Tenby United 59 pts.
Aberaeron 7
A scintillating nine-try display saw Coastal Cottages sponsored Tenby United rout Aberaeron at Heywood Lane on Saturday.
The visiting Seagulls were put to the sword, the Seasiders running in six second half tries to underline their promotion credentials.
Although the United began brightly, with Sam Smith and Jonny Lane to the fore, it took them nearly 15 minutes to open the scoring after an Aberaeron handling error wide on the right. With the ball going to floor, Arthur MM seized possession and showed a clean pair of heels to touch down. Winger Jimmy Davies slotted the conversion.
The visitors, who went into the game fifth in the Division Four West table, fought back gamely and some clever tactical kicking earned them some useful footholds in Tenby territory.
But the United showed tenacity in defence and the excellent Gareth Nock did some outstanding work to turn over possession and ease the pressure. The home eight responded well to this and started to turn the screw on the Seagulls with some aggressive first-up tackling.
Their graft was rewarded after a fine midfield break from stand-off Toby Smith. Having breached the visitors' defence, the youngster threw a miss-pass over Dan Colley, which initially looked like the wrong option. But once the ball was in the hands of Simon Stanford, the speedster always looked like touching down and crossed for a superb try.
Just before the interval, the Seasiders effectively put the game beyond doubt with their third try of the afternoon. A crunching midfield tackle from Arthur MM saw the ball break loose, only for fullback Dai Meyrick to seize on it and sprint away under the posts. Davies added the extras to make it 19-0.
If the United were steady in the opening period, they came out of the blocks with a bang from the re-start. Collecting the ball just inside his 10-metre line, Sam Smith set off on a rampaging run down the left flank, brushing off five would-be tacklers before feeding lock Gareth Edwards in good support, the rangy lock outpacing the cover defence to score. Davies once again slotted the conversion.
The confidence really began to flow for the Seasiders now and they looked capable of scoring with every attack. Young scrum-half Dan Thomas showed some great skill at the base of a scrum to release Toby Smith, whose miss-pass found Meyrick wide on the left. The fullback gathered well and, despite still having a fair bit of work to do, he was able to cross for his second of the afternoon and take the United past 30 points.
The home side began ringing the changes, Stanford giving way for Tom Lewis and prop Jonny Palmer leaving the field after a couple of knocks to be replaced by Wyndham Williams.
In spite of reshuffles in both the pack and threequarters, the United continued to play some expansive rugby and even when the visitors did look to exert some pressure, the Seasiders' defence remained resolute.
Another back row change saw the hard-working Rob Tuttle give way for Llaisa Torau and still the try scoring chances came. Some good work between Toby Smith and Tom Lewis set Dan Colley on his way, but the wingman's pass to Dai Meyrick was poor and the hat-trick opportunity went begging.
Skipper Nicky Guymer led by example all afternoon and he was given a well-earned rest to be replacde by Terry John.
The sixth try soon followed and it was a typical Sam Smith effort, the burly back rower crashing through tackle after tackle on his way to the line. Jimmy Davies slotted another conversion to make it 38-0.
Next in on the act was replacement Wyndham Williams, touching down for a great score in the corner after great handling and support work from Jonny Lane and Torau. Davies was on target once again and the Seagulls must have feared the worst with 10 minutes still left to play.
To their great credit, the visitors finally managed to get on the score sheet, their replacement prop forward bustling over from short range after a succession of penalties.
But their joy was short-lived as the Seasiders reasserted their dominance. Some great work at the maul from Jonny Lane saw him steal the ball and some more great handling from Torau on the flank saw Gareth Edwards in for his second of the afternoon. This time Toby Smith was on hand to convert.
There was just enough time for Dan Colley to cross for a ninth following good work from Arthur MM and for Jimmy Davies to convert before referee Andrew Meyrick brought the rout to an end.
This was the United's best all round display so far this term against a side that pushed table-toppers Amman United all the way the previous week.
The Seasiders will be delighted with another bonus point victory and will hope to carry their form into tomorrow's (Saturday's) WRU Bowl round two clash with Llangwm.
The match sponsors were Molson Coors.
Tenby fielded: Dai Meyrick; Jimmy Davies, Arthur MM, Dan Colley, Simon Stanford; Toby Smith, Dan Thomas; John Palmer, Nicky Guymer (capt.), Rob Clarke, Gareth Edwards, Jonny Lane, Gareth Nock, Rob Tuttle, Sam Smith. Replacements - Wyndham Williams, Terry John, Llaisa Torau, Tom Lewis.