Tenby United 37 pts.
Trimsaran 11
Coastal Cottages sponsored Tenby United began the New Year very much as they started the old, with a vital bonus point victory against Trimsaran at Heywood Lane on Saturday.
But the Seasiders left it until the very last move of the game to claim the fourth try that secured the bonus point that they would have hoped for at the start of the game.
In reality, they could not have made a much poorer start to the game, finding themselves eight points down within just a few minutes.
From the opening phase of play, they gifted the visitors a simple penalty for coming in at the side of a ruck and stand-off Dafydd Latham gratefully slotted the ball between the sticks from the 22.
And within minutes they conceded a try following an opportunistic chip down the right flank. Fullback Dai Meyrick was unable to deal with an awkward bouncing ball and with no other defensive cover, impressive wing Chris Wild was able to crash over for an unconverted score.
This stirred the home eight and after some impressive work on the floor from hooker Terry John, they were awarded a penalty for hands at the ruck. Stand-off Tom Lewis stepped up for the shot at goal and struck the ball majestically between the uprights to reduce the deficit to one score.
The Seasiders were now getting a grip on the game and Lewis had another change to further reduce the arrears soon after, but his drop kick faded to the right of the posts.
All afternoon, Trim's right-winger Chris Wild posed problems for the United defence and it was only down to some smart work by Luke Dedman that an early run from the diminutive speedster was halted.
The United scrum has become a key facet of their play in recent matches and once again they used their dominance to good effect, stealing a number of heels against the head. This created the freedom for Sam Smith to pick up from the base and use his power to good effect, making ground regularly, but occasionally failing to link with the support that might have led to a score.
Lewis was presented with another difficult penalty shot after Dan Colley and stand-off Latham were involved in a petty scuffle. Once again, the number 10 struck the ball beautifully to take the home side back within two points with just over a quarter of the match gone.
The United's dominance at scrum time was now telling. From a scrum just inside the Trim 22, a huge shove from the home eight presented the ball at Sam Smith's feet. The burly back rower charged towards the line and then swivelled skilfully, feeding Luke Dedman in support for the home side's opening try. Lewis added the extras with a superb touchline conversion.
But no sooner had the United gained the upper hand than they lost lock forward Gareth Edwards to the sin bin after a pointless shoulder charge following two quickly taken tap penalties. Latham stepped up to slot the simple penalty that resulted and the visitors themselves were very much back in the hunt.
The Carmarthenshire outfit looked to use their one-man advantage, but the United defended well, using the touchline as the extra defender. Nemani Ratu proved what a key player he is to the United with some big defensive hits as half-time approached and he would show in the second period what he can do with ball in hand.
After the break, Simon Griffiths left the field after a powerful display of scrummaging, Jonny Lane moving into the front three and Timoci 'Jim' Kanmahotoya taking to the field.
The United looked to up the intensity after the break, Sam Smith setting off on a powerful charge, brushing off four Trim tacklers, but the number eight should have looked inside for the waiting support that would almost certainly have led to a try. The home pack did well to recycle the ball and after a dart from Toby Smith, elder brother Sam set off on another charge, but Lee Tucker couldn't quite gather the pass or he would have been in for a certain try.
This seemed to frustrate the United and they began playing into the visitors' hands, some indiscipline costing them territory. In fact, Trim had a decent chance from 35 metres for a shot at goal after some back chat from the home forwards, but Latham hooked his attempt left.
Both sides began to make mistakes now as the game entered a scrappy phase, but after yet another heel against the head, the United threequarters put together a decent passage of play, Nemani Ratu running strongly up to the Trim 22 before being bundled into touch.
Ratu was again in the action just minutes later, a superb mazy run from the winger only halted by a last-ditch tackle from Trim fullback Phil Davies. But his good work came to nothing after he was penalised for handling on the floor. The kick was a formality for Lewis, pushing the home side five points clear.
As the visitors tired, Tenby began to create space, a fine run from 'Big Jim' linking well with Toby Smith. The ball was recycled quickly and the United showed good patience in their phase play before Tom Lewis showed a good turn of pace to breach the home defence and dive in under the posts. He converted his own score to put daylight between the teams at 23-11.
Trim heads finally began to drop now, but to their credit, the United saved some of their best attacking endeavour until the end. After securing possession on halfway, Lewis spun a long pass to Big Jim, who released Nemani Ratu. The visitors could do little about his searing pace and, although he was brought down just short of the line, Gareth Edwards was close in support to claim the try. The lock showed good awareness to cross right under the posts to make the conversion a simple one.
As the game entered its closing minutes, Dan Colley was replaced by George Evans. It seemed as if the United were going to be denied their bonus try as time ticked away, but the game once again sparked to life after a fracas on the right-hand touchline.
It was a case of mistaken identity for the Seasiders as Dai Meyrick was shown a yellow card, having apparently done nothing untoward, but Trim centre Mike Daniel got his marching orders from referee Richard Thomas for what seemed like a blatant headbutt.
From the penalty that followed, the United had their last throw of the dice and spun the ball wide to try and find a gap in the tiring visitors' defence. The ball finally found its way to Ratu out on the left and he showed speed and strength to go over for a try that his all-round performance deserved. Lewis added the extras to leave the final score 37-11.
The United will be pleased to have secured the bonus point that they would have hoped for at the start of the game, but they will hope to be more clinical at times, given their dominance in the tight phases of play.
After a trip to Hendy tomorrow (Saturday), the Seasiders break from league action as a result of the Six Nations, their next home encounter being on February 20, when they take on Cefneithin.
The match sponsor was Chris Jenkins Caravan Repairs and the match ball sponsor was Andreas Jeremias.
Tenby fielded: Dai Meyrick; Nemani Ratu, Toby Smith, Gavin Brace (capt.), Dan Colley; Tom Lewis, Matt Shepherd; Simon Griffiths, Terry John, Lee Tucker, Gareth Edwards, Jonny Lane, Luke Dedman, Nicky Guymer, Sam Smith. Replacements - Simon Stanford, George Evans, Robbie Clark, Timoci 'Jim' Kanmahotoya.