TENBY UNITED 25 pts.

BRYNAMMAN 3

Tenby United got back to winning ways in National League division four west with a couple of stunning tries in the last 20 minutes to add shine to an otherwise scrappy game.

A minute's silence was held before kick-off at Heywood Lane, for International Rugby Board chairman, Vernon Pugh, who sadly died last Friday, after a lengthy illness.

United had lost the fixture at Brynamman earlier in the season, by a single point, but they were certainly up for this return game on Saturday.

Both teams were evenly matched in the first 20 minutes, before the Seasiders' stand-in kicker, fullback Darren Rees, struck a penalty through the posts from the 22.

Disappointingly, thanks to the referee's whistle, the action was of a rather stop-start nature, but 10 minutes later, play was allowed to continue long enough for Tenby to make a break down the left flank.

Brynamman regained possession momentarily, before the chasing United pack forced an error and prop Scott Payne was on hand to touch the ball down before it rolled out of play.

Fullback Rees failed with the conversion attempt.

The United also looked to be well on their way to another try, when they broke away and found themselves four against one and charging towards the Brynamman line, only for play to be brought back by referee Mr. Reg Jones because one of the Seasiders had apparently sworn before the move started.

The Heywood Lane faithful were incensed, but were somewhat appeased when Tenby did eventually manage to notch a second try before the interval.

It came when a breakaway down the right flank left centre Neil Truman unmarked and when the ball was delivered he was unchallenged and touched down in the corner.

Again the touchline conversion attempt was off target, but the Seasiders held a useful 13-0 advantage at the break.

Five minutes after the turnaround Brynamman were awarded a penalty near the halfway line and took full advantage as outside-half Griffiths hit a sweet shot between the sticks.

This lifted the visitors' spirits for a time and it was only some solid defending from the United that kept them at bay.

Then Tenby conjured up a pair of tries that some stalwart members said afterwards were a couple of the best Heywood Lane had seen for many years.

The first came from a break in the centre of the pitch; the ball was recycled and held up well, with Brynamman not getting close. The movement was fluid and quick, not giving the visitors time to align themselves, and was finished off by winger Jonathan Dodd, who was free on the right.

Rees successfully kicked the resulting conversion to give Tenby a 20-3 lead.

The United then ripped the Brynamman defence apart again five minutes later.

Their off-load and support play was second to none and their movement was excellent. Supporters had seen good build-up play before, but on Saturday the Seasiders also had the all-important finishing touch. Fly-half Sion Brace was the scorer this time and as everyone celebrated, they were able to forget some of the earlier disappointments of the day.

This was, in the end, an impressive and important win for Tenby, giving them a lot of self-belief leading up to that all-important KO Cup Final in a few weeks time.