Tenby travelled 75 miles north for the second time in three weeks and got their division three west league programme back on track with a very well deserved victory against a robust and physical Aberystwyth side that were somewhat surprised with the pace and endeavour shown by the determined United side from the off.

The ploy of reverting back to fielding the strongest side available, and a much changed side from the earlier cup encounter with Aberystwyth, paid handsome dividends for both coaching staff and the players, and, although there was only five points difference when the final whistle sounded, the close score flattered the home side.

Early pressure came in the form of captain and fly-half Sion Brace, who tested the home side's defence with a series of low probing kicks, eagerly followed-up by wingers Dean Rees and Mark Stevens, with the reliable Nicky Allen providing support.

These were followed by a series of forward-dominated charges, with prop Lee Tucker, recently returned from Whitland, and flanker Harry Bolton leading the way.

In an attempt to get into the game, the Aber forwards started to 'mix it' and referee O'Conner issued his first warning with the game entering the second quarter.

A penalty for dropping the scrum on the Aber 10-metre line saw centre Neil Powling's excellent kick sail between the uprights to give Tenby a well-earned lead.

The penalty count for scrummage related offences came thick and fast and this gave rise to a second incident in open play involving both forwards and backs, with Lewis, the home side prop, and Neil Powling spending 10 minutes in the sin bin.

This action seemed to calm the exchanges down somewhat, but a series of technical offences committed by several Tenby players resulted in Nicky Allen being selected by the referee to spend the final few minutes of the first half with his feet up.

To rub salt into the wound, Gareth Roberts brought the scores level with the penalty awarded for the offence to bring the curtain down on an eventful first half.

Within seconds of the restart, scrum-half James unaccountably waltzed through half the Tenby side totally unopposed for a try converted by Roberts to put Tenby 10-3 in arrears.

The move seemed to involve a 'crossing offence' which went unpunished by the referee and perhaps explained the lack of any challenge on James.

Undeterred by this reverse, Tenby immediately stepped up a gear and, using quick ball secured from a ruck deep in Aberystwyth territory, Ollie Brace set the threes off for Neil Powling to cross wide-out from a break initially made by Sion Brace. Powling levelled the scores at 10-10 with an excellent conversion.

An injury to Dean Rees resulted in a shuffle of resources, with hard-tackling Harry Bolton switching to the wing to replace Rees and Simon Phillips packing down on the flank, while a change in the front row brought Mark Badham on for the injured Scott Payne. No sooner were these changes made when from an excellent quick clean-out, the ball was moved slickly along the threes, resulting in fullback Darren Rees sliding over in the corner to put Tenby deservedly back in front at 15-10.

Whereas Tenby had responded positively to the Aber score, the home side's reaction was to resort to some unsavoury physical stuff, with newcomer Phillips the target. This saw Aber second row Bleddyn Jones and Phillips, who had retaliated, spending the next 10 minutes out of the game.

The pace at which Tenby were playing, and the well organised defence, clearly unsettled the home side - as was made obvious by the shouts from the side-lines and some of the actions seen on the field of play, scrum-half Gwion James being red-carded on the half-hour for an alleged bite on Nicky Allen after a crunching tackle by the United back row man.

The pressure was then stepped-up by Tenby, who stretched the 14-man Aber defence to breaking point when a slick handling movement, initiated by a searing break from Harry Bolton down the left-hand touchline, went on to involve both backs and forwards and saw a delighted Lee Tucker crash over in the right-hand corner.

With Neil Powling adding the extras with a superb touchline conversion, Tenby were leading 22-10 and were home and dry.

A double substitution, involving Phil Hughes and Anthony Griffiths being replaced by Nicky Guymer and Justin Richards, saw the remainder of the game played in the Aber half, with the depleted and dispirited home side being tested to the full by a series of forward-led charges, with Gene Hocking, Lee Tucker Chris James and replacement Richards very prominent.

The Tenby half-backs, Ollie and Sion Brace, very effectively used quick ball secured from these attacking charges.

Playing an unexplainable lengthy injury period, Aber reduced the lead 10 minutes later, when Tenby stood off at a quick penalty tap, enabling outside-half Roberts to cross close to the posts for a try, which he converted himself, closing the score to 22-17.

Three well earned points keep Tenby in the top half of the table with 12 points, in a group of clubs breaking away from the bottom section of the league, which is made-up of eight clubs on zero to six points.

A win in the next league game against Gorseinon will not only maintain the momentum to stay among the top four in the league, but will also provide the platform for the month to end with a victory against Milford in the county cup competition.

Tenby fielded: Darren Rees, Dean Rees (Simon Phillips), Gavin Brace, Neil Powling, Mark Stevens, Sion Brace, Ollie Brace, Scott Payne (Mark Badham), Phillip Hughes, (Nicky Guymer), Lee Tucker, Gene Hocking, Chris James, Nicky Allen, Anthony Griffiths (Justin Richards), Harry Bolton.