Narberth survived the tense closing stages at the Groe to record a narrow victory over the Bulls after threatening to run away with the game in the first quarter.
Speaking after the match, team manager, Robert Lewis, said: "Very pleased that we managed to come away from Builth with a win which has been a bit of a bogey ground for us over the years.
"From the start, both teams attempted to play an attractive open style of play and we were justly rewarded with three cracking tries in the first 20 minutes. The forwards were winning us good ball which was being quickly recycled over three or four phases of play and we were then able to spread the ball wide or exploit the gaps which were created in mid-field.
"At 19-6 up, we were controlling the game well and looked firmly in the driving seat. However, when their centre broke through and stepped sharply inside, Adrian Killa who was covering across instinctively stuck out an arm which brought the centre to ground.
"The player recovered to his feet almost immediately and from the reaction of players from both sides it was obvious that there was no malicious intent in the tackle.
"Up to that point and indeed throughout the game it was played in good spirit and it was therefore with great astonishment to all concerned that not only did the referee reach for a card, but a red one at that!
"Personally, I feel very sorry for Adrian as he is not the type of player who goes out to intentionally injure another player, and I know he has taken it badly, as he has never before been sent off in his long rugby career. Down to 14 men and having to rejig the backline, it took our players up until half- time to settle down again.
"Despite the second half also being a spectacle of flowing rugby, both teams suffered from two players receiving yellow cards from the referee which meant that the game was always somewhat disjointed.
"Under great pressure from Builth in the last 15 minutes, it was very pleasing to see the Narberth players stick at it and tackle heroically until the final whistle.
"We were fortunate that Builth missed the conversion with the last kick of the game, but I felt that it was a game that we fully deserved to win." Builth outside-half Rob Lloyd gave his team the lead after two minutes with a straightforward penalty kick from in front of the posts, but the Otters bounced back quickly three minutes later. It was the result of some clever combination work between the pack and the backs. Flanker Jamie Bohata cut through the Bulls' defence before being brought down. The backs regrouped and centre Phil Thomas burst over the line half-way out on the right for an unconverted try.
Lloyd had a chance to put his team back in the lead with a long distance penalty attempt but the kick was off target.
More 15 man rugby resulted in the next try from Narberth. Skipper Emori Katalau won the ball cleanly from a lineout on the right. Outside-half Mike Georgiou released centre Phil Thomas who ran straight down the middle of the field and Steve Martin was in support to touch down under the posts for a try converted by scrum-half Adrian Killa.
There was more. Fullback Matthew Davies came into the line to finish off another exciting move when he touched down in the left corner and scrum half Adrian Killa converted from the touchline to give the visitors a lead of 16 points after 22 minutes.
However, Killa received a red card for the first time in his career shortly afterwards for an alleged dangerous tackle on Builth centre John Thurston. Rob Lloyd kicked the penalty which was awarded and followed up with another before the interval to reduce the lead to ten points.
After five minutes of the second half, both sides were playing with 13 men. Narberth lock Chris James was yellow carded along with two of the Builth players following an exchange of blows and both teams had other players yellow carded later in the game although the match was played in good spirit.
After Mike Georgiou missed out on a penalty attempt the Narberth lead was further eroded when Rob Lloyd kicked a penalty assisted by a kindly bounce from the posts. The Otters had to make an impact quickly and did so when Builth lock Mike Price was yellow carded.
For a period of almost ten minutes Narberth had been camped inside the Builth 22 after Phil Thomas and Mark Davies had lodged a counter attack from inside the Narberth half.
After a series of moves from scrums, the Otters eventually broke through when outside half Mike Georgiou finished a move half-way out on the left for a try which he converted himself.
Shortly after, Narberth substitute Adrian Chiffi was yellow carded Builth scored a try when centre Mathew Lewis crossed the line from a tapped penalty and Rob Lloyd converted to reduce the deficit to seven points.
Builth knew that a converted try would level the scores and threw everything at the Otters in the closing stages.
The Narberth defence held firm until injury time when number eight Ben Duggan barged over in the right corner for a try.
You could have heard a pin drop when Rob Lloyd attempted a conversion. The ball looked as if it was going between the posts, but drifted towards the left to save the day for the Otters.
At times, Narberth produced some scintillating rugby, particularly in the first half with excellent attacking performances by centres Steve Martin and Phil Thomas, and Adrian Killa was always amongst the heart of things when he was on the field. Matthew Davies enjoyed the space he had at fullback where he could use his speed and vision to set up attacking movements and Mark Davies showed his versatility with a competent performance on the left wing before moving to the number nine position to take over from Adrian Killa.
The return of Nathan Williams in the front row made a difference, but there were also good performances by hooker Simon Delaney and prop Alan Phillips.
As usual, the back row combined well and the Otters more than held their own in the line outs. Skipper Emori Katalau was pleased with the performance and said: "When we had 15 players on the field before Adrian Killa went off we played really well. His departure spoiled the game plan as he is a key factor in our 15 man style of rugby. The pack played extremely well after disappointing the previous week away to UWIC. We struggled a little in the lineout at times, but our scrummaging was top quality. "When we were reduced to 14 men I thought we would hold out because of the quality of players in the team. Our defensive work was excellent, we tackled well and did more work than our opponents around the fringes. "With a full complement of players if we had maintained the form shown in the first 20 minutes throughout the match we would have ended up as comfortable winners."
Narberth fielded: Matthew Davies, Rob Irving, Steve Martin, Phil Thomas, Mark Davies, Mike Georgiou, Adrian Killa, Alan Phillips (Martin Bowen), Simon Delaney, Nathan Williams, Emori Katalau (capt.) (David Ebsworth), Chris James (Adrian Chiffi), Jamie Bohata, Andrew Dennis and Lewis Wood.