Crymych 33 pts.

Tenby United 15

Coastal Cottages sponsored Tenby United travelled to Parc Lloyd Thomas to face holders Crymych in the semi-final of the Chevron-sponsored Pembrokeshire County Cup.

With an impressive record of played 11, won 11, Crymych currrently hold top spot in Swalec League Division Three West, while the United hold a similar position in Division Four West, so in addition to wanting to come away with a victory, the Seasiders also had the opportunity of testing themselves against the best from the level above them.

With the visitors kicking off into a brisk and cold wind, both sides made attempts to put attacking moves together, but a combination of the blustery conditions, along with cold hands, put paid to any ideas in that respect and both defences held firm, with captain Nicky Guymer and young Jason Ronowitz starring for Tenby.

The home side's threequarter line was always keen to take advantage of any opportunity to encroach beyond the offside line and from one of these offences, picked up by referee Adrian Slade, scrum-half Richard Rossiter took a quick tap and go and, with the alert Simon Stanford and Wyndham Williams in support, released skipper Nicky Guymer, who crashed over wide out. Wing Jimmy Davies added the extras with a superb conversion and Tenby had eased into a seven-point lead with only five minutes on the clock.

As is often the case when a side scores, for some unknown reason they are vulnerable to a quick attack by the opposition and Tenby fell for the sucker punch when from the kick-off, the ball was fumbled and Crymych snapped it up to trundle their way over the Tenby line, with prop Rhys Thomas claiming the touchdown as the entire pack picked themselves up from the muddy pitch.

With Tenby based Ianto Griffiths converting, the scores were level.

Tenby tried to open the game up with spirited bursts involving forwards Gareth Edwards, Sam Smith, props Davies and Palmer along with flanker Ilaisa Torau, all linking with Dan Colley, Dai Meyrick and Toby Smith, but the Crymych defence held firm and with the majority of ball they won back, they quickly set up a trundling maul where they made hard yards toward the Tenby line.

Referee Slade gave some harsh 'in at the side' penalties as Tenby attempted to quell the forward momentum, with the United then being pegged back as Griffiths gained valuable yards from the resultant kicks.

Twigging that the heavy conditions favoured slow, trundling mauls, Tenby attempted a couple of their own and it became evident that to stop the hard yards being gained by this tactic, Crymych had to pile more bodies into the maul, which started to leave gaps in the their previously water-tight midfield defence.

It was a travesty when, following an excellent break through by the Tenby threes, a dropped ball was scooped up by Guto Griffiths, who scampered away from his own 22 to score in the corner. Brother Ianto applied the finishing touches by adding the extras with a superb conversion from wide out.

Undeterred by this latest setback, Tenby went back into attacking mode, with the forwards managing to set up situations which fly-half Toby Smith capitalised on by pegging Crymych back with a series of raking touch-finders.

The home side were now under pressure and their experienced pack was being tested by the much younger Tenby eight and their efforts finally gained some reward when from a pick and go from the base of the scrum, number eight Sam Smith set up a breakdown situation where the home side strayed offside and Jimmy Davies slotted the resulting penalty, taking the scores to 14-10.

Tenby continued to probe and stretch the home defence, with Toby Smith varying his kicks and Dan Colley and Simon Stanford applying the pressure by enthusiastically chasing everything.

An unfortunate clash involving home flanker Dylan Harris ended with the player being stretchered off the field and the half ended with Ianto Griffiths slotting two penalties to take the half-time score to 20-10, the final successful kick resulting from a needless missed touch-find by Tenby, right on the whistle.

Crymych got the second half underway with a short kick-off that was well handled by the alert Tenby defence, with Dan Colley, Ilaisa Torau, Toby Smith and Dai Meyrick neatly combining to put the ball out of play on the home 22.

With the wind picking-up, both sides struggled to put any tempo into the game, with Tenby guilty of a series of knock-ons, dropped passes and incorrect decisions, with moves simply being snuffed out by a not too overworked home defence. Even a couple of strikes against the head, which usually provide the platform from which to attack, yielded nothing.

Crymych played a very simple game and at every opportunity tucked the ball up their shirt and trundled towards the Tenby line and, egged on by the vocal local supporters, gained their reward as referee Slade blew up for penalty after penalty.

From one such offence, Ianto Griffiths added a further three points to take the score out to 23-10 and, despite gaining some unexpected possession from a few more strikes against the head, Tenby were simply unable to create any viable attacking platform, despite valiant attempts by Sam Smith and Gavin Brace.

Their defensive qualities were also being put to the test as the game began to break-up, with gaps appearing in what was previously a solid red and black line and, despite the efforts of Wyndham Williams and fellow lock Gareth Edwards, ably supported by a tireless front row, Crymych extended their lead with another Griffiths penalty and at 26-10 the game was slipping away from Tenby.

In an attempt to introduce some fresh legs and new ideas, coach Katalau brought himself on, along with young Dan Thomas and Alex Watts for Ilaisa Torau, Richard Rossiter and Jimmy Davies, although Alex only briefly stayed on the park as a serious shoulder injury saw him almost immediately replaced by Delwyn Brace.

The reorganised Tenby side took time to settle, but still managed to stem one or two attacks put together by Crymych as the home side tried to take full advantage of the player changes.

Tenby, however, held their line and, with the game drawing to a close, mounted an attack down the right, which came to an end with a deliberate one-handed pat down of a pass by centre Guto Griffiths, who was yellow-carded by referee Slade.

Despite several warnings for drifting offside, Crymych still pushed the laws to the limit and when they were next penalised, Toby Smith stroked the kick into the corner.

From the resulting lineout, an accurate throw by skipper Guymer was superbly taken by Emori Katalu, who flipped the ball to Gareth Edwards, who in turn lobbed it to number eight Sam Smith, who had come from the back of the lineout, to crash over in the corner. The difficult conversion was missed by Sam's brother Toby, but with the scores narrowed to 26-15, some pride had been restored by the battling Tenby outfit.

Any celebrations by the United, and their enthusiastic supporters, were to be very short-lived, however, as Crymych resorted to their standard attacking ploy, the rolling trundle, and veteran prop John Davies burrowed his way over in the corner. With Ianto Griffiths adding the extras, taking his contribution to 18 points, the game came to a close at 33-15.

The end score was a tad harsh on Tenby and at 26-15 the home side would have left the field with a job well done, while Tenby would have been satisfied with a two tries each game, while at the same time knowing four penalties given away had cost them dearly.

The Tenby pack can be well pleased with their efforts as they fought tooth and nail for every yard gained and ball won. The threequarters were unfortunately hampered by a combination of slow ball and a rush home defence, but at the end of the day the result stands and Tenby must now channel their efforts into consolidating their league position as they face the second half of the season starting with two tough away games at Cardigan tomorrow (Saturday) and Milford Haven on January 22. The month is finished off with a trip to Aberaeron in the fifth round of the WRU Bowl.

Tenby fielded: Dai Meyrick, Jimmy Davies (Alex Watts/Delwyn Brace), Dan Colley; Gavin Brace, Simon Stanford, Toby Smith, Richard Rossiter (Dan Thomas), Lewis Davies (Ben Cray), Nicky Guymer (capt), John Palmer, Gareth Edwards, Wyndham Williams, Jason Ronowitz, Sam Smith, Ilaisa Torau (Emori Katalau).