Narberth 18 pts.

Tata Steel 19

After allowing Steel to build up a two-score lead of nine points, the Otters came close to snatching the game out of the fire with an injury time penalty and a try with the last play of the match.

Tata Steel came to Narberth with a strong side and it soon became clear that the Otters would have to pull out all of the stops to get something out of the match.

The pitch started to cut up following the recent rain and open rugby was also hampered by a stiff breeze, which made it difficult to pass the ball accurately.

It was the Otters who drew first blood when after seven minutes ever-alert scrum-half Adrian Killa broke clear and seemed certain to score a try in the left corner, before being obstructed. A penalty try was awarded, which fly-half Ianto Griffiths converted.

The opening exchanges had been fairly even and Steel were quick to take advantage of a dropped pass.

With the ball on the ground Steel fullback Lloyd Rodgers hacked the ball on and won the race for the touchdown for an unconverted try.

A last minute penalty kick by Ianto Griffiths gave the Otters a lead of five points at the break.

It was short-lived as minutes into the second half, Steel scrum-half Ross Pritchard scored a try near the posts after a powerful push by the Tata pack. Fly-half Chris Morgan converted and he also converted an interception try scored by wing Gareth John minutes later, when John snatched the ball near the halfway line.

When all looked lost for the Otters, an injury time penalty kick by Ianto Griffiths narrowed the gap between the teams.

With time running out, Steel were awarded a penalty kick from 35 metres. The kick by Chris Morgan just missed the posts.

The Narberth backs started a brilliant counter-attack on the rebound, which produced a breathtaking last minute try in the right corner, finished well by back to form wing Jason Howells.

Unfortunately, it was not converted to give Steel the narrowest of wins.

Commenting after the match, Narberth prop and team manager Sean Lloyd said: "It was a tough game against a well-drilled Tata Side, who were very big and heavy.

"Tata came down with a set game plan and for most of the first half, we let them play it and did not get stuck in as we should have done.

"The half-time pep talk produced results as in the second half the Narberth players reacted well to the Tata driving lineouts and driving mauls as we tried to stop those moves at source.

"We needed to concentrate more on attack and as a result conceded both a push-over try and an interception try in the second half.

"The scoreline was a bit hard to swallow, but we had our chances and we need to reflect on these missed opportunities and raise our game for the away fixture at Beddau ont Saturday.

"It will be another difficult game as Beddau need to win to stay in the Championship next season."

Asked about the Narberth handling errors which led to two of the Steel tries, he replied: "We encourage players to play attacking rugby and it must be accepted that sometimes opponents get a try if passes do not go to hand.

"We play good rugby but the conditions did not suit that type of play. That free-running style of play is our game plan, so we wanted to play and pass the ball.

"Hopefully this plan will bear fruition at the end of the season.

"The younger players in the team learned a lot about playing in a tough rugby match."

The result of playing rugby the Narberth way came within a whisker of bearing fruit at the end of the match, when that last-ditch try, conjured out of nothing, came close to giving the Otters a win in a match where there was little between the sides on the day!

The Health Centre Balcony Suite Match Sponsors Young Brothers, of Llandissilio, selected Narberth lock Alex Jenkins as their man of the match.

The Otters pack worked tirelessly, with another class performance by flankers Dylan Richards and Stuart Worrall.

Behind the scrum, centre Steve Martin led by example as captain.

The Folly Farm Otters Holt match sponsors were County Financial Services, of Saundersfoot, and the Narberth RFC Former Players' Association sponsored the match ball.

Narberth fielded: Nick Gale (Ashley Sutton), Tomi Jones, Steve Martin (capt.), Richard Davies, Ianto Griffiths, Adrian Killa, (Rhys Lane), Owen Jordan (Sean Lloyd), Dan Smith, Tom Slater, Adam Clark (Timoci Kaumaitotoya), Alex Jenkins, Dylan Richards, Stuart Worrall and Lewis Wood, (Steffan Phillips).