James Trueman.

Tom Davies kicked two penalties for Loughor after the break though before Milford responded when No 9 Daniel McClelland dummied and went over from close range, with Trueman converting.

That made it 11-10 to set up a tense finish and Milford youngster Ben Jenkins impressed in the closing stages off the bench – but it was Loughor who extended the lead with a third Davies penalty.

A bonus point would have been scant consolation for Williams and co, who remain in the top five but having played more games than most of the sides below them.

Milford Haven: Jimmy Thomas, James Williams, Dan Jenkins, Dan Birch, Lee Riley, James Trueman, Danny McClelland, Mike Cockburn, Luke Ryan, Nathan Williams, Chris Hall, Andrew Ling, Gareth Cheshire, Zac Davies, Sam Dolling. Replacements: Dylan Evans, Dean McSparron, Ben Jenkins, Jay Goodall, Steve Martin.

 

Photo - Dan McClelland - claimed Milford's only try at Loughor

 

Seagulls start well but fail to take their chances

Pontarddulais 24 - Fishguard & Goodwick 14

Fishguard & Goodwick made a good start to their match at Pontarddulais and took an early lead but they allowed Pontarddulais to take a 20-11 interval lead and retain second spot in the section table.

It was winger Dafydd Ridgeway who rounded off some excellent handling along The Seagulls’ back line to cross in the corner for an unconverted try.

The Bont’s influential outside half George Mbofana opened his team’s account with a penalty before Marc Jones notched a three-pointer as Fishguard responded well – but then Mbofana landed his second penalty and cut through for a try which he also converted

Marc Jones added his second Fishguard penalty before Mbofana scored his second try to show what an asset he is to The Bont, which was converted by Liam Lazarus because the try scorer was injured.

The Seagulls also opened the second half scoring with a penalty but a couple of yellow cards caused them to lose their impetus and Pontarddulais had the final word when Scott Simons grabbed an unconverted try to leave the visitors reflecting on what might have been.

Fishguard & Goodwick: Robbie Jones, Dafydd Ridgeway, James Griffiths, Sion Rowlands, Rhys Evans, Mark Jones, Dan Evans, Ryan McVeigh, Will Delaney, Adam Bowen, Richard Hunter, Ben John, Luke Freebury, Chris Shousha (capt), Simon James. Replacements: Liam Wilkes, Ed Bendall, Neil Perkins, Mark George, Mark Butler.

 

Another narrow Seasiders loss against table toppers

Tenby United 18 - Burry Port 22

It’s now nine wins from nine for Burry Port after the boot of Lee Evans edged them to a win at Tenby.

Evans landed 17 points but for The Seasiders, there was at least a losing bonus point after prop Rob Luly crashed over from the final play of the game.

The visitors led 13-10 at the break with an Andy Francis try and a conversion and two penalties from Evans – but centre Andrew Cooke kept Tenby in it with a remarkable try as a Burry Port attack broke down metres short of the line, and Cooke picked up the loose ball and raced 80 metres to the line.

Lloyd Thomas added the conversion and a penalty and also kicked three points early in the second half, but three more Evans penalties saw the leaders 22-13 up late on.

But at the death a series of pick and goes ended with Luly crashing over, leaving coach Jonathan Evans to reflect on another tight defeat.

“That’s the seventh losing bonus point we’ve had this season,” he said.

“We are competing in every game and I can’t fault the effort today, but it was another near miss.”

Tenby United: Yannic Parker, Adam Quill, Jimmy Davies, Andrew Cooke, Matt Davies, Lloyd Thomas, Rob Luly, Jim Brace, Ethan Morgan, Luke Dedman (capt), Huw Evans, Tom Barrass, Jack Brown, Luke Hansford, Jack Broadhurst. Replacements: Dan Allen, Geoff Martin, Ben James, Jack Tucker, Calum Serefini.
 

Photo - Rob Luly - late try for Tenby United

 

Photo: Owain Evans spreads ball wide for Neyland

 

Division Three (West) A:

Cardigan too strong for depleted All Blacks

Cardigan 49 - Neyland 15

Cardigan claimed their third victory in nine matches and in doing so leap-frogged opponents Neyland in the league table.

The Teifisiders were 25-5 at half way and added another 24 points after the oranges but Neyland never threw in the towel despite only having a depleted side and were good value for a first-half try by loose-head prop Chad Monk and two more later on by full back Henry McBeth and outside half Shane Phillips.

Cardigan’s were claimed by winger Cerith Griffiths (3), No 8 Tom Taylor, Kieran Greenland, and Llyr Jones (2), who pouched a personal haul of 19 points as he also chipped in with four conversions and two penalties.

Cardigan: Llyr Jones, Cerith Griffiths, Kieran Greenland, Gruffydd Lewis, Oliver Leeming, Iwan John, Danny Bradshaw, William Brice, Ben Cox, Andrew Fletcher, Sion Phillips, Dyfed Simmons, Toby Neilson-Dry, Bedwyr Davies, Tom Taylor. Replacements: Daryl Pugh, Dylan Davies, Kester Adams, Mike Richards.
 

Photo - Llyr Jones - 19 points for Cardigan

 

 

Rhodri leads The Saints to an easy win

St Clears 46 - Llangwm 5

A hat trick of tries from scrum half Rhodri Jones helped St Clears to a comfortable bonus point win over Llangwm and the Carmarthenshire Saints now sit joint top of the table.

There was also a brace of tries for Tom Rees and Nathan Jones also crossed, while James Davies kicked two penalties and five conversions.

The Wasps did battle hard though and grabbed a consolation try through second row John O’Boyle.

 

Tregaron fail to field a team

Pembroke Dock Harlequins P Tregaron P

 

WRU Bowl Competition:

 

Aber march into last eight of Bowl Competition

Aberaeron 22 - Caerau Ely 7

The unknown always presents a challenge and with Caerau Ely flying high in their respective league it needed an inspiration in the Aberaeron camp and it came in the form of young second row Bleddyn Thomas, who at crucial stages was inspirational in contributing to the home side's success.
 

Caerau started well but Aber were level at the break

It never looked that way in the early stages as the Cardiff-based opposition played an expansive game with full back Rob Healy causing more than a little concern and they were rewarded for their enterprise with a try in the 15th minute by centre John Harley who also added the conversion.

Aberaeron's cause was not helped by early injuries to centre Iwan Evans and No8 Lewis Tomlins and it needed a response from a reorganised squad, superbly led by player/coach Justin Lloyd to turn the tide.  The reward came  after a period of relentless pressure on the visitors’ line resulted in a quick release giving Bleddyn Thomas a clear path to the line and  giving Rhodri Jenkins the conversion to bring the scores level at the break.

Aberaeron pack rule the roost

With Aberaeron in the ascendancy after the turnaround and the Slinger brothers threatening to expose the visitors’ defence wide out Jenkins put his side ahead with a penalty and the next score would have brought much pleasure to the front eight as Caerau were unable to repel a rolling maul from virtually half way with evergreen prop Owain Wozencraft the beneficiary in crossing the whitewash.

The result at this stage was still very much  in the balance and with the visitors becoming more than a little frustrated the final reckoning was confirmed  with Thomas demonstrating exquisite skills after taking a  robbed possession by Tudur Jenkins and giving  the second row a path to the line and despite being tackled a deft pass gave centre Dyfrig Dafis  a try on the plate.

Jenkins duly converted and the dying minutes saw a frustrated visitors fortunate to retain their full complement with the final whistle beckoning but elation for the vast home support. Next week's draw for the quarter finals will be an interesting and with much  hope for a home encounter at Parc Drefach. A final flourish saw the team's youth's squad dominate Fishguard by 32-10, to complete a perfect afternoon.

 

No ref turned up so match had to be called off!

Tumble P Laugharne P

There was understandable frustration in both camps after Tumble and Laugharne had completed their full match warm-ups but were unable to play because an administrative error by the WRU meant that no referee had turned up! As a result, Laugharne will have to make the trip to Tumble a second time before the deadline set by the WRU!