Betws 15 pts

Tenby United 40

Coastal Cottages sponsored Tenby United travelled East on Saturday, intent on gaining revenge against the club that cost them promotion last season when they fielded a somewhat strengthened mid-week side and won by the narrowest of margins.

Collectively, the Tenby United unit needed no pre-match speeches about 'being up for it'...'an important game'... as the thought of that defeat still rankles many at the club, while those players who actually played in that game last season all took the field with one clear intention in mind... a big fat W.

The sunny conditions totally suited Tenby, as right from the off they set about outclassing the home XV with a combination of powerful running rugby played at pace.

Betws were totally overwhelmed by the speed at which the ball was transferred from right to left and vice versa, with pacy backing-up from the strong-running forwards and speedy, confident backs.

The game was played at a frantic pace and the Tenby forwards very quickly broke through the home defence for second-row Luke Dedman to gallop in from the 22 to open the scoring, with Tom Lewis converting what was an excellent team try.

The home side struggled to get their hands on any worthwhile ball and were somewhat fortunate to get on the scoreboard, with fullback Mathew Rees reducing the deficit with a penalty.

Undeterred by this minor setback, Tenby upped the ante and returning centre Mark Heywood was next on the scorecard when he clinically finished off another flowing move, and with Tom Lewis again converting, Tenby had comfortably gone into a 14-3 lead with the game still in the first quarter.

There was no letting-up for Tenby, although somehow the Betws defence held firm, but during a period of intense pressure towards the end of the first half, Mathew Rees was yellow-carded when he tripped Dai Meyrick as he was being beaten hands down in a race to a chip ahead.

Meyrick was eventually rewarded, however, when he was again worked clear to score an excellent try in the corner. A superb conversion by Lewis took the United out to a well-deserved 21-3 half-time lead.

With a roasting from their coach ringing in their ears, Betws started the second half strongly, but were unable to penetrate the well-organised Tenby defence and, when Tom Lewis scooped up a loose ball from a retreating scrum inside his own half to sprint clear and outpace his chasers to score under the posts, the game was virtually over. His successful conversion of the bonus point try extended the lead to 28-3 and heads were down as the despondent home XV trotted back for the restart.

Things got worse for Betws as Tenby turned the screw at this point, with the home defence taking a battering and forcing a number of players off the field, including hard-working captain Emyr Timothy.

The constant pressure paid dividends for Tenby when first Mark Heywood's strong running again broke the line to earn himself a second try, before Tom Lewis was on hand to also score his second after a storming run from Fijian replacement Ilaisa Torau.

With only one conversion, the score went out to 40-3 and the home fans were now disappearing into the clubhouse for some much-needed liquid refreshment.

With the game neatly in the bag, Tenby took their foot off the gas somewhat and with Ilaisa Torau being yellow-carded for a technical offence by referee Bucombe, Betws were able to take advantage with a period of pressure themselves.

A series of quick penalties finally resulted in a try for hooker Ian Morris, which was converted by Mathew Rees, and when number eight Dan Howells was held up by Sam Smith following a five-metre scrum, the ball was quickly spread wide for Rees to score in the corner for a final consolation try and bring a touch of respectability to the scoreline, with referee Bucombe signaling full-time with the scoreboard showing a healthy 40-15 victory for Tenby.

Discussion by the home supporters in the clubhouse after the game centered on the amount of luck Tenby had on the field. The same supporters were invited up to Heywood Lane, on a Tuesday and Thursday, to watch the Tenby side practice all their 'lucky moves'. One try maybe... yes, a slice of luck here or there, but six lucky tries... stretching it a tad.

Throughout the game, Tenby suffered from the strict interpretations being applied by referee Bucombe and came off second best in that respect, with the penalty count showing around 80/20 against Tenby, which was somewhat strange when you consider that at every opportunity they tried to play fast, open, attractive rugby, while the home side struggled to live with the pace of the game.

With September now out of the way, the Tenby record of played four, won three, sees them handily holding second place in the league table, with games already played against two other sides in the top four.

The October run of three consecutive away games at Trimsaran, Cefneithen and Neyland, followed by a home encounter with newly-promoted Aberaeron, will present a stern challenge and severely test the playing strength of the squad, before the usually unsettling month of November surfaces, where international rugby takes pride of place, and WRU leagues take a back seat, with momentum becoming an issue, with only one game scheduled during the month.

Tenby fielded: Adam Ball (Dan Colley); Dai Meyrick, Mark Heywood, Toby Smith, Jimmy Davies; Tom Lewis, Richard Rossiter; Scott Payne, Nicky Guymer (capt), Laurens Brit (Lewis Davies), Johnny Lane (Wyndham Williams), Luke Dedman, Gareth Nock (Ilaisa Torau), Rob Tuttle, Sam Smith.