Division One
The undefeated Tenby side, sponsored by Layton and Company Solicitors and Chandler Rogers Estate Agents, welcomed Whitland in this top-of-the-table league clash on Saturday.
Whitland have consistently figured in the top three over the past four seasons, having won their only title in 2007.
Both sides were in confident mood after navigating their way through their respective Carruthers Shield groups.
After five ends, Tenby were six shots in arrears after Whitland came out 'of the blocks' quickly. Tenby rallied at 10 ends and led by 12 shots.
The usual break for tea came and Tenby looked to press home their advantage, but Whitland came fighting back and led at the 15th end by seven shots.
With their confidence up and the scent of a famous victory against the defending Welsh and Pembrokeshire champions, they led by 12 at the 18th end and won comfortably by 24 at the climax.
Tenby had a solitary rink win and picked up two points to Whitland's three rink wins and 12 points.
Rink one saw the rink of Andrew Muskett take on Stephen Reese and the Tenby quartet were behind at five ends by four shots (5-9). Closing the gap by two shots by the 10th end saw encouraging signs that they were beginning to take control, but a dropped three shots the following end saw the momentum swing back to the Whitland four. This was short-lived, however, as Tenby took four shots to close within one.
Surely now the rally would come? Unfortunately another three dropped shots the following end, followed by dropping a one and then two shots, saw Whitland increase their lead to seven. A single to Tenby, followed by Whitland winning the next four ends saw Whitland running out comfortable winners 28-15.
Craig Guymer's 'young guns' rink played against Alan Whitehouse. Down 0-13 after six ends, it all looked bleak. But the rink is made of stern stuff and rallied superbly to take a four and a three the next two ends. Three dropped singles on the next ends saw Whitland pull slowly away, but then a four and a two brought the game to 13-16.
The following ends saw the Tenby four play brilliantly and were consistently holding fours and above, end after end, until Alan Whitehouse played 'all or nothing' shots and got maximum results each time.
Luke Rees was once again outstanding and was backed up by Cameron White. Luke and Craig were also superb and together, this rink showed great composure and no little skill to recover from an awful start and with a little more fortune would have won.
Paul Diment's rink was always in control against a Whitland four with Colin Wynn at skip. Going into a 7-2 lead at five ends, the Tenby rink took two singles followed by two 'fours' to race 17-2 ahead. The lead increased to 18 shots, but then four dropped ends of a single, three, two and a further single saw them leading by only 20-9 at the 15th end.
With the team game slipping, it was time to take chances, which unfortunately did not come off, and a dropped four and three on the 19th and 20th ends gave a feeling of satisfaction for the Whitland four as they went down by only six at the end (23-17).
In a normal situation, this 'rink', who totally outplayed their opposition, would have won by 20 shots. The rink did have to push a lot harder and had to make things happen rather than play their tried and tested tactic of waiting for things to happen, due to Whitland taking control of the overall match.
Once again, credit to Gerald Hewitt, who was superb. I am running out of superlatives for Mike Jackson, as again his performance was of the highest level. Peter Day also produced his usual high standard and as previously mentioned the scoreline flattered the Whitland four.
Pat Currie took on the Whitland captain, Glyn Thomas, and once again blew their opponents away early on - which has been the 'norm' for this talented rink - taking a 13-2 lead into the ninth end.
For some reason, though, after tea they could not contain their opponents and lost the rest of the match 27-8. This was due to a damaging run from ends 13 to 17, which saw them lose a three, six and a seven. The final result was 29-21 to the Whitland four.
After a perfect start to the season, this result was not expected, especially at home. The Tenby team have always been gracious in victory, but also in defeat, and I must thank my players for their reaction after the game. Obviously disappointed by the result, it is fair to say that the best team won on the day.
Tenby have been so successful over the years that a defeat is always difficult to take along with trying to find reasons for the defeat. Whilst other teams may over-react, the Tenby captain has, since as long as he has been playing, never been panicked into making changes. The players under my tenure as team captain are the best in Pembrokeshire. I am not going to list the accolades that players have won, but they are by a distance the best in Pembrokeshire. The team will bounce back from this defeat and I have no doubt that when we look at our achievements at the end of the season, this was a defeat which helped us rather than hindered us in our objective of defending both the Pembrokeshire and Welsh titles.
Tomorrow (Saturday) sees an unchanged side, with no positional changes, take on a Milford Haven side who, not only have been struggling for performances, but even a team. Only two weeks ago they pulled out of a tie against Tenby, but strangely fielded a full strength second team the day after to play Five Arches.
As the Carruthers Shield is a club competition, it is obvious that the Milford selectors had enough players to choose from. However, as the match is to be played at Milford, I would edge my bets that the game will be on.
Rink scores (Tenby first, Whitland skips only):
J. Richards, D. Spencer, J. Roberts, A. Muskett 15; S Reese 28.
L. Rees, C. White, L. Guymer, C. Guymer 17; A Whitehouse 26.
G. Hewitt, M. Jackson, P. Day, P. Diment (capt) 23; C. Wynn 17.
N. Dickinson, J. Baggott, J. Webb, P. Currie 21; G. Thomas 29.
Score breakdown: five ends - Tenby 19-25 Whitland; 10 ends - Tenby 47-35 Whitland; 15 ends - Tenby 60-67 Whitland; 18 ends - Tenby 71-83 Whitland; 21 ends - Tenby 76-100 Whitland
TENBY ARCHES 40 WHITLAND 48
Tenby Ladies (sponsored by the Fourcroft Hotel) played host to Whitland ladies on Saturday. The weather was cool and windy, but the rain stayed away.
On rink six, Mair's side were 14-4 down at tea-time, but they kept going and on the 20th end they were just one adrift at 19-18. On the 21st end, they were holding two, but the Whitland skip managed to cut them down to one, drawing the game.
On rink five, Alison's rink were in the same situation at tea-time, 16-6 down.
On the 15th end, they managed to take the lead 18-17, but the Whitland side pulled out all the stops and ended the game 29-21.
Rink scores (Tenby first, Whitland skips only):
G. Brutnell, A. Owens, H. Baggott, A. Redman 21; C. Jones 29.
D. White, G. Beeken, L. Evans, M. Marquiss 19; A. Thomas 19.
TENBY ARCHES 44 PENDINE 25
On Tuesday, the ladies (sponsored by the Fourcroft Hotel) were hosts to Pendine. The weather started off dull, but the sun came out to dry up the green, making it change quite a bit.
Rink five saw Julia's side 9-6 up, but Pendine pulled back on the 16th end to score a three, making it 12-all.
On the 19th end, the score was 14-all, but Tenby scored a one and a three on the last two ends to win.
On rink six, Alison's rink were in the lead at tea-time 11-9 and only lost two ends after to run out winners 26-11.
Rink scores (Tenby first, Pendine skip only):
L. Evans, D. White, V. Williams, J. King-Thomas 18; M. Stephens 14.
L. Delabertouche, A. Owens, H. Baggott, A. Redman 26; G. Hale 11.
GOSCAR 17
PENDINE 16
Goscar had their return match with Pendine in the Meyrick Owen competition on Tuesday afternoon.
After last week's close game with a Pendine win, Goscar turned the tables at home with a one-shot victory.
The teams were evenly matched and the game was not decided until the last end.
Goscar had a five on the 15th end, but Pendine pulled level on the 20th end to make it a nail-biting finish.
Goscar travel to Saundersfoot next Tuesday to play the top-of-the-table side.
Team: Dai Rees, Brian Winstone, Ray Hine, skip Harold Ebdon.
Whist results
Thursday, May 27: top score - Vi Roberts, 175; 1st lady - Muriel Griffiths, 173; 2nd lady - Mair Marquiss, 172; 1st gent - Pauline Barnikel, 166; 2nd gent - Gladys Irvine, 164; first half winner - Mary Draper, 88; second half winner - Ginnie Beeken, 80; longest sitter, 12 sits, Olive Frost, who deserves a half-dozen eggs!; lowest score - Mary Renowden; raffles - Mary Renowden and Pauline Barnikel.
Monday, May 31: top score - Ginnie Beeken, 183; 1st lady - Mair Marquiss, 167; 2nd lady, with the same score, Mary Renowden, 167; 1st gent - Mary Draper, 170; 2nd gent - Gladys Irvine, 167; winners of the first and second halves - Margaret Hill 91 and Pauline Barnikel 83; longest sitter - Jean Salisbury, five sits; lowest score - Muriel Griffiths; raffles - Ginnie Beeken and Mair Marquiss.
Visitors and new members are always welcome to the twice weekly whist drives, every Monday and Thursday, at 7 pm.