A final 15-minute flurry of tries cemented Narberth's claim to the division two title in the National League, with the Otters coming out convincing winners in this top-of-the-table clash with rival promotion chasers Tredegar.

Their 17th win in 20 outings, the Otters did leave it late in this tight tussle, three tries in the final quarter-of-an-hour finally wrapping things up as a contest.

The 35 points to five victory at the Recreation Ground now puts Narberth 10 points clear of the field, but it was the Otters' rock solid defence which set them on course for success.

Lying in second place, Tredegar knew that they had to win to mount a challenge on the top spot, and put pressure on the visitors throughout the opening quarter with controlled phase play.

Although the Otters managed to relieve the pressure, with stand-off Simon Daniel kicking well from hand, the home dominance of the linesout early on allowed them to use their pack to attack the gain line and keep the visitors on the back foot.

However, concerted defence saw Narberth manage to break the stranglehold and press forward against the run of play to gain useful field position, which resulted in Tredegar infringing and Daniel gratefully accepted the opportunity to add three points.

It was Narberth's turn to turn up the heat with an extended period of pressure, but Daniel had another chance to extend the lead thwarted when his long range effort dipped below the crossbar.

Narberth were rather fortunate in the opening third, with Tredegar passing on the option of three kickable penalties, trying instead to crash through midfield from the quick tap or look to gain better field position.

It allowed the Otters to counter with some excellent phase play up front, which saw big number eight Gareth Bennett surprise everyone by seizing loose ball and dropping a goal from midway out to extend the visitors' advantage.

Another Daniel penalty towards the end of the half saw Narberth turn around nine points ahead

Tredegar came out after the interval with all guns blazing, and had Narberth on the ropes for the opening 10 minutes with their tight phase play.

Their efforts were rewarded when they drove on with a series of rolling mauls before freeing winger Daniel Morris to touch down for an unconverted try in the corner.

Narberth's Emori Katalau and Jamie Bohata started to gain a foothold in the linesout, denying Tredegar the platform, while the Otters eight worked as a unit at the breakdown to smother the home challenge, and the real turning point came at the end of the third quarter.

With the Otters' pack chipping away at the home defence, scrum-half Chris Macdonald spotted half a chance on the blindside.

Brushing off two tackles, the 'veteran' half-back split the defence by cutting back inside before haring over from 25 yards to touch down under the posts.

Daniel made light work of the conversion to put the visitors 16-5 in front and firmly in the driving seat.

The try appeared to knock the stuffing out of the homesters, and, although they continued to launch attacks at the Otters, they seemed a little lacklustre, allowing Narberth's big impact centres Andrew Bowen and Tevita Manesitava to close them out and give Daniel plenty of space to relieve the pressure with his siege-gun boot.

Going into the last quarter-of-an-hour, Narberth stepped up a gear.

Bennett added to his earlier drop goal with a try when wing Andrew Jones created space on the blindside, but Daniel was unable to add the extras from wide out.

Man-of-the-match Meurig Daniel made ground from the back of a scrum on the homesters' 10-metre line to put the Otters on the offensive again.

The burly flanker carried the ball deep into Tredegar territory, before linking with Tongan international prop Fifitapuka Faletau, who galloped the last 20 yards to touch down near the posts.

Daniel converted and was also on hand to add the extras to a superb Wayne Jones try which put the icing on the cake for the large band of supporters who had made the journey east.

Tredegar launched a last gasp effort, but replacement centre Aled Davies was on hand to steal loose possession for the Otters at the breakdown.

Davies, Morgan and Jones, who had always been looking for an opportunity to go forward, jinked their way through the overstretched Tredegar cover, before Jones found himself in the clear on halfway and there was no stopping him.

Narberth take a break from league action tomorrow (Saturday) when they welcome Caerphilly to the Lewis Lloyd ground in the seventh round of the Principality Welsh Cup.