FISHGUARD & GOODWICK 7 pts.

TENBY UNITED

2ND XV 17

In complete contrast to the previous game against Haverfordwest, played in calm, sunny conditions, Saturday's championship game was played in atrocious conditions that tested the resolve and character of Tenby United Seconds to the limit. It proved to be a test they battled with and came through with flying colours as they maintained their unbeaten record in the Worthington Creamflow championship.

With the gale force wind and driving rain sweeping from end to end, Tenby chose to take advantage of the conditions and straight from the kick-off attempted to ignore the conditions and play a wide and expansive game - first wrong decision of the afternoon.

Against a combination of the weather, excellent defence and a series of wrong options and handling errors, Tenby paid the ultimate penalty when from a quickly taken free-kick the home side ran in unopposed for the first try of the afternoon. The conversion put Tenby seven points down and the opposition, bolstered with a fair share of first team members, in the mood for a home victory.

Despite several opportunities to close the gap, the majority of which came from the constant stream of possession at the scrum, the half ended with Tenby desperately defending to prevent the home side establishing a bigger half-time lead.

Some collective and constructive criticism at half-time seemed to have the desired effect and building on their endless supply of scrum ball, Tenby set-up a series of driving mauls, which saw Gavin Nicholas emerge from a ruck in midfield and sprint some 40 metres and flip the ball to Nicky Rees who was up in support for a well-earned try.

This success spurred the away side, while at the same time displaying to Fishguard that a correct game plan had eventually evolved and that, despite having the conditions in their favour, they were now up against a side that had the desire and belief to win.

A strong midfield burst from centre Paul Luger set-up another series of rucks and quick ball and slick handling saw Jason Cole crash in at the corner. Richard Rossiter totally surprised himself and his colleagues by slotting over the conversion from way out and against the wind to put Tenby in the driving seat at 12-7.

Despite a few brief visits to the Tenby 22, the remainder of the game was played out in the Fishguard half against a tiring opposition, with Tenby again proving their fitness and superiority with a final try near the final whistle when Jason Newell was driven over in the corner. This completed the scoring in a match where, unusually, all the scores were achieved by the side playing against the wind.

Taking into account the conditions, it was not a match where individuals stood out. However, special mention must be made of the front row of Dai Balkwill, Richard Rossiter and Mark Brace (and replacement prop Simon Morgan). They totally destroyed the opposition in the scrum, and with assistance from the remaining members of the pack, shoved the home eight into reverse at a great rate of knots for the entire game.

Overall, it was a gritty performance which highlighted the excellent team spirit currently running through the side. It speaks volumes for the desire to win, irrespective of the conditions, the opposition and the eventual composition of the team that trots out on the park, highlighted this week with several players willing to play out of position - and performing very well.