Tenby Utd 9 pts.

Llandeilo 10

Coastal Cottages sponsored Tenby Utd 1st XV welcomed a strong fourth-placed Llandeilo side to Heywood Lane on Saturday in Division Three West.

The match was kindly sponsored the Cross Inn, Penally, and there was a fairly large crowd lining the terraces looking forward to the clash which is usually entertaining when the two sides meet.

Straight from the kick-off the Seasiders looked the stronger side and they took the game to the visitors and with outside-half Toby Smith welcomed back to Heywood Lane on permit from Carmarthen Athletic, and certainly bringing his kicking boots, Llandeilo were forced into their own half and stayed there for the first 10 minutes.

The hosts were winning good quality lineout ball through Luke Dedman and youth player Patrick Elliot, with Dedman pinching many a Llandeilo throw-in, too, and frustrating the visitors.

Lost balls at scrum and lineout and hard running from the ever-improving Geoffrey Martin and skipper Nicky Guymer, who led from the front as always, caused the Llandeilo players to start making mistakes.

After a knock-on, the Seasiders won the resulting scrummage and good vision from scrum-half Jason Scarfe put Tenby into the visitors' 22 after he noticed the opposition winger was up too flat and the fullback was missing in action.

A well-weighted chip ahead from Scarfe put the pressure on the Llandeilo catcher as Sion Brace raced up and put in a brutal looking tackle, forcing him into touch 10 yards out.

Sniffing the try line, Jonny Palmer took the ball off Dedman from the lineout and, with the help of his front row partner Martin, they inched their way towards the line, only for the visiting pack to illegally kill the ball.

Jimmy 'the boot' Davies stepped up and slotted the penalty over, giving Tenby a three-point lead 11 minutes into the game.

Llandeilo came straight back at the home side and fierce tackling by youth flanker Dylan Griffin, centre Tom Dennis and fly-half Smith kept them away from the line and the home defence looked solid until the referee saw something he didn't like and put Griffin in the sin-bin for 10 minutes.

The visitors failed to kick the penalty that followed, but they did manage to get one over 10 minutes later, bringing the scores level at three points apiece.

The game seemed to even out a bit and the remainder of the first half saw plenty of action from both sides and impressive running from Simon Stanford and Dan Colley, along with back rowers Wyndham Williams and Dedman, who also looked sharp.

The first half ended 3-3 and at half-time Tenby made a front row change, with Palmer leaving the field after a solid first half for Rob Clarke who saw his own bit of the first half by carrying the kicking tee on for Davies's penalty and being proud that he had played a part in it going over.

The second half kicked off much the same as the first, with Tenby looking dangerous, but not quite reaching the line and with the frustration causing a turnover, a quick ball through the backs saw Llandeilo successfully counter and score a try in the corner via a two-man overlap, which was also converted.

The home side took it straight back into Llandeilo territory, looking strong, and were well led by Guymer up front and Brace behind.

Tenby continued to force turnovers and strong scrummaging from the Tenby eight and hard running from Ben Cray and Pat Elliot kept the pressure on the visitors.

The home side made more changes around the 50-minute mark, bringing on Dai Meyrick for the injured Dennis, and he settled right into the now very tense game with hard tackles and some good angles of running.

Davies managed another penalty after the visitors persitently went off their feet at the ruck from 40 metres out, bringing Tenby within four points of the visitors at 55 minutes, and the Seasiders continued to threaten to take the lead, but were kept out by some last-ditch tackles.

With 17 minutes to go, the Llandeilo number eight was given a rest, courtesy of a yellow card, and Davies stepped up to slot the penalty over, bringing the home side within a point of the visitors.

Tenby made two more changes, bringing Dan Thomas onto the wing for a well played Stanford and coach Emori Katelau replacing workhorse Cray in the boilerhouse.

The rest of the game was played out frustratingly for Tenby with no more scores from either side and, although they lost by a single point to a well-rounded Llandeilo 15, they can take plenty of positives onto the training pitch this week and into the away game against Pontarddulais tomorrow (Saturday) and will look to secure the win.

There will also be an entertaining game this (Friday) evening as the talented Tenby United Youth XV take on Pembroke Dock Quins Youth at home on Heywood Lane, with kick-off at 7.15 pm.

Please go along and support the unbeaten young Seasiders in what promises to be an action-packed match.

Tenby United fielded: Sion Brace, Simon Stanford (Dan Thomas), Tom Dennis (Dave Meyrick), Dan Colley, Jimmy Davies, Toby Smith, Jason Scarfe, Wyndham Williams, Luke Dedman, Dylan Griffin, Ben Cray (Emori Katelau), Patrick Elliot, Geoffrey Martin, Nicky Guymer (capt.), Jonny Palmer (Rob Clarke).