TENBY UNITED 31 pts. TUMBLE 16

Match mascot, Leo Morland, leads the team onto the pitch alongside skipper Richard Rossiter.

Pic. Dylan Davies

Tenby United cruised to victory at Heywood Lane on Saturday, beating league strugglers Tumble by five tries to one, hero for the Seasiders being big second row Ben Armstrong, who bagged a brace of touchdowns.

Enjoying the bright sunshine on their backs in this entertaining Texaco-sponsored division four west fixture, Tenby always looked the stronger team on their home ground and seemed to have a point to prove after suffering defeat in the reverse fixture earlier in the season.

Their early pressure paid off after seven minutes, when good play from the forwards and quick recycling enabled centre Sion Brace to charge over and give the United the lead.

The missed conversion - a relatively simple effort from near the sticks - seemed to set the standard for the day's kicking, with outside-half Neil Powling only scoring six points with the boot throughout the game.

Not to be outdone, Tumble hit back immediately after conceding, and were awarded a penalty minutes later. Outside-half Bailey's kick at goal was looking good, but struck the woodwork and gave Tenby the opportunity to clear their lines.

Despite the miss, Tumble's tails were up and after continuing to press forward, they eventually cut the deficit to two points with a neat drop goal.

Tenby responded with some good ball in hand play, and gained a penalty on the Tumble five, which was taken quickly by alert number eight Justin Richards, who powered over the line to extend the lead.

The conversion was again missed by Powling, while opposite number Bailey was also off target with another two penalties at the other end, before making it fourth time lucky to narrow the gap to 10-6 five minutes before the break.

With half-time approaching, the United upped a gear and showed some quality movement up front. The pressure paid off with two tries in quick succession, the first by second row Paul Broaders and the second by his boilerhouse colleague Ben Armstrong.

With Powling at last finding his kicking boots, both were duly converted by Powling to leave the score at the interval 24-6 in the United's favour.

Tumble came out after the break the stronger team, but didn't really threaten the Tenby line until number eight Evans intercepted a wayward pass and ran the ball home from 60 yards to notch their first try of the day, converted by Bailey.

Buoyed by this score, Tumble went in search of more points, but the determined Tenby defence held out well and only conceded another penalty to leave the score 24-16.

The last try of the day went to Ben Armstrong, completing his hat-trick. Tenby moved the ball well from from a lineout and spread it wide and back inside through powerful winger Steve Hartland, who held off a few challenges before off-loading to the supporting Armstrong, who once again powered over.

Fly-half Powling completed the afternoon's scoring with his third successful conversion from in front of the posts.

The result left fans and travelling Texaco officials and guests with a smile on their face and bottom-of-the-table Tumble with a long drive home.

Tenby United fielded: D. Rees, J. Dodd, S. Brace, G. Brace (N. Truman), S. Hartland, N. Powling, W. Crockford, S. Payne, R. Rossiter (capt), L. Tucker, P. Broaders, B. Armstrong, N. Allen, J. Richards, R. James.

Footnote: During the half-time interval, a bucket collection was made and raised over £150 for Texaco's chosen charity, the Noah's Ark Appeal.