Narberth 13 Builth Wells 25

A rousing first half performance by the Bulls gave the visitors victory despite a fightback by the Otters in the second half. Builth fullback Rob Lloyd was the hero for his team as he scored all of the points for the Bulls with six penalties and a try which he converted himself. From the kick-off, Builth attacked the Otters consistently and were six points ahead after 13 minutes following the first two of the penalties kicked by Lloyd. Narberth outside-half Gareth James responded with a penalty and in fairness to the Otters, resolute defence kept the visitors at bay. After 22 minutes, Lloyd added another penalty and then on the stroke of half-time he slipped through the net and finished off a nice move by the Builth threequarters. It started from a scrum and after good work by winger Huw Lloyd the ball was released to Rob Lloyd who touched down and then converted his own try. The Otters almost bounced back with a try following a good move up the right and a kick ahead by fullback Nick Jones, but winger Richard Rees just failed to keep the ball in play. Shortly after the interval, Lloyd widened the gap with yet another penalty, but new winger Richard Rees brought the Narberth supporters to their feet when he crossed for a try in the right corner following a break by Adrian Killa from a scrum. Within minutes Lloyd picked up his fifth penalty of the match and shortly afterwards Richard Rees scored the try of the game. It was clear that the Oters had adopted a new game plan in the second half with more emphasis on attack and that the visitors were feeling the pressure from time to time. As a result there were more stoppages for treatment to 'injuries' and interruptions to the flow of play. Following broken play near the halfway line, Richard Rees cut inside from the right with a diagonal run across the field in a move again initiated by scrum-half Adrian Killa to cross in the left corner for his second unconverted try of the match. Rob Lloyd had an opportunity to pick up another penalty, but for once missed. However, when Narberth lock David Ebsworth was yellow-carded with five minutes of the match remaining, Lloyd made no mistake with his sixth and final penalty. Talking to Observer Sport after the match Narberth team manager Robert Lewis said: 'Obviously losing our first home game was a bit disappointing. We knew we would have a hard game with Builth Wells coming up into Division One as champions with the same squad as they had last season. "That was the difference in that Builth played as a team and put us under pressure from the start. We have had a bit of a changed team from last season, having lost a few players to Premier and we have now included a lot more local boys in the squad. "Also we have picked up six injuries during the pre-season friendlies and for one reason or another a number of the pack are missing, including players of the calibre of Gareth Bennett, Jamie Bohata, Simon Delaney and Meurig Daniel." Continuing, he said: "We did not play well as a team. We had chances which were not taken and possibly missed as many as three or four tries with a failure to pass the ball. If we had taken the opportunities we would have been within striking distance and could have won the game, but on the day Builth deserved the result." On a more positive note, he said "There were some good individual performances. We fielded a young side and when the injured players are fit there will be competition for places. It is not all doom and gloom, but at this level, if you are not on top of your game you are not going to come away with the points." Flanker Rob McKusker, a product of the Llanelli Academy, showed glimpses of his potential before being injured and number eight Lewis Wood, another new player who has joined Narberth from Haverfordwest, was always in the game and should improve as the season progresses. Experienced winger Richard Rees looks to be a player of genuine class and flanker Gary Denver continued where he left off last season and played his heart out for Narberth's cause throughout the match. Gary Denver and Richard Rees were nominated as the men of the match by the match sponsors, Adams Cwrwel and the Templeton Supporters. The match ball sponsors were K. P. Thomas and Sons, of Templeton. Narberth director of rugby, Rob Phillips, said: "We made too many basic errors and the penalty count was stacked against us. We must learn from our mistakes and take on board lessons after studying the video analysis to see where we went wrong. "However, it was not a disastrous performance by any stretch of the imagination as we kept in the game for a lot of the match. We gave away penalties and missed some chances, but we played a lot of rugby at the end of the day with some experienced players missing." Tomorrow, the Otters are away to Fleur De Lys, one of four new teams in Division One this season. Narberth fielded: Nick Jones, Richard Rees, Elgan Vittle, Andrew Bowen, Ceri Jones, Gareth James, Adrian Killa (Gareth Mason), Nathan Williams (Fifipuku Faletau), Kevin Allen, Alan Phillips, capt., (Barry Davies), David Ebsworth, Emori Katalau, Robert McKusker (Jason Jennings), Gary Denver and Lewis Wood.