Tenby United 21 pts.
Betws 3
A 16-point haul from fly-half Tom 'Turbo' Lewis guided Tenby United to a well-deserved victory at a rain-lashed Heywood Lane on Saturday.
Lewis showed that he has more than just a siege gun boot, converting a fine individual try as well as slotting three penalty goals in a fine all-round performance.
But as is often the case, the platform for victory was laid by a home eight that scrummaged well, dominated the lineout phase and carried strongly in the loose, to limit their opponents to a single penalty goal.
Playing with a gale force wind and driving rain at their backs, the home side began strongly and were rewarded with an early penalty after lock Gareth Edwards was high tackled. Fly-half Lewis opted for the shot at goa,l but pushed the ball wide of the uprights in spite of striking it well.
The newly-promoted visitors from Carmarthenshire tried to gain some momentum by taking a succession of tap penalties, but the conditions made handling difficult for both sides.
After an error-strewn opening, Betws put together the first move of note, scrum-half Williams peeling away from the base of a scrum and allowing the threequarters to move into the Tenby 22.
But the Tenby pack defended doggedly and earned turnover ball, allowing home number nine Rhys Thomas to clear.
The Seasiders' first opportunity came shortly after, following a massive up-and-under from fly-half Lewis. The ball was knocked-on and collected in front of the offending player. Lewis stepped up once again and from 38 metres gave the home side the lead with a well-struck penalty.
Betws turned over possession from the re-start, putting the ball directly to touch, but Tenby were unable to capitalise and soon found themselves under pressure and were forced to concede a penalty 10 metres outside the 22 after being found guilty of slowing the ball down at a ruck.
The visitors spurned the opportunity of three points, opting for a scrum, given the strength of the wind in their faces. They immediately handed back the initiative to the Seasiders, though, after being penalised for a crooked feed.
Lewis once again gained massive ground for his side, putting the home side back deep into Betws territory and on this occasion they used it to even better advantage. A stray Betws kick was picked up by centre Mark Heywood, who ran strongly into the visitors' 22. The ball was quickly recycled wide on the left and tight-head prop Simon Griffiths made good yards before feeding Gavin Brace, who slid over for the try.
Lewis missed the difficult conversion, but the United would have been pleased with an eight-point cushion after 25 minutes.
The strong running Heywood was soon back in the action, making another excellent break and brushing off the visiting stand-off before feeding lock Gareth Edwards in good support. Edwards took the ball up to the Betws 22, but the home side were not quick enough to recycle the ball and were penalised, allowing their opponents to clear.
Fly-half Lewis continued to probe and test the visiting defence, using his boot to good effect and keeping Betws pegged in their own half.
Just before the interval, the visitors breached the home defences for the first time. From a midfield scrum, stand-off Harry fed inside centre Davies, who cut back on the angle and made 30 metres. The home pack did well to recycle the ball, but knocked-on at the crucial moment and the opportunity was lost.
The visitors were made to pay for not taking their chance. Following a good chip and chase from Heywood, the Tenby eight were in good support and the visitors were penalised for being offside at the ruck. Fly-half Lewis made light work of the penalty from around 25 metres.
Five minutes later, the lead was up to 14 points after Betws were guilty of entering a ruck from the side. Lewis struck the resulting penalty well from 42 metres, giving the home side a two-score advantage.
With the half-time whistle just seconds away, the Seasiders nearly fashioned a score that would have virtually put the game out of reach. From a scrum, Rhys Thomas fed Lewis, who delayed his pass and brought fullback Aled Griffiths into the line at pace. But referee Steven Lewis adjudged that the pass to the speedy number 15 was marginally forward and soon afterwards he brought an end to a good first half.
The Seasiders kept up the pace after the break, fly-half Lewis making a good half break before feeding marauding open side Harry Bolton. Bolton did well to find pacy winger Dan Colley, but he was not quite able to hang on to the pass.
Betws may have thought that they would have the better of the elements in the second period, but Lewis made them think again with a raking 60-metre touchfinder following a speculative chip into the home side's 22.
The Seasiders' continued to dominate, number eight Rob James getting in on the action with a fine 20-metre break from the base of a scrum. The back row man did his best to find support, but could only offload to a desperate Betws defender and the chance was gone.
Another strong Mark Heywood charge set up another Tenby opportunity and after quick ruck ball was won, Lewis drilled the ball into touch five metres from the visitors' line. To their credit, Betws took the ensuing lineout and drove 10 metres before the ball was kicked into touch on halfway.
Whilst Tenby were clearly on top in the game, they were by no means out of reach and they were soon reminded that the game was still there to be won. Visiting stand-off Harry feigned to kick from his 22 and then made a fine break, feeding centre Davies and then open-side Rees. But the Carmarthenshire outfit squandered a two-man overlap and conceded a penalty from the ensuing ruck.
On 55 minutes, Ben Cray replaced veteran prop Simon Griffiths, who had a strong all-round game with the ball in hand.
Soon after, the visitors were given their first real chance of points after the home side were found guilty of going over the top at a ruck situation. Outside-half Harry made no mistake with the shot at goal, reducing the deficit to 14-3.
But having got themselves into the match, Betws almost handed the momentum straight back to the home side. After making a complete hash of the restart, the visitors handed possession to the Tenby eight and skipper Lee Tucker took full advantage leading to a succession of drives. Just as it seemed as though the Betws defences would crumble, the home side spilled the ball, giving the visitors a chance to clear their lines from the scrum that followed.
Betws may have thought that things could not get any worse for them, but they were soon reduced to 14 men after their replacement hooker was yellow-carded by referee Steven Lewis after blatantly coming in from the side of a ruck. But the one-man advantage lasted less than a minute as home second row Gareth Edwards saw yellow after he was adjudged to have used his hands in the ruck.
The United almost saw their lead reduced soon after. Fullback Aled Griffiths looked to run the ball from inside his 22 into the wind, but soon found himself in trouble. But captain Tucker came to his aid, earning the home side a penalty after stealing the ball on the floor.
To their credit, the visitors never gave up the ghost and a late attack saw them make inroads deep into the home 22, with winger Thomas scragged into touch by Dan Colley. From the lineout that followed, Rob James was taken out in the air by visiting lock Pritchard and he was shown the yellow card, effectively ending his match.
It was only fitting that Tenby outside-half Lewis should have the final say. Gareth Edwards won fine lineout ball off the top and, although the pass from replacement scrum-half John Lewis was not the best, 'Turbo' made the best of it. He ghosted through a gap before chipping over the head of fullback Rees and regathering to slide over for an excellent score. He converted well with the last kick of the game.
The United, who are sponsored by Chevron, will be pleased to have got back to winning ways after their narrow first round exit in the Swalec Cup and will hope to build on this performance when they travel to Hendy tomorrow (Saturday).
Match sponsors last Saturday were Peter Kidney Plumbing, Martin Hurlow Builders and Mike Carrington, Newey and Eyre. Match ball sponsor was Matt Goldwait, of New Hedges Mini Market.
Tenby fielded: L. Tucker (capt.). M. Lewis, S. Griffiths (rep B. Cray), W. Williams, G. Edwards, N. Guymer, H. Bolton, R. James, R. Thomas (rep J. Lewis), T. Lewis, D. Colley, G. Brace, M. Heywood, S. Cataki, A. Griffiths. Replacements (not used): N. Powling, B. John.