After a prolonged break from league action, Tenby United were very much back to winning ways on Saturday with a comprehensive victory over Burry Port.
The scoreline may suggest a feast of entertainment for the Heywood Lane faithful, but this was a very scrappy affair, with the United often frustrated by the referee's management of the offside line.
The whole afternoon was a little bizarre, kick off having to be delayed for 15 minutes with the Carmarthenshire outfit arriving just five minutes before the scheduled start time and with just 15 players. What's more, the scrum was uncontested from the outset, the visitors having been unable to field a front row.
When the action did finally get underway in almost perfect conditions, the home side started much the brighter, gaining a foothold deep in Burry Port territory after they were awarded a penalty for a high tackle on young centre Ben Griffiths.
Their first scoring opportunity was lost, though, after a knock forward in midfield from the resulting lineout.
The first points were not long in coming, though, and came from a predictable source. Burry Port tried to exert pressure in midfield and bring their threequarters into play, but excellent anticipation from Tom Lewis saw the stand-off intercept on halfway and beat the covering defence to cross wide on the right. The number 10 missed the difficult conversion.
The Seasiders did not make the most of their solid start and failed to put their stamp on the game and the visitors belied their lowly league position to put some pressure on the Division Four West high fliers.
In fact, the Carmarthenshire outfit pressed hard for the score and it was only some fine defensive work from wingman Dai Meyrick that prevented them crossing the whitewash. Ben Griffiths showed some powerful running to try and get the home side away from their try line, but they remained under pressure and Meyrick was forced to combine well with fullback Aled Griffiths in a rearguard action that saw the number 15 hack the ball into touch.
Port continued to press and were awarded a penalty on the Tenby 22 after the Seasiders were adjudged to have entered a ruck from the side. The visitors opted for the scrum rather than a straightforward three points and were made to regret their decision as they came away with nothing.
The Seasiders were being dragged down to the level of their visitors and the game certainly needed a spark to get the crowd involved. It finally came after fullback Aled Griffiths fumbled a high kick backwards.
The youngster recovered well and set off on a mazy run up the centre of the field, slicing through the visitors' defence. He found excellent support from hard working loose head Ben Cray, who cleverly delayed his pass to feed Ben Griffiths, who cantered under the posts to give the home side a 12-0 cushion after 25 minutes.
That lead was soon reduced, though, as Burry Port battled back bravely and, aided by some poor home tackling, crossed for a score under the sticks which was easily converted.
And it soon got worse for the home side as their lead was cut to just a couple of points. Port were awarded a penalty after a silly push off the ball by Jimmy Davies, the visiting stand-off striking the ball well to slot a penalty from wide on the left.
The United really needed to get a grip on the game and they did so after they made a hash of collecting a high ball in the shadow of their posts. Home lock Ifan Davies gathered the ball and fed Ben Cray, who crossed for a well-deserved score which stand-off Lewis converted.
The score seemed to galvanise the Seasiders, stand in scrum-half Harry Bolton appearing to cross the line for another score, but being adjudged to have been held up by the referee.
The fourth try came on the stroke of half-time, the home eight putting together a series of well-constructed driving phases, giving burly number eight Sam Smith an easy score. Lewis added the extras to give his side a 14-point interval lead.
The second period began in equally scrappy fashion, both sides still ring rusty from the break for the Autumn internationals. Nicky Guymer moved up from the back row to hooker in place of Mike Lewis, with Rob James coming on to fill the blind-side flanker berth.
The Seasiders found it increasingly difficult to get any rhythm to their game and were not helped in their cause by the fact that they gave away too many unnecessary penalties.
More changes came as winger Dan Colley replaced Dai Meyrick and Adam Ball came on in place of Emyr Hughes.
The home side finally got the scoreboard ticking again following a good move from the base of a scrum. Tom Lewis brought Aled Griffiths into the line and he fed Jimmy Davies who ran strongly. The home eight did well to recycle the ball quickly, allowing Nicky Guymer to cross for the score. Lewis failed with the conversion.
Another replacement saw Gareth Edwards come on for Ben Cray, who can look back on a good afternoon's work.
The fresh legs seemed to give the Seasiders new impetus and it was the replacements who figured strongly in possibly the game's best score. The ball was spread wide to the Tenby left, allowing Dan Colley to show his paces. The pacey winger showed strength and good awareness to feed Rob James, who sprinted under the posts to make for an easy conversion.
The Seasiders broke the 40-point barrier just before the end, after the visiting number eight was sent to the sin bin. From a quickly taken tap penalty, Adam Ball fed centre Mark Heywood, who crashed over for an unconverted try.
Whilst not high on entertainment, this was just the sort of run-out that the United would have wanted to get them back into the swing of league action. They will be looking for more precision in the weeks ahead as they look to press for a promotion spot.
Tenby United's main sponsor is Chevron, while the match day sponsors were Kiln Park.
Tenby fielded: Ben Cray, Mike Lewis, Lee Tucker (capt.), Ifan Davies, Wyndham Williams, Nicky Guymer, Emyr Hughes, Sam Smith, Harry Bolton, Tom Lewis, Jimmy Davies, Mark Heywood, Ben Griffiths, Dai Meyrick, Aled Griffiths. Replacements - Gareth Edwards, Mark Brace, Rob James, Adam Ball, Dan Colley, Jon Lewis.