Pembrokeshire Vikings 33  - Port Talbot Panthers 17

 
Pembrokeshire Vikings played host to their old rivals Port Talbot Panthers at Milford Haven RFC and were in good form so that after a hard battle they came away from the Observatory with a deserved 33-17 victory.
 
There is always a great rivalry whenever these teams play but with a sense of camaraderie that has seen friendships develop on and off the field – so their return match in the New Year will see The Vikings eager to complete the double but with The Panthers looking to gain revenge.



 

The Vikings start well

 
The Vikings were running away with the game in the first half and established a good lead as a result, with ‘Old Warhorse’ Gethin Bateman joined by Graham Elliott,  Kieran Burrows, Yousef El Tawab, Stephen Morse, James Taylor and others in catching the eye with their work rate and involvement in what was a very good all-round squad performance.
 
Dafydd Cowl was a real livewire when he came on and it was nice to see The Vikings fielding two sets of brothers in Ashley and Ben Couceiro, plus Josh and Ross Price – and Sean Phillips, who converted from prop to centre and was a powerful force on his welcome return to action as he made one 30-metre run before unselfishly supplying the scoring pass for winger Dave Roberts to cross at the posts.
 
Callum Power added the conversion and as well as being a rock in defence was always a threat with ball in hand as he added three more conversions to some of the tries claimed by centre Karl Bate, scrum half Shaun Treadwell, winger Richard Williams and full back Jack Elliott.



 

Panthers battle hard – but in vain

 
The Panthers deserve every credit for the manner in which they kept battling away and were rewarded with three tries and a conversion as their part in an entertaining tussle, watched by a supportive crowd that included an old friend in Barry Walters, of Pembrokeshire College.
 
The Panthers were due to create a little history last weekend as they were supposed to travel to play a team comprising members and employees of The Senedd, including local member Sam Kurtz at Llandaff RFC in Cardiff but Storm Bert put paid to that experience – although the game will be rearranged for later in the season.
 
The sponsors of the game were Austwel Ltd, Hedley Asset Management and the Pembrokeshire College.
 
Pembrokeshire Vikings’ Squad:
Dave Roberts, Karl Bate, Shaun Treadwell, Richard Williams, Jack Elliott, Ben Couceiro, Ashley Couceiro, Sean McKenzie Hughes, Ross Price, Josh Price, Dan McCaffrey, Youssef El Tawab, Tom Brown, Graham Elliott, Stephen Morse, Jay Carter, Gethin Bateman, Gareth Rees, Callum Power, Jack Colley, Rob Sweeny,  Kieran Burrows, Logan James, James Tylor, Dafydd Cowl, John Ellis.