The Tenby ladies rugby team played host to a strong and experienced Carmarthen Quins on Sunday. However, the home side proved stronger in this bruising and competitive encounter.
From the moment the whistle blew, Tenby went on the attack forcing the Quins back. The front five of Chris, Kim, Natalie, Shelley and Lindsey proved resolute in the scrums, often winning the ball against the head as well as their own, which allowed number eight Ceire and scrum-half Lisa to attack around the fringes.
The Quins' only answer to the relentless pressure was to go offside, giving Tenby a penalty close to the line. The quick-thinking Rachael Lewis took the tap and crossed over for Tenby's first try of the afternoon.
Not satisfied with this, Tenby continued to attack, with flankers Clare and Sian working tirelessly, tackling hard and setting up quick ball which the backs utilised to good effect.
The centre partnership of Lucy and Jane proved unstoppable, breaking through tackles with quick bursts of speed and linking with each other to score four tries. Lisa Jones converted to give Tenby a 29-0 lead at half-time.
After the turn around, Carmarthen came back strongly, pinning the Seasiders to their line, and finally, after defending for 20 minutes, Tenby committed too many players to the breakdown, enabling the Quins to spin the ball wide and score in the corner.
Tenby responded stronger than ever, securing ball at scrum and lineout, which allowed Rachael Lewis to get the backs moving, drawing in the Quins defence.
Good support play by the forwards set up a chance for Clare Taylor, but for the second match running she was held up over the line. The resulting Carmarthen clearance fell to Zoe Welsh, who ran back at the visitors and linked with wing Catrin Boulton, who scored her first try for Tenby.
By this time, Tenby were dominating proceedings, with prop Natalie Bowen making her charging runs through the opposition, Lisa Jones, switching to scrum-half for this game, making her sniping runs and Sian Worrall working doggedly, chasing down and supporting runners.
Gemma Scourfield made an impressive home debut on the wing, scoring her first try by outpacing the covering defence.
Lindsey James also proved a strong runner, knocking Carmarthen out of the way, before finally Rachael and Ceire linked up to set Catrin on her way and score her second try of the game.
This gave Tenby an overwhelming victory of 44-5 against a Carmarthen Quins side boasting three internationals. A most satisfying result for the ladies, well done.
Tenby: Chris Page, Kim Hulance, Natalie Bowen, Shelly Payne, Lindsey James, Sian Worrall, Clare Taylor, Ceire Merrison, Lisa Jones, Rachael Lewis, Catrin Boulton, Lucy Berry, Jane Berry, Zoe Walsh, Gemma Scourfield.
Tenby ladies' next game is the return match against Carmarthen Quins in a fortnight.