Narberth Athletic completed their Carmarthen Tyres West Wales Premier League season with an entertaining home game against Waunarlwydd..

It was a pleasant sunny day, with neighbours Narberth Cricket Club resplendent in their whites on the adjacent cricket field matching the Athletic's white jerseys.

This final league game brought to a close a very mixed season of results for the Athletic. This was a game where defensive frailties and fitness, particularly in the first half, let the Athletic down with a tendency not to commit support to the rucks enabling Waun to win possession to launch their attacks..

Waun started well and were quickly pressing the Athletic who seemed with their reactions to be a bit slow. However, when they focused on the game, they came to grips with their visitors and showed much promise, particularly with ball in hand, moving it from player to player quite impressively.

Narberth fielded a young XV with a few experienced heads amongst them, namely hooker Aubrey Young, number eight Anthony Griffiths and in the threes, Tim Pleat, who must now be a senior member.

The first try was scored by Waun after just three minutes. It came from a forward drive by their pack and when the ball was released, the young Otters' defence let in Rhys Saturley for the touchdown, which went unconverted.

This was followed two minutes later with another unconverted try, when their flanker received the ball from the restart and surged forward for fly-half Rob Davies to score wide out.

At 10-nil and after only five minutes, it appeared as though the floodgates had opened and the Athletic were in for a difficult afternoon.

However, several Waun infringements enabled James Davies to succeed with two penalty kicks. This gave the Athletic youngsters heart and they began to make a real game of the occasion.

Unfortunately, James Davies missed two further penalties, before Nathan Lloyd touched down for a try after Tom Parsell had made a break to get clear of the defence. Davies converted to put the Athletic in the lead at half-time 13-10.

This was a complete turnaround in performance after their slow start.

The second half saw Waun bounce back after two minutes with a try, when the Athletic allowed them to turn the ball over and enable Johnny Morris to score under the posts, with Rob Davies converting to put them back in the lead at 17-10.

The young Otters struck back, winning several rucks, before Waun infringed on the ground, allowing James Davies to bang over a penalty.

Midway through the second half, Waun scored another try after the Athletic were adjudged to have infringed at the scrum. A quick tap penalty and weak defence allowed Darryl Moore to score and Rob Davies to convert to give Waun a 24-16 lead..

The Otters were now commanding the scrums, enabling them to attack the gain line and eventually Waun infringed. A quick tap penalty saw Anthony Griffiths drive forward and he was able to move the ball on to his threequarters where a long high pass to wing Tim Pleat saw him feed fullback Dan Owen to score an unconverted try..

Narberth then brought on the veterans, coach Gareth Charles and club sponsorship officer Bill Ridge, to beef up the young Otters pack.

The Athletic attacked with some conviction and gained two further penalties, but unfortunately James Davies was unable to convert them into points.

With only a minute to go, Waun brought on a 56-year-old replacement, who used his experience on receiving the ball to run into touch and signal the end of the game as the referee blew for time, with Waunarlwydd winning 24-21.

Perhaps a draw would have been a fairer result, but the Athletic had opportunities to win the game and a lack of experience let them down.

Afterwards, player coach Gareth Charles commented that throughout the season, a relatively inexperienced squad had shown much endeavour, but lacked ability to turn their effort into success via tries. The squad has many young players and this can only be good for next season.

The man-of-the-match went to young Tom Bannister.

Narberth Athletic fielded: Dan Owen, Tim Pliumb, Tom Parsell, Tom Taylor, John Morse, James Davies, Aaron Keane, Jon Edwards, Aubrey Young, Dean Armie, Ed Pritchard, Rhydian Williams, Anthony Griffiths, Nathan Lloyd, Tom Bannister,

Subs - Dai Brittain, Gareth Charles, Bill Ridge.