The Otters stole the show in the first half with some superb running rugby which produced five tries.

The thoughts of a runaway victory in the second half was thwarted by the Zebras who played with more purpose and commitment to deny the Otters the same freedom as they had enjoyed in the first half.

In part this may have been due to the fact that the visitors assumed that they had done enough to win the match, but whatever the reason, the attacking weapon was blunted and the tries dried up.

Fullback Nick Jones opened the scoring for the visitors after six minutes when he came into the line and finished off an attacking movement with an unconverted try in the right corner.

Treorchy's outside-half Morgan Stoddart missed out on penalty chance, but when play moved to the other end, Gareth James made no mistake with a straight penalty to increase the lead for the visitors and followed up with a longer range kick from near the 10-metre line five minutes later.

The ground was firm and the conditions ideal for running rugby, so it was an opportunity for scrum-half Adrian Killa to express himself.

The Otters' scrum-half picked up the ball from a scrum near the halfway line and stepped on the gas to race down the left touchline before cutting inside for a try converted by Gareth James.

Winger Andrew Jones was next to score when he went over in the left corner for an unconverted try. The Otters had attacked from a scrum. Number eight Gareth Bennett burst through and slipped the ball to Gareth James who fed Andrew Jones and the winger beat three defenders before crossing for his try.

Right wing Daniel Gravell quickly got in on the act. He picked up an attempted clearance by Treorchy just outside the Narberth 22 and cut inside, bursting through the Zebras' defenders to touch down under the posts for a try converted by Gareth James.

Gravell can accelerate quickly and he used his pace and physical presence to power his way over the line.

Throughout the first half Elgan Vittle had mounted a number of Narberth attacks with his assertive running. Shortly before the interval he had his just reward with a top quality individual try from broken play and Gareth James added the points from the conversion.

The Zebras looked a different team in the second half and played with more passion and purpose.

For the first time in the match the Otters found themselves on the back foot and it was no surprise that the Zebras opened the scoring in the second half with a well-worked try by lock Damien Adams, converted by Morgan Stoddart.

A blind-side run from a scrum by winger Andrew Jones caught the Zebras on the hop. Jones scored, but the conversion attempt by Gareth James hit the posts.

Midway through the second half, Daniel Gravell completed the scoring for the Otters with an unconverted try, after which play was fairly even.

Ten minutes before the final whistle, Treorchy picked up their second converted try to outscore the Otters in the second half when substitute fullback Chris Largier came into the line and used an overlap to cross in the right corner. Morgan Stoddart converted from the touchline.

Speaking after the match, Narberth team manager Robert Lewis said: "We scored a lot of tries and looked very good at times. However, we slackened off once the game was won. It was a similar pattern to the game at Treorchy last year. We set the platform in the first half and scored some good tries and then went to sleep in the second half."

Emori Katalau and Jason Jennings controlled the lineouts and Narberth had the advantage in the scrums. The pack was boosted with the presence of Llanelli prop Phil John throughout the match and with the presence of Llanelli skipper and hooker Justin Hughes who came on as a substitute in the second half.

Flanker Mathew Evans worked tirelessly and centre Elgan Vittle was nominated the Narberth man-of-the-match by the team management for his exciting performance throughout the afternoon.

Narberth fielded: Nick Jones (Wayne Jones), Daniel Gravell, Deiniol Evans, Elgan Vittle, Andrew Jones, Gareth James, Adrian Killa (Chris Macdonald), Alan Phillips (Fifitapuku Faletau), Kevin Allen (Justin Hughes), Emori Katalau, Jason Jennings (David Ebsworth), Gary Denver (Meurig Daniel), Matthew Evans and Gareth Bennett (Katilimoni Tuipulotu).