Bonymaen 35 pts. Whitland 13

Whitland travelled to league leaders Bonymaen last Saturday and were beaten by the better side on the day, but in no way does the scoreline show a true reflection of their effort and determination against the champions-elect.

Outside-half Aled Davies kicked Whitland into a 6 -0 lead with two well-taken penalties, before Bonymaen's own outside-half, Gareth James, replied with two of his own. Playing up the slope in the first half, Whitland would have felt satisfied with a six-all half-time scoreline, but well into injury time, Bonymaen bagged their first try of the afternoon by left winger Mark Harvey.

After a lineout, where there were some doubts as to whether the throw travelled the necessary five metres, the Bonymaen front row drove deep into Whitland's half, where the forwards again recycled possession, enabling the backs to put the winger in for the try. Gareth James added the conversion to leave the half-time score 13 points to six in favour of the home side.

Three minutes into the second half, James increased Bonymaen's lead to 10 points with his third penalty, before Whitland hit back with an excellent team try. After a good break by centre Matthew Hughes, second row Raff Williams and back row forward Celt Thomas took the ball deep into Bonymaen's 22, where the pack recycled the ball quickly. Outside-half Aled Davies ducked under a high tackle, before feeding fullback Matthew John, who drew the last line of defence and gave the try scoring pass to flanker Phil Morgan, who touched down.

Davies added the two points with a successful conversion to bring Whitland back to within three points of their opponents. Unfortunately, from the restart, the Borderers failed to gather the ball cleanly and following a knock-on a scrum was awarded. They did manage to win this, but failed to clear their lines and a miss-tackle in midfield allowed Bonymaen centre Ryan Llewellyn to touch down.

With James adding the two points, it meant Bonymaen had quickly restored their lead to a useful 10-point margin.

Midway through the half came the try of the match by outstanding centre Ryan Llewellyn, who showed a burst of speed that no one in the Whitland defence could cope with, when he touched down for an unconverted try. Fellow centre Neil Wilcox touched down late in the half and James converted to leave the final score 35 points to 13 in favour of the home side. Whitland will be looking for revenge tomorrow (Saturday) when Bonymaen will be the visitors for the final league match of the season.

Match referee was Mr. Simon Harris. Team fielded: Matthew John, Dion Thomas, Lee Glanville, Matthew Hughes (Will Davies), Christiaan Roets, Aled Davies, Luke Marsh, Alun Davies (Alan Proctor), Huw Devonald, Andrew Morillo (Richard Smith), Raff Williams, Aled Evans (Carwyn Davies), Celt Thomas, Phil Morgan (Matthew Owens), Randall Williams, capt.

Whitland Youth 17 pts. Pembroke Youth 7

Whitland Youth entertained Pembroke last Wednesday night in a rearranged youth fixture, and after a hard fought game came out on top by 17 points to seven.

Whitland's try scorers were second row Carl Smith, number eight Mike Jones and hooker Gavin Walsh, with winger Jonathan Thomas adding a conversion. Pembroke's try came from number eight Robert Jones.

Whitland Youth 15 pts. Haverfordwest Youth 12

Last Saturday, Whitland entertained top-of-the- table Haverfordwest and, though trailing at half- time by 12 points to 10, came back to win by 15 points to 12.

Whitland's points in the first half came from a try by man-of-the-match, second row Carl Smith, with James Donovan converting the try and also adding a penalty.

Haverfordwest's points came from prop Simon Gardner, who scored a try, and also centre Ben Hughes, with outside-half Mike Jones converting one. In the second half, Whitland grabbed the crucial try which keeps them in the hunt for the league title, the scorer being replacement scrum-half Aled Rees. This week sees the young Borderers entertain Crymych tonight (Friday) when they take on Crymych in a league and cup double, at Parc Llwyn Ty Gwyn, with a 7.15 pm kick-off.

Whitland Ladies 26 pts. Neath Ladies 5

Whitland Ladies reached the final of the Welsh Plate which will take place this Sunday at Waunarlwydd, against Blaenau Gwent, after comprehensively beating Neath Ladies last Wednesday evening at Birchgrove in the semi-final by 26 points to five. Second row Carly James opened the scoring with a try after four minutes after good work by number eight Vicky Owens, fullback Joley Davies being unsuccessful with a conversion. Whitland's second try came just on half-time, when the ever-present Vicky Owens picked up and burst through several tackles to touch down. This time Joely Davies added the two points to give the Whitland Ladies a deserved 12 points to nil lead at half-time. Ten minutes into the second half, centre Nina Bishop picked up loose ball and ran in Whitland's third try from some 75 metres, outpacing all of Neath's attempts to catch her. She touched down under the posts, with Joely Davies adding the easy two points. Midway through the half, after another strong scrummage by the Whitland eight, which forced Neath backwards, scrum-half Rosie Hutton pounced on loose ball and broke through two tackles before outpacing the defence to run in her side's fourth try of the evening from 60 metres. Again Joely Davies added the conversion. Neath did have a consolation try through centre Natalie Lawrence, but this did not take anything away from the Whitland Ladies, as they dominated all facets of play and deservedly move into the final.