Tenby United 14 pts.
Brynamman 36
Tenby United's hopes of promotion from Division Four West of the SWALEC League were dealt a hefty blow by fellow high fliers Brynamman.
The Carmarthenshire side used their dominance at the scrum to force the Seasiders into errors and kicked sensibly throughout to gain a well-deserved victory.
The visitors began the game with some intensity, a succession of well-organised drives from their pack setting up a number of attacking positions wide on the right in the Tenby 22. Such was the onslaught that the home side lost lock Ifan Davies to an injury just a couple of minutes in, to be replaced by Gareth Edwards.
The opening stages were all Brynamman as they threw everything at the Tenby line, but to the credit of the home side, their defence was solid and they were eventually awarded a penalty after Bryn were penalised for going off their feet at a ruck.
A fine Tom Lewis penalty saw the United escape from their half for the first time in the match and set up what was almost a try scoring opportunity.
Sam Smith claimed the ball at the back of a lineout and set off on a fine charge to within 10 metres of the Bryn line. The number eight looked to feed flanker Rob James in support, but was not quite able to find the openside for what would almost certainly have been the opening try.
The United's opening try was not long in coming, though, and Smith, who was at the heart of everything positive from the Seasiders, was the instigator. Picking up from the base of a scrum, he fed Tom Lewis, who showed great footwork to cross in the shadow of the posts. The conversion was a formality for the stand-off.
The score only served to stir the visiting eight into action once again as they used their tight five to put the home side on the back foot with a succession of impressive drives. Having sucked in the home defence, the Bryn threes spread the ball right and then left, creating a well worked try for centre Rummins. Scrum-half Jones added the extras to level the scores with a quarter of the game gone.
Realising that they would have to step up a couple of gears, the home pack did well to work their way back into the visitors' territory, a neat chip from Rhys Thomas giving them a foothold in the 22.
The United made the most of this and regained the lead after some good work from centre Mark Heywood. The powerful centre did well to cross the gain line and set up a target for his forwards, who responded by providing quick ruck ball. The ball was moved wide to lock Wyndham Williams, who put wing Sam Cataki in for the score. Lewis again added the conversion to push the Seasiders 14-7 to the good.
The lead was soon reduced to just four points, though, as Tenby were rather unluckily penalised for hands on the floor at a ruck and scrum-half Jones slotted the three-pointer. As the game went on, the home side were increasingly on the wrong side of a number of decision from referee Richard Hughes, with the United coaching staff frustrated at his management of the contact area.
Their frustration only increased minutes later when the visitors were gifted a gilt edged opportunity to take the lead. A penalty attempt from Jones drifted well wide of the posts, but Tom Lewis was unable to gather and Bryn gained a scrum in a perfect attacking position.
The set-piece platform was rock solid, as it was all afternoon, and some weak tackling in the Tenby midfield saw the visitors cross for a regulation score that Jones converted to put them in front.
Things could have got even worse almost immediately as the visitors came close to touching down again after a fine kick ahead. Only some fine covering from Rob James prevented them extending their lead.
As it was, the United cleared their lines and had a chance to draw level having been awarded a penalty following a typical bullocking run by skipper Lee Tucker. Unfortunately, Tom Lewis couldn't punish the visitors and they held their lead at the break.
The United would have hoped for a positive start to the second period, but in reality it couldn't have been worse as the Carmarthenshire side extended their advantage further. Forwards and backs linked well in a well-crafted move that led to a score under the posts, making the conversion a formality.
The United were now 10 points adrift and their scrum was coming under increasing pressure, forcing a succession of errors. They must have felt it was not their day when winger Jimmy Davies was shown a yellow card and Bryn kicked to the corner, keeping the pressure on.
However, the home eight showed great determination in stealing the lineout and prop Ben Cray drove powerfully to clear the home lines.
Harry Bolton was brought on to replace Nicky Guymer and the hard-working Rob James gave way to Emyr Hughes as the United looked to provide some added mobility in the back row. But the incessant pressure from Bryn continued as they pinned the home side back into their own 22 on a number of occasions with some pin-point kicking.
The visitors made the game safe following a loose United kick. They sensibly worked an overlap to the left and crossed in the corner for what was the game's decisive score.
To rub salt in the wounds, Bryn winger Williams cantered under the posts as the game drew to a close after he had intercepted a Tom Lewis pass. The simple conversion gave the visitors a 36-14 victory and a real chance of promotion with unbeaten league leaders Llandeilo.
The United will look back on a day when nothing really went right, but the dominance of the Bryn front five created the platform for what was in the end a deserved victory.
Tenby United's main sponsors are Chevron, the match sponsors being BBs Restaurant, Broadfield Farm. The ball sponsors were Frank Thomas, Wyn Griffiths and Richard Howells.
Tenby fielded: Dai Meyrick; Jimmy Davies, Mark Heywood, Gavin Brace, Sam Cataki; Tom Lewis, Rhys Thomas; Ben Cray, Lee Tucker (capt.), Simon Griffiths, Ifan Davies, Wyndham Williams, Nicky Guymer, Rob James, Sam Smith. Replacements - Emyr Hughes, Harry Bolton, Mike Lewis, Gareth Edwards.