Tenby United 23 pts.

Hendy 15

Two outstanding individual scores from barnstorming flanker Jason Ronowitz put a flattering gloss on what was a far from convincing performance from Tenby United on Saturday.

The Coastal Cottages sponsored table-toppers welcomed Hendy to Heywood Lane, having destroyed the Carmarthenshire outfit 59-20 in the reverse fixture back in February and would have been hoping for another bonus point boost to seal their promotion credentials.

But with the season now very much at its business end, the Seasiders seem intent on keeping supporters nerves jangling with just three games left to play and five points needed to guarantee promotion.

From the start of Saturday's encounter, the United seemed on edge and trying to play too much rugby too early, rather than build an effective platform and secure points early on before playing a more expansive game later on.

In fact, the home side's misplaced adventure early on cost them dear, as the bulky Hendy eight set up an effective series of pick and drives and crashed over on the left. Stand-off Rob Richards added the extras to extend the visitors' lead.

The United were galvanised by this and after gathering the ball from a loose kick, Jimmy Davies made good ground before feeding Dai Meyrick and Sam Catiki, Hendy being forced to concede a penalty for hands at the ruck. Tom Lewis made the 30-metre kick seem a formality, opening the Seasiders' account.

Tight-head prop Geoff Martin showed up well early on with some powerful ball carrying surges, but the home eight were not able to capitalise on these, allowing the visitors to continually pin them back in their own territory.

The United were soon offered a gilt edged scoring opportunity after a horrible pass from visiting scrum-half Griff Jones found no-one in particular deep in the Hendy 22 and a five-metre scrum was awarded. The United couldn't force their way over the line and had to settle for a second penalty, but unfortunately on this occasion Lewis's radar was not functioning and the three points went begging.

With just over a quarter of the match gone, the visitors, seventh in the table before the start of play, sensed they had a real opportunity for a shock victory. They fashioned another excellent scoring opportunity down the left flank and were only denied by a knock-on in the Seasiders' 22.

The United created another chance of their own from open play, back rower Llaisa Torau cutting a fine angle to break the gain line before feeding Dan Colley and Luke Dedman in support. Dedman could not quite link with Jimmy Davies, though, and the chance to take the lead was lost.

As a succession of squandered chances seemed to be frustrating the home side, Ronowitz broke the stalemate. Seizing possession just inside his own half, he burst through a number of tackles and outpaced the cover defence on the left flank before crossing with a flamboyant Chris Ashton style swallow dive. This time Lewis was on target with the conversion and gave the United a three-point cushion going into the break.

At the interval, young scrum-half Dan Thomas was replaced by Will Crockford in an effort to gain greater control at the breakdown and the base of the scrum.

But once again it was the visitors who looked sharper, a succession of quickly taken penalties earning a long distance shot at goal that Richards pushed left.

The respite was short-lived, however, as Richards was given another chance just minutes later following a Torau high tackle. The kick was well struck and drew the visitors level at 10 points apiece.

The United introduced more changes as they looked to up the intensity, Scott Payne replacing Robbie Clarke on the loose-head and Richard Rossiter slotting into the back row in place of Lawrence Brits.

But try as they may, the United could not get the control of the game that they so desperately wanted and gave away more and more penalties as their own frustrations bubbled to the surface.

An indiscretion from the visitors at a lineout just outside their 22 gave Tom Lewis another chance to edge his side ahead, referee Colin Phillips pinging the visitors for pulling down. The stand-off made no mistake in giving his side the advantage, but they nearly relinquished it immediately after the home eight were penalised for going in at the side at a ruck from the re-start. To the relief of the home supporters, the kick sailed wide of the right-hand upright.

With the match so delicately poised, both sides had opportunities to score, but neither had the composure or cutting edge to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and put it to bed.

The match seemed to swing towards the visitors when Geoff Martin was shown the yellow card for an offence at a ruck, but once again from nowhere, Jason Ronowitz provided a much-needed spark of inspiration.

From a ruck situation just inside the United half, the powerful young breakaway grabbed possession, but seemed to have nowhere to go. But just as he had done before the break, Ronowitz combined strength in the tackle with irresistible pace to sprint fully 60 metres to the line for a score that could be crucial in defining the United's season.

Lewis added the conversion to give the United a slightly flattering 20-10 lead, before hard-working skipper Nicky Guymer was replaced at hooker by Terry John.

But the visitors were certainly not going to give up and they bounced back with a second try of their own, but the hurried drop goal attempt at a conversion failed, leaving them still five points adrift.

Lewis sealed the victory and stopped the nail-biting on the terraces with a further penalty, giving him a personal tally of 13 points for the day, after Hendy were penalised for going over the top in their desperation to seize possession.

Pretty it most certainly wasn't, but with three games left against Pembroke Dock Quins tomorrow (Saturday), and then fellow promotion rivals Amman United and Cardigan over the next two weeks, their destiny remains very much in their hands.

Many pundits say that the mark of a good side is its ability to win games even when they are not playing well. Last Saturday was one of those occasions.

The match sponsor was Ryan Ennis, of Zed 10 Caravans and Tenby Tourers.

Tenby fielded: Dai Meyrick, Jimmy Davies, Jack Guerreiro, Dan Colley, Sam Catiki, Tom Lewis, Dan Thomas, Geoff Martin, Nicky Guymer (capt.), Robbie Clark, Llaisa Torau, Luke Dedman, Jason Ronowitz, Gareth Nock, Lawrence Brits. Replacements - Terry John, Scott Payne, Richard Rossiter, Will Crockford.