Merthyr 26 pts. Narberth 29
Narberth bounced back from the disappointment of home defeat against Bonymaen the previous week with a determined effort to come away from the Wern with a rare win. The Otters held a slight edge throughout the match and were always in front in terms of points, apart from the few minutes when the scores were level, although Merthyr were never far behind. In fact, all of the hard work by the Narberth pack and backs would have been to no avail if Merthyr number 10 Scott Sneddon had kicked a last minute penalty from the touchline. The win was set up following excellent work in the set-pieces and in the loose by the Otters' pack aided by an excellent all-round display by outside- half Aled Davies, who was nominated as man-of- the-match by the team management. After Aled Davies had missed out on a long range penalty kick from the halfway line, the visitors opened the scoring following a period of pressure near the Merthyr line. Scrum-half Andrew Davies charged down an attempted kick ahead and was able to put flanker Lloyd Phillips away to score a try near the posts. Aled Davies converted. Within minutes, the scores were level when Merthyr winger Greg Plant went over for a try in the left corner following a switch of play from a lineout on the right. Scott Sneddon converted, but after 24 minutes the Otters restored the lead with a short range penalty by Aled Davies. Another long range penalty attempt by Davies failed to cross the bar and Scott Sneddon reduced the deficit with a penalty for Merthyr. However, Aled Davies had the last word by kicking another penalty before half-time to give the Otters a lead of six points at the interval. After three minutes of the second half, Scott Sneddon did well to drop a goal and it was still anybody's game. The Narberth backs had been running at the Merthyr defence whenever possible and the breakthrough came following some superb running by fullback and captain Sion Brace. The threequarters were in support and centre Richard Davies took the ball on before releasing Steve Martin to cross the line near the posts for a try converted by Aled Davies. Scott Sneddon did his utmost to keep Merthyr in the game and firstly scored a penalty and then converted a try by winger Greg Plant who picked up his second of the match when an overlap was created on the left. With only two points in it and both teams looking at the clock, although there were 30 minutes of the half left, another short range penalty by Aled Davies gave the visitors some breathing space. Aled Davies increased the lead with a penalty from 30 metres when Merthyr flanker Nick Hampson was yellow-carded. Merthyr came back into the game when number eight Kristian Dacey went over for a try from a lineout, which Sneddon failed to convert. A penalty had been awarded when Scott Payne, the Narberth prop, had been yellow-carded and Merthyr decided to kick for touch and a catch and drive move, which eventually led to a try. Shortly afterwards, Merthyr scrum-half Ryan Harries also received his marching orders for a spell in the sin-bin. Although three players were yellow-carded, it was not the type of match where tempers were frayed. Aled Davies tried to take the game away from Merthyr with a drop-goal attempt, which was off target, and Sneddon could have given the Ironmen a share of the spoils if he had kicked the last-ditch penalty. Forwards coach Sean Gale was delighted with the way the team had responded following the defeat at home to Bonymaen. Speaking to Observer Sport, he said: "It was an excellent win against a very strong Merthyr team which has been injected with new players. "The Narberth pack provided a solid platform up front and outside-half Aled Davies did the rest, with a good all-round display. "His kicking both for position and for goal was superb. As coaches we were extremely happy to come up here and come away with the points, as traditionally Merthyr have a good home record. "We played much better than we did the previous week against Bonymaen and just as importantly, our discipline was also much better. "This time, when we were in the red zone (inside the opposition 22), we made it count by grasping the chance to score. In the Bonymaen match, we were inside their half at least a dozen times without coming away with anything. "We have worked very hard in training. It paid off with a lot of positives, including an impressive driving lineout. "It is nice to look forward to the next fortnight with a short break from league rugby before our home fixture against Corus on Saturday September 22." Although Aled Davies was nominated man-of-the- match deservedly, the whole team played well, with no obvious weak link. Some of the running by Sion Brace, Richard Davies and Steve Martin was spectacular and opened up gaps within the Merthyr defence. The pack was a solid unit, with prop Scott Payne doing some excellent work in the scrums and young prop Tom Slater also showed his value when he came on as replacement for flanker Lloyd Phillips during the time when flanker Scott Payne was off the field. Narberth take a break from league rugby tomorrow (Saturday) because of the Rugby World Cup International at Cardiff between Wales and Australia. The Otters will resume their league programme the following week, on Saturday September 22, with a home fixture against Corus. Narberth fielded: Sion Brace (capt.), Matthew Davies (Nick Jones), Steve Martin, Richard Davies, Andrew Jones, Aled Davies, Andrew Davies (Adrian Killa), Scott Payne, Dan Smith, Justin Hughes, Tristan Bowen, Alex Jenkins (Chris James), Lloyd Phillips (Tom Slater), Andrew Dennis and Jamie Bohata.