tenby utd 53

Milford Haven 22

Molson Coors, Andrew Price and FBM Holidays sponsored Tenby United entertained a confident Milford Haven side at Heywood Lane, on Saturday, in the much-anticipated Division Three West derby.

With conditions perfect for free-running rugby, both teams were confident of snatching the win.

It was the Seasiders who put their mark on the game straight from off, though, with hard running and aggressive rucking from lock Luke Dedman, along with flanker partnership of Roy Osborn and Jason Ronowitz, securing quick and clean ball for Will Crockford to get away to Lloyd Thomas and the talented Tenby backline.

And it looked as though Aled Bowen, entering the line from fullback, would score within two minutes of play, as he made it all the way to within a metre of the Mariners' try line, only to be brought down just short, with the ball just going forward in the tackle.

The United's strong pack dominated the scrum, as they would do all day long, putting the heavier Milford eight under tremendous pressure.

It wasn't just at the scrummage that the Seasiders' pack was strong, though, as they managed to steal the odd Mariners lineout throw, too, through Dedman and Gareth Edwards.

With the Mariners on the back foot, the first of eight Tenby United tries came on the 10-minute mark. After superb work at the breakdown from Ronowitz and a crash ball run from Dedman, Crockford had his hands on quick ball which went to Toby Smith, who broke a tackle, before offloading to his brother Sam, who got the ball quickly to Dedman again, who ran in to score, finishing an impressive movement that he'd started. The conversion went wide, but Tenby were 5-0 up, with confidence growing.

The next points came after a late Milford hit on fly-half Lloyd Thomas meant he was able to slot the penalty over and add three points to the Tenby side of the scoreboard on 14 minutes.

Milford didn't roll over, though, and came back with some strong attacks of their own, but the stern defence of Dan Colley, Aled Bowen, Osborn and Ronowitz, to name but a few, managed to keep the Seasiders' line intact.

They did get three points for their efforts through a Joe Kiff penalty, making it 8-3 after 18 minutes.

Aled Bowen crossed for the next try for Tenby after a lineout move gave Crockford the quality ball he had become used to, and he got it out to Lloyd Thomas, who made the initial break, before sending Aled Bowen in the rest of the way to score, beating three defenders in the process. Thomas added the conversion, giving Tenby a 15-3 lead.

With the Seasiders' tails in the air, it was only four minutes before the next score came. After Ronowitz broke free on a 30-metre run, he offloaded to Bowen, who in turn got it to nippy winger Chris Heesom, who drew his defender and gave the pass to centre Mark Heywood, who crashed his way over to score the try, which Thomas again converted.

The Mariners had one more chance before half-time, but their penalty attempt went wide and the home side went into the break leading by 22 points to three.

Tenby came out after the interval in the same strong form as they had ended the first half and looked to take the game to the visitors. The back row of Ronowitz, Osborn and Smith were full of energy and winning almost every breakdown, along with Nicky Guymer and front row partners, Rob Clarke and Jonny Palmer.

Milford looked dangerous, however, when they moved the ball wide off a scrum and were making their way into the Seasiders' half, until Heesom read a pass well and intercepted, showing the Mariners defenders a clean pair of heels on his way in for a superb solo try, earning Tenby the bonus point in the process. Thomas added the extras with the conversion.

The United brought on fresh legs on 52 minutes in the form of Wyndham Williams on for the well played Dedman and club captain Richard Rossiter for Sam Smith. Both players were straight into the boilerhouse, assisting the Tenby pack in turning over the Milford scrum and sending good ball to the backs yet again on the Seasiders' 22 metre line. The ball got as far as Dan Colley, who drew two defenders and threw a well-timed pass to Aled Bowen, who beat four more defenders on his way to scoring his second try from deep within his own half. Again Thomas added the conversion, making it 36-3 in the United's favour.

In the blink of an eye, the Mariners' defences and try line were breached again by Mark Heywood, who gave a pass to Colley, who in turn gave it back to Heywood on a looping run, and he cantered in for his second try on 60 minutes. On this occasion, the conversion went wide.

Two more substitutions were now made, with Rob Fairlie coming on for the well played hooker Nicky Guymer and Simon Stanford on for Heesom.

It was the visitors who were to claim the next score and their first try of the game, however. It came following a good drive from their pack, with hooker Thomas bagging the touchdown and Joe Kiff adding the conversion to make it 36-10 in Tenby's favour.

Two minutes later, Toby Smith crossed for the Seasiders after Lock Gareth Edwards broke free with a strong run and sent the ball to Smith, who crashed over in the corner for an unconverted try.

It was again the Seasiders who would score next and this time it was Lloyd Thomas who crossed the line after a darting run from Crockford and an offload from Dan Colley, who was able to deliver his third try-scoring pass to Thomas, who crossed for a well deserved try, which he converted as well, extending the United's lead to 53-10.

After sustaining a knock, Thomas was then forced to leave the field, leaving the Seasiders to play the final 10 minutes with 14 men after using all four subs earlier.

Milford's Joe Kiff capitalised on the one-man advantage to cross for the Mariners' second try, which he converted on the 73 minute mark, and again in the last minute of the game, bringing the final score to a well-deserved 53 points to 22 in the Seasiders' favour.

Tenby travel to Lampeter tomorrow (Saturday) in the SWALEC Plate competition - please go along and support the team.

Tenby fielded: Aled Bowen, Dan Colley, Mark Heywood, Toby Smith, Chris Heesom (Simon Stanford), Lloyd Thomas, Will Crockford, Sam Smith (Richard Rossiter), Jason Ronowitz, Roy Osborn, Gareth Edwards, Luke Dedman (Wyndham Williams), Rob Clarke, Nicky Guymer (Rob Fairle), John Palmer.