Narberth romped to a comfortable win over Tondu, after running in four tries in the first half and three tries in the second half. With the strong wind and sticky ground conditions, it was not a day for place kickers and Gareth James, one of the most consistent points scorers in Division One, was only able to land one conversion.
That the match was played at all, was due in no small measure to the efforts of contractor Jonathan Boot, of Lydstep, who used his land drainage expertise to overcome the problems caused by the deluge of rain on the Friday.
Tondu have struggled this season and are still waiting to register their first win. Other clubs would have thrown in the towel and pulled out of the league. However, Tondu have shown greater determination. The visitors displayed a great team spirit on and off the field. They play for one another, some former players have returned and the margin of defeat has become smaller as the season has progressed.
Otters' senior coach Keith Eaton said after the match that Tondu would start to turn over sides before the end of the season.
Fullback Gareth James gave the Otters an early lead with a penalty from just inside the 22 to trigger off the points spree. The crowd did not have to wait too long for the first try, which came from a surprising quarter.
After a clean take in the lineout, scrum-half Adrian Killa released prop Fifipuku Faletau who forced his way over for a try to popular acclaim. Unfortunately for Narberth, Gareth James was unable to convert.
Playing 15-man rugby, the Otters kept raiding the Tondu line and Adrian Killa scored a gem of a try by racing away in the right corner from a scrum outside the Tondu 22.
Following another successful penalty from close range by Gareth James, scrum-half Adrian Killa again proved too hot to handle in another blind-side break from a scrum. He sold a huge dummy and altered the angle of his run to score near the posts. This time the try was converted by Gareth James.
In the closing stages of the first half, winger Deiniol Evans crossed in the left corner to finish a move started by alert thinking and quick hands after the Otters were awarded a free-kick inside the Tondu 22. Once again the conversion attempt by Gareth James was held back by the wind.
Everyone expected the Otters to increase the tempo in the second half. The omens looked promising at first, when centre Elgan Vittle showed some flair to cross for an unconverted try in the left corner, created when Gareth James threw out a long pass to create space.
After doing a sound job at fullback in the first half, James had moved up to the number 10 slot in the second half to take over from Simon Daniel who limped off with a leg injury.
The anticipated glut of tries failed to materialise. Tondu lifted their game in the second half and it was possible that the Otters eased up with so many points on the electronic scoreboard at the interval.
Much to the surprise of some Narberth supporters, it was Tondu who scored next when substitute scrum-half Michael Dyke rounded off a quality move from a counter-attack started just outside the Tondu 22. Fullback Dean Thomas was off target with his conversion attempt.
It was just the tonic that the Otters needed. Firstly, Gareth James touched down in the left corner for another unconverted try from broken play. That was followed by a brilliant try from prop Fifipuku Falatau much to the delight of the Narberth supporters. Falatau tore the Tondu defences to shreds for an unconverted try in the right corner when he was released near the Tondu 22. His try sealed a fine move involving the pack and the backs, which involved a number of directional changes.
That try completed the scoring for the afternoon.
Team manager Robert Lewis said: "We picked up the three points that we wanted and ran in seven tries. In the circumstances, it was not a bad result considering the conditions and we could have scored more tries had it not been for the difficulties in handling the ball on the day.
The scrums and the lineouts went well. The pack formed a solid unit in the scrums while Emori Katalau was at his best in the lineouts. Since returning to league action from the Rugby World Cup he has made a huge difference to our possession of the ball."
Fifipuku Fatalau scored two cracking tries to cap a fine performance and the back row played well as a unit.
Gareth James had a sound all-round game at fullback in the first half and at outside-half in the second half, while Andrew Bowen's powerful thrusts down the middle created a number of scoring opportunities for the Otters.
It was good to see lock Ifan Davies having a run out as a substitute in the second half. It was a just reward for a number of big performances for Narberth's Athletic team in the Naylor Drainage Championship.
Prop Allan Phillips and scrum-half Adrian Killa were nominated the men-of-the-match by the sponsors.
Alexander Partnership, of Tenby and Pembroke, were the Folly Farm Balcony Suite match sponsors, together with Hains and Lewis, of Narberth and Haverfordwest. Total Butler, of Milford Haven, were the Otters Holt match sponsors. The team sponsors were the Self Employed Gang, of Narberth, and match ball sponsors were the Landshipping Boys.
Tomorrow (Saturday), the Otters travel to Bonymaen for another crucial league match.
Narberth fielded: Gareth James, Nick Jones, Elgan Vittle, Andrew Bowen, Deiniol Evans, Simon Daniel (Dafydd Evans), Adrian Killa (Chris Macdonald), Alan Phillips (Barry Davies), Kevin Allen, Fifipuku Faletau, Emori Katalau (Jason Jennings), David Ebsworth (Ifan Davies), Gary Denver (Meurig Daniel), Katilimoni Tuipulotu, and Matthew Evans (Gareth Bennett)