Pembroke 11 pts. Tenby United 5

Showing three changes from the team that beat Milford the previous week, Chevron Texaco sponsored Tenby United took the field in a determined mood at Pembroke, intent on gaining the bragging rights for the after-match post- mortems that were expected to take place in a full Crickmarren clubhouse. Missed opportunities, questionable refereeing decisions and a Pembroke side that appeared to want the victory more than the visitors, denied them gaining that right as the home side hung-on to record a very well-deserved and hard-fought victory. Kicking-off with a steady to strong breeze at their backs, Pembroke tore into Tenby and from the first scrum maintained the momentum as they shunted the visiting eight back, only to see number eight Sam Smith manage to smuggle the ball to scrum- half Rhys Thomas, who quickly shovelled it on to Tom Lewis, who in turn tested the home side with a huge and speculative up-and-under. With both sides playing at 100 mph, there was no real pattern to the game until a breakaway by centre Arthur M-M cleverly allowed Sam Smith to exploit the gap created, but despite making valuable yards, a delayed pass to the unmarked Tom Dennis saw the scoring opportunity wasted. Scrums were causing Tenby problems, and as the front row stood-up to ease the pressure, the resulting penalty was stroked to the corner by Phil Williams. The lineout that followed ended with captain Dai Beynon crashing over for a well- engineered try that went unconverted. The restart saw both Ben Cray and Alex Jenkins secure the ball and Pembroke infringe in an attempt to prevent quick release. The penalty fell short, but the hurried clearance kick was sliced and Tenby were still in an attacking position camped on the Pembroke 22. A good take by Gareth Edwards was slickly transferred along the line to Arthur M-M who, despite the attentions of his opposite number and the Pembroke flankers, managed to maintain his feet and slip the ball away to Rhys Thomas. The scrum-half linked with prop Ben Cray who, with a well-timed pass to Wyndham Williams, saw the flanker sliding over close to the corner flag. The conversion by Tom Lewis was just wide and the game was tied at 5-5. Prop Ben Cray, injured very early on, left the field to be replaced by Mark Brace. Some committed tackling by Pembroke was brought to a halt as referee Watkins delivered the first of many lengthy and stern warnings to a Pembroke player. Tenby attempted a rolling maul from their 22 and gained a valuable 20 metres, only for all the good work to be undone by flanker Wyndham Williams, who stole away from the maul, but got isolated and was penalised for holding on. His namesake from Pembroke, Phil, capitalised on the offence by stroking the penalty straight and true to give the home side a narrow 8-5 lead, with the first quarter of the game gone. Fullback Dai Meyrick was next to show his paces with a surging run from deep, easily beating his first two would-be tacklers with pace and barging the third attempted tackler out of the way. The move was brought to a halt with yet another Pembroke infringement and from the resulting penalty, Tom Lewis took Tenby deep into the Pembroke half. An excellent catch by Gareth Edwards, playing his last game prior to going walkabout in the southern hemisphere, allowed Tenby to set-up an attacking ruck, with the ball transferred to prop Geoff Martin, but before any real momentum could be gained, Pembroke rallied and stopped the move dead in its tracks. The resulting scrum ended with the referee this time speaking to both front rows. Both sides had good attacks foiled by a combination of last-ditch tackles, in particular two carried out by Sam Smith and prop Mark Brace, although to the amazement of the majority of the crowd, the one carried out by Smith was deemed to be a spear tackle, when it appeared that the Pembroke players attempted to jump out of the way and was 'caught in mid air' by the oncoming Smith, who crashed him to the ground. Another three points were added and Tenby slipped to a 11-5 deficit. With the slope and the breeze in their favour, Tenby started the second half, only to be put under the cosh straightaway by Pembroke, who again started the better. Tenby did have a slim chance to narrow the gap, but a long-range penalty attempt by Lewis drifted wide of the target. Maintaining the pressure, Sam Smith broke from a scrum and fed the supporting Rhys Thomas, who was just held-up over the line. As a result of this constant bout of pressure, it was captain Beynon who next attracted the attention of referee Watkins as he delivered yet another long lecture. The resulting penalty, however, was blasted wide of the uprights by Lewis. Tenby were caught napping by a clever chip over the top of the advancing threes by number 10 Williams and Arthur M-M did exceptionally well to bundle the supporting player into touch. A slick attacking move involving Tom Dennis, Mark Heywood, Arthur M-M and Sam Smith saw the ball transferred to Tom Lewis, who delicately chipped the ball over the advancing defence, only for winger Davies to have a try disallowed in the corner for what the referee described as a double movement, when most visiting supporters felt it was clearly a case of momentum. Coach Kenny Davies attempted to inject some fresh legs into the fray by replacing flanker Williams with Richard Rossiter and hooker Lewis with Nicky Guymer, but for all their efforts, all Tenby had to offer as the game entered the final phase was a penalty for Pembroke not being 10 metres being mysteriously switched to an indirect free-kick, a penalty under the Pembroke sticks for killing the ball, overturned as captain Mark Heywood protested that this had been happening for the majority of the half, and a Lewis penalty that hit the post and was cleared. On the final whistle, a jubilant Pembroke trooped off to the clubhouse while Tenby were left to reflect on what could or might have been. With a week off, with no games this Saturday, Davies and his squad can reflect on this performance and get themselves mentally and physically prepared for the next local derby match, this time home against Crymych on the October 28. Team: Dai Meyrick, Jimmy Davies, Arthur M-M, Mark Heywood (capt.), Tom Dennis, Tom Lewis, Rhys Thomas, Ben Cray (Mark Brace), Mike Lewis (Nicky Guymer), Geoff Martin Gareth Edwards, Alex Jenkins, Nicky Allen, Sam Smith, Wyndham Williams (Richard Rossiter). Not used - Neil Powling Other results from the division four west: Cardigan 16 Hendy 3; Llandeilo 29 Morriston 26; Llanybydder 58 Burry Port 13; Milford Haven v Crymych - postponed; New Dock Stars 13 Neyland 26.