Hendy 17 pts.

Tenby United 47

Coastal Cottages sponsored Tenby United set off east for the fourth and final time last Saturday to play Hendy in search of their 16th victory to wind-up an eventful season.

They knew that nothing less than a bonus point victory was required if they were to contest promotion and the second spot in the league with fellow contenders Pontarddulais, who were at home to Milford Haven... but with one advantage, a game in hand.

In the end, Tenby easily secured the necessary bonus point victory they required, as did Pontarddulais, and Tenby can now only sit back and await the result of the local derby game tomorrow, hoping that Hendy can pull off a win against their very near neighbours Pontarddulais.

The game started early to allow the Hendy coach to get to the Millennium Stadium to see his sons playing for Llanelli against Carmarthen in the Welsh Cup, and from the outset Tenby put the home side under pressure and racked-up 14 points in the first 10 minutes.

It was regular try scorer Sam Smith who continued his rich vein of scoring with a solo effort under the posts, to be quickly followed by a slick 8/9/10 move from the base of the scrum which set up a ruck and, with quick ball, fullback Dan Colley set up the opening for Sam to trundle over for try number two. With Tom Lewis adding the extras, Hendy were 14-0 down and facing a hard afternoon.

To their credit, they responded well and from a lineout close to the Tenby line they manufactured two scoring opportunities. The first was illegally stopped by Tenby, who pulled down the rolling maul, and from the penalty/touch/lineout that followed, it was very much the same ploy, only this time burly second row Ian Jones crashed his way over the line. Rhodri Phelps converted and Hendy were duly rewarded for their quick response to the excellent Tenby start.

A sweet inter-passing move initiated by Luke Dedman, who linked well with back row forwards Smith and Harry Bolton, threatened the Hendy line, but a knock-on at a vital time brought the promising move to a halt.

However, from the resulting scrum, the Tenby front row stole the ball against the head and from a classic move from the base, Sam Smith linked with scrum-half Richard Rossiter, and with excellent support from Dan Colley and Dai Meyrick, the move ended with Meyrick sliding over close to the corner.

Heartened by his steal against the head, hooker Guymer was again quickly into action with a tap and go penalty and again from quick ball at the ensuing ruck the Hendy line was under pressure, only for the pass between centres Brace and Watt to hit the deck.

Hendy were next to threaten, but a knock-on quickly stopped their advance, only for Tenby to upset the referee, who awarded a penalty to the home side for chopsing. Rhodri Phelps stroked the ball cleanly between the uprights and the Tenby lead had narrowed to 19-10.

The drizzle that had been threatening to spoil the game increased as the second half started and forced too many handling errors as both sides struggled to get to grips with the slippery ball. Skilfully scooping up a ball off the deck, wing Dai Meyrick showed what could be done when he set off crossfield on a mazy run and linked with fellow wing Simon Stanford, who made good yards before releasing skipper Harry Bolton, who was up in support, for a superb try which was converted by Lewis.

With their confidence now on a high with the targeted four-try bonus point in the bag, Tenby committed the cardinal sin of getting a tad cocky, which was duly punished by the home side. Scrum-half Rossiter wanted an age to gather the ball and decide what to do next and only succeeded in gifting the ball to Hendy, and wing Ceirion Thomas sliced through the disorganised Tenby defence to score wide out. Rhodri Phelps compounded the mistake by converting from a difficult angle and Hendy had somehow got themselves within striking distance of Tenby, narrowing the scores to 26-17.

Sensing the need to send on some fresh players, coach Katalau started to ring the changes, with initially wing Dai Meyrick, who had a very good afternoon, being replaced by Sam Foster. The ploy worked immediately, with Foster involved in a slick move with centres Brace and Watt, with a well-timed pass from Gavin Brace releasing Alex Watt, who cantered over unopposed under the sticks for Lewis to add the extra two points and extend the lead to a more comfortable 33-17.

Next to leave the action was hooker Guymer, to be replaced by Terry John, a change that was quickly followed by fellow forwards Luke Dedman and Timoci Kaumaitotoya taking a well-earned rest to be replaced by Wyndham Williams and Jason Ronowitz.

As with the initial round of substitutions, this second phase also had the desired effect when the forwards, bolstered by some fresh legs, set up a series of drives in which Nicky Allen and newly-arrived Wyndham Williams and Jason Ronowitz were prominent, ending with burly number eight Sam Smith getting his third try of the afternoon as he sliced through the remnants of the home defence. Lewis was successful with the conversion, extending the lead to 40-17.

With the drizzle easing off somewhat, the backs started to show their paces and young wing Simon Stanford was next into the action when he just failed to gather a well-judged cross-kick by fly-half Tom Lewis, but within seconds he had atoned for his error when he set off on a zig-zag run that not only fooled the home defence, but totally bamboozled his fellow players, who were uncertain of his route. The promising move was very quickly brought to a halt as Simon zigged, when he probably should have zagged, and was crunched by a burly Hendy forward in a bone-shaking and shuddering solid tackle.

With victory a certainty, if you had a red and black shirt on, while defeat stared you in the face if you were in red/white and green, the game became a little fragmented, with wrong options being taken and aimless kicking becoming the order of the day.

To make matters worse, the drizzle had returned and thoughts of players and spectators alike were turning towards a nice cool pint in the club.

The game, however, was momentarily brought back to life when from a quick tap and go penalty, deep in the Tenby half, replacement flanker Jason Ronowitz showed his paces and set off on a superb run which took him from deep in his 22 to cross under the sticks, with a trail of would-be tacklers left clutching at thin air.

The extras were added by Lewis, who had totted up 13 points during the afternoon, and soon after that spark of excitement, the game and season ended for Tenby.

Probably not their best performance of the season, but winning 47-17 while missing their first choice second rows, minus a key prop, with a converted flanker filling in at scrum-half and light of one or two threequarters... a more than satisfactory result was still achieved. It speaks volumes for the progress that has been made as, when missing players from those positions earlier in the season, it would have been a case of damage limitation travelling to an away game. It is always nice to finish the season on a winning note as the close season is quite short and soon, pre-season is staring you in the face. Coming off a win always lightens the burden of getting underway again... and next season, who knows what will happen? There might be a twist in the tail at the end of this season... you never know!

Tenby fielded: Dan Colley; Dai Meyrick (Sam Foster), Alex Watt, Gavin Brace, Simon Stanford; Tom Lewis, Richard Rossiter; Robbie Clark, Nicky Guymer (Terry John), Scott Payne, Luke Dedman (Wyndham Williams), Nicky Allen, Timoci Kaumaitotoya (Jason Ronowitz), Sam Smith, Harry Bolton.