Milford 7 pts. Tenby United 17
On a pleasant, sunny afternoon, with a slight breeze favouring the side playing down the slope, Chevron Texaco sponsored Tenby United took the field at the 'Obs' facing a Milford Haven side still buoyant following their excellent, but unexpected 17-14 victory the previous week against high- flying Llandeilo. Tenby, on the other hand, were more than keen to extend their unbeaten run to eight games and maintain second place in the league and were aware that Milford would open the game at pace, with enthusiasm and controlled aggression being the order of the day from a home side, undoubtedly shouted on by a noisy set of supporters. This anticipated start to the match, dreamed about by the home side, was spot on, as within minutes they took the lead when, following a failed penalty attempt by Mark Stevens, standing in for play- maker Tom Lewis, a bad missed tackle in midfield enabled the home side to continue with an attack and to chip the ball toward the Tenby line, where a cruel bounce beat fullback Tom Dennis and allowed the following-up player to dab the ball down over the line.
A successful conversion by number 10 Rusinek completed the start dreamed about by the home side as Tenby trotted back to the halfway line for the restart. Encouraged by this start, and loudly shouted on by their supporters, Milford maintained the pressure when veteran Dean Hadley stole down the blind- side following a scrum and fed winger Morgan, who was only just brought to ground by a fine try- saving tackle from fullback Tom Dennis. The ensuing scrum gave some comfort to the visiting pack as a controlled and combined shove shunted the much-vaunted bulky home eight off their own put-in to take the first of the four 'against the head' strikes of the afternoon. With the short trip to the 'Obs' now well and truly out of their system, and with the home side visibly slowing down, Tenby started to play rugby, with a neat chip through by Mark Stevens being fumbled by fullback Farr and resulting in a scrum deep in the Milford half. Responding to the previous scrum, it was the Milford eight that got the shove on at the scrum awarded to Tenby and number eight Sam Smith knocked-on at the base as he attempted to pick the ball up.
The contest for scrum dominance was obviously going to greatly influence the game and be a huge deciding factor on the result and Tenby gained the upper hand, which they then maintained for the rest of the game, when at the next scrum Mark Brace drove his opposite number high into the afternoon sky and destroyed any chance Milford had of forward momentum. The resulting penalty took play deep into Milford territory and Tenby put together a series of concerted attacks involving Nicky Allen, Gavin Brace, Sam Smith, Emyr Hughes and pocket battleship Paul Luger. With the home scrum now under constant pressure, any attempt by Hadley or scrum-half Trueman to start anything from the base of the scrum was snuffed out at source by a combination of driving tackles by Rhys Thomas, Sam Smith and his fellow flankers Hughes and Williams. This became a source of irritation to the home side, but Tenby remained patient and this eventually paid dividends when referee O'Brien sent flanker Round to sit on the sidelines for 10 minutes for persistent slowing the ball down at the ruck. Exploiting their advantage of having an extra player, Tenby put together another series of attacking moves, which although yielding no score, was having an adverse effect on the home side as the 14 men were stretched to breaking point and physically were struggling to maintain shape.
Sam Smith, who had put in one or two short charging runs, was next into the action when a strong burst that took him through two would-be tacklers, saw the ball shipped out to centres Luger and Arthur M-M, who forced the home side to concede a penalty, which Mark Stevens slotted over to narrow the scores to 7-3. Jolted by this reverse, and back up to 15, Milford spent the last five minutes of the half camped on the Tenby line as drive after drive was stopped just short. Tenby held their nerve and discipline as several scrummaging options were taken, when penalty infringements were spotted by referee O'Brien, as they stood up to the power being applied by the eager home eight. The half finished with Tenby trotting away to the halfway line to instruction from coach Davies, their try line still intact, despite the late efforts of the home eight. Whatever was said at the end of the half, or during half-time by Milford, resulted in the game being restarted with a penalty being awarded to Tenby from the halfway line. The ambitious attempt by Stevens sailed wide, but this unusual restart was just what Tenby needed to kick-start the second period of the game as they very quickly became camped deep in the Milford half. A superb handling move involving Wyndham Williams, Sam Smith and Arthur M-M was brought to a halt with a high tackle and fly-half Stevens narrowed the gap to 7-6 with only minutes of the half played. Tenby were now starting to play their expansive game in an attempt to expose gaps wide out in the over-worked Milford defence. Impressive prop Ed Ayres was next to shine when, catching the restart, he ran straight into the heart of on-rushing home forwards and neatly linked with Sam Smith, who was up in support, and the pair exchanged quick passes to release scrum-half Rhys Thomas, who decided to chip over the defence when keeping the ball in hand would have been the favoured option. The penalty count against Milford was mounting at an alarming rate and Tenby attempted to exploit any weaknesses with a series of tap and go's, mainly instigated by nippy scrum-half Thomas. Milford were now being stretched to breaking point and with only 12 second half minutes on the clock, were aware that their fitness was really going to be tested as Tenby upped the pace of the game. Their reward for this endeavour came when from a scrum on their 22, where the ball was taken against the head, number eight Sam Smith picked-up and made the necessary yards to off-load to Mark Stevens, who drew the last line of defence and slipped the ball to Rhys Thomas, who had looped around the two players, to go over wide out. The score was added to almost immediately as from the restart Ed Ayres repeated his charging run of minutes earlier to link again with his fellow forwards to force Milford to handle at the ruck, providing Stevens with the opportunity, which he gratefully accepted, to take the score out to 14-7. With the confidence now back in their play, and Milford visibly struggling to handle the free- flowing moves of the visitors, Tenby launched a series of attacks. The highlight was a move, initiated from another strike against the head, involving Sam Smith, Mark Stevens, Arthur M-M, Gavin Brace and Rhys Thomas, with this time winger Harry Bolton being hauled down just short of the line. In addition to a constant supply of good ball from the set-piece, Tenby were also being well served at the lineout, where Alex Jenkins and wily campaigner Nicky Allen were now dominating that particular facet of play, more than ably supported by accurate throwing-in by hooker Mike Lewis and the 'piano movers' in the hard-grafting Tenby eight. Next it was Wyndham Williams to the fore when, from a break deep in the Tenby half, the flanker linked with Sam Smith, who skilfully slipped the ball to winger Harry Bolton, who in turn chipped the ball over the considerable frame of number eight Hadley, only to be flattened by a blatant body check. The frustration that had been simmering for most of the game eventually boiled over when, during another drive toward the Milford line, a brawl broke out involving the majority of the players and a long lecture by referee O'Brien followed. His words were obviously not heeded as, within minutes, another bout of fisticuffs erupted and, when order had been restored, referee O'Brien decided that a red card was needed and both Tenby flanker Williams and the Milford replacement, S. Hadley, were sent from the field of play. With only minutes of the game remaining, coach Davies brought on Will Crockford for Harry Bolton and his introduction to the battle brought immediate dividends as from yet another penalty, Stevens increased the lead to 17-7 and referee O'Brien brought the game to a close. Whatever coaches Davies and Brace bellowed at the Tenby XV at half-time, it obviously had the desired effect, as the contest turned out to be a 'game of two halves'. A timid first half display, where Tenby appeared to stand-off and allow Milford to intimidate them, while at the same time not taking their scoring chances, was transformed in the second half as they began to dominate and exploited their obvious advantage in the scrum, lineout and as an attacking force to chalk up win number 11 of the campaign and the eighth one on the trot. The local derby games are coming thick and fast, with Pembroke the visitors to Heywood Lane tomorrow (Saturday). This is a side who inflicted a very narrow 11-5 defeat on the Tenby XV way back in October and the return match has been keenly anticipated by all connected with the United for some time. Tenby fielded: Tom Dennis, Harry Bolton (Will Crockford), Paul Luger, Arthur M-M, Gavin Brace (capt.), Mark Stevens, Rhys Thomas, Mark Brace, Mike Lewis, Ed Ayres, Nicky Allen, Alex Jenkins, Emyr Hughes, Sam Smith, Wyndham Williams. Other results in division four west: Cardigan 58 Burry Port 8; Llandeilo 5 Crymych 15; Llanybydder 48 Morriston 19; New Dock Stars 0 Hendy 12; Pembroke 15 Neyland 15.