Narberth 8 pts. Pontypool 7

An injury time penalty kick gave Narberth a narrow one-point win at home to Pontypool in a tight attritional match between two excellent teams.

A strong diagonal crosswind made life difficult for the players in terms of running, passing and tactical kicking, but nevertheless it was a wholehearted effort by both teams, especially as the pitch cut up a little as well.

The large crowd was held spellbound throughout as neither team gave an inch, attacked where possible and defended resolutely throughout the match.

Playing against the wind, the Otters took the lead after 12 minutes when flanker Stuart Worrall was in support as usual to finish off a move set-up with a scintillating break by scrum-half Rhys Lane.

The ball moved out to the right and Worrall crashed over for a try in the right corner.

Not surprisingly, Ianto Griffiths was unable to convert the try in difficult kicking conditions.

Five minutes later, Pooler took the lead when prop Jamie Jeune got the touchdown for a try when the visitors were camped on the Narberth line. Fullback Clayton Gullis converted to give Pooler the lead, which they held for most of the game.

The visitors had a large number of supporters present and the familiar Pontypool Park war cry of old, "Pooler. Pooler, Pooler" echoed around the Lewis Lloyd ground to urge their team on.

After 26 minutes, the Otters suffered a body blow when prop Tom Slater was injured. He received hospital treatment after having the misfortune to break a bone in his ankle.

Unfortunately, he will be out of the squad for a couple of weeks, making life difficult up front as loose-head prop Nathan Williams has transferred to Moseley.

The second half was much the same, although the Otters used the wind to their advantage, with fly-half Ianto Griffiths putting in some telling line kicks.

In the first half, the Narberth attacks had been sporadic, but in the second half the Otters spent the majority of the game inside Pooler territory, but found it difficult to breakdown a well-knit defence.

Ten minutes into the second half, Ianto Griffiths hit the posts with a penalty attempt and the ball rebounded. The Otters gathered the loose ball and endeavoured to get over the line, but in the strong wind a kick across field went out of play.

Griffiths had another penalty opportunity after 25 minutes, but the wind took the ball wide of the posts.

It was with baited breath that the crowd watched the last-gasp kick for points as Narberth were awarded a penalty kick from 35 metres in injury time.

The kick by Ianto Griffiths divided opinion amongst spectators as to whether it was fortuitous or not. Many people thought that it was a well-judged kick as he kicked from the bottom of the slope in front of the stand with his reliable left foot.

The ball was aimed to the right of the posts and the wind picked it up in flight to take it over the crossbar, much to the jubilation of the Narberth camp, to give the Otters the narrowest of wins.

Commenting after the match, Narberth team management spokesman Robert Lewis said: "We were very pleased with the result. Conditions were adverse to both teams really and there was not much rugby played.

"It was a very hard slog, mainly for the forwards. We just about deserved to win as after the interval most of the play was inside the Pontypool half.

"The Narberth team has not lost at home this year. To play big clubs of years gone by such as Swansea, Pontypool and Newbridge and to hold our ground record is an achievement,

"Players showed a lot of heart. When we are away we are not playing as well as the team management would like and the coaches were very disappointed after the Merthyr game away last week.

"To come back home and beat a very good side like Pontypool was an excellent achievement. All of the players played very well and kept going until the end.

"We would like to take this level of performance forward to next week's game in North Wales against RGC as we have never won up there."

The Health Centre Balcony Suite match sponsors, Hains and Lewis, Solicitors, selected Narberth scrum-half Rhys Lane as man-of-the-match.

There were other very good performances. The front row played well as a unit, with replacement prop Ollie Evans standing up to the test well after Tom Slater was injured.

It was good to see Adam Clark putting in such an excellent display on his return to the team from injury as he worked tirelessly alongside Alex Jenkins and flanker Stuart Worrall had a fine all-round game.

At the end of the day, it was a superb team effort, with everyone raising their game for the big occasion, and the defensive work throughout the match was of the highest quality.

The Folly Farm Otters Holt match sponsors were GD Harries and AC Aggregates and the match ball sponsors were John Mathias and Friends, St. Clears Trots and the Landshipping Boys.

Narberth fielded: Jonathan Morgan, Steve Martin (C), Rhys Lewis, Jason Howells, Lawrence Headlam, Ianto Griffiths, Rhys Lane (Andrew Sutton), Sean Lloyd (Ollie Evans), Dan Smith, Tom Slater (Ollie Evans), Adam Clark, Alex Jenkins, Nio Aioni (Steffan Phillips), Stuart Bateman and Lewis Wood.