TENBY UNITED U9s 3 NARBERTH U9s 4
The home side continued to press the Narberth line, but the Otters absorbed this pressure and, when they eventually broke into opposition territory, scored a try. A tap penalty 10 metres out saw their little scrum-half sprint over on the blind side.
Narberth stretched their lead with another try, again down the blind side.
Good tackling from Tenby's Loui Fecci, Cai Evans and Dylan Griffin prevented any further score before the interval.
Tenby reduced the arrears at the start of the second half, when Rob Fairlie went on one of his typical 'rhino' charges, to score wide out.
But the visitors hit back with a good try of their own after a good passing movement. Daniel Robins took matters into his own hands and after a powerful run scored a great solo try.
Tenby almost equalised on several occasions, but Hurlow, Rob Luly and Philip Horsley were all tackled and bundled into touch short of the line.
Narberth's scrum-half went on a run down the touchline from within his own half. His speed took him past several defenders before being tackled near the line and, although grounding the ball, a little debate took place as to whether or not it was over the line. The referee decided it was, and the try was just reward for such a good run.
The Seasiders had the last say when Philip Horsley dived over to bring the final score to four tries to three in Narberth's favour.
The final score was insignificant, but what did matter was the way in which the game was played. Full credit must go to all the players and the coaching staff of both teams.
Tenby squad: H. Pritchard, P. Horsley, C. Evans, J. Dennis, D. Robins, H. Thomas, C. Hurlow, L. Fecci, D. Griffin, R. O'Neill, J. James, S. Turton, L. James, R. Fairlie, R. Luly.
TENBY RFC U10s 28 pts
NARBERTH RFC U10s 5
A glorious sunny morning at Heywood Lane was the perfect backdrop for yet another entertaining game of rugby. Ianto Griffiths, scrum-half and place kicker extraordinaire, took control as captain and led by example from the off. It was his pass that released 'rocket man' Joseph Richards on the wing to boost past several would-be tacklers to score in the opening minute, which was gracefully converted by Ianto.
Tenby capitalised on this explosive start with wave after wave of pressure from Daniel Thomas, a skilled ball handler and one for the future, Tom Baker, a fearless individual with tremendous balance and strength, and Lewis Canton, a speed merchant who possesses a very clever rugby brain.
This pressure eventually penetrated the might of the visitors' defence with a try from Tenby's own scoring machine Lloyd Thomas. He crashed over in the corner to score yet again one of his memorable tries after an aggressive attacking run. This was converted by Ianto to keep his 100 per cent strike rate... this season!
The second-half continued in the same style as the first. Attacking runs from the forwards followed by backline passing was the order of the day for the Seasiders.
This positive play produced brave tackling from Narberth which kept Tenby out of their in-goal area.
Then it was the visitors' turn to up the tempo with some very impressive forward and back division attacking play. Wave after wave of attack required heroic tackles from the mighty Michael Robins and his centre companion Lewis Hodgson. Both these lads manage week after week to 'Scott Gibbs' opponents with monstrous hits.
But something had to give. Narberth charged down the wing dragging would-be tacklers with them to score their try.
Tenby then turned the screw to top thread, with clever passing allowing Andrew Cooke to exploit open spaces and gain the hard yards for Lloyd Thomas to score his second try which he converted with a beautiful strike.
Narberth continued to play with their heads held high and caused confusion in the home side's defence which miraculously even under such pressure managed to keep them out.
Final say went to Lewis Davies who scored a well-worked try. This young man is gaining in skill and strength week in week out and is already showing what an important asset he is to the squad and undoubtedly has an excellent future in rugby football.
The try was converted by a massive thump from Lloyd Thomas to make the final score 28-5 to the Seasiders.
The squad are now starting to understand the full meaning of team spirit. Strength up front backed up with speed of foot and supportive passing from the backs seems to be a more natural movement to all involved. Well done lads, keep it coming.
PS. Who was that handsome ref?
TENBY U11s 35 pts
NARBERTH U11s 7
This was a closer match than the scoreline suggests. The Tenby forwards had a struggle on their hands to contain the big visiting pack and too often the backs ran back into tight situations instead of moving the ball out wide. Tries did come, but they were individual efforts and not the teamwork we have come to expect.
The Tenby account was opened in the first minute with a Toby Smith try before Narberth had time to settle. This was converted by Patrick Roberts by the drop-kick method, as the kicking tee had not even arrived at this stage.
There then developed an intense forward battle, with Tenby holding their own in most aspects, but struggling to contain some of the powerful charges by their beefy opponents.
Plenty of ball was provided for the backs and incursions were made into the opposition line. The defence was breached on numerous occasions, particularly by Toby Smith, who was to score a hat-trick, and Jamie Williams, who crossed for one.
Kiefer Thomson took a bit of buffeting at times, but bounced back with resilience to be rewarded with a second-half try.
James Criddle was always hungry for work and made the most of limited opportunities to again get on the scoresheet.
Matthew Davies popped up everywhere in attack and defence and James Canton was a lively contributor.
As mentioned, the forwards had their hands full in the tight, but Yannic Parker with some fine touchline running, and Jack Baker and Joseff Morris were prominent in the loose.
Patrick Roberts and Oliver Goldwait contested everything with vigour, never giving an inch, and Robert Jones was an enthusiastic prop.
Five tries were scored for Tenby, with Patrick converting every one.
Mike Jones scored Narberth's only try after some powerful runs, and this was also converted.
Tenby truly knew they had been in a game after this encounter and the intensity of this derby fixture promises some big matches as these teams move up through the ranks.