Tata Steel 61 pts. Narberth 9

Still in the game at the interval, the Otters were blown away in the second half with a burst of four tries in six minutes by Tata Steel, who produced some dazzling rugby, which exposed defensive frailties in a below par performance by the visitors.

On a cold Friday evening, the Tata Sports ground was in prime condition and firm underfoot, to encourage open rugby, and Otters supporters were looking forward to watching a close contest between the two teams.

It turned out to be a one-sided affair, but there was little indication of what was to follow in the opening exchanges,

Wing James Russell opened the scoring for the Otters with a penalty after nine minutes, but the lead was cancelled out two minutes later when Tata fullback Gareth Walters was on target with his penalty kick.

Steel skipper and prop Gareth Edwards scored the first try of the match after 27 minutes in the left corner, Russell clawed back three points with his second penalty, but Tata pulled away with an individual try by number eight Robbie Morgan to finish off a movement by the forwards which was converted by Gareth Walters.

Fly-half Simon Evans increased the lead with a try, againconverted by Walters, before James Russell kept Narberth within touching distance with his third penalty of the evening.

In the second half, Gareth Walters kept the scoreboard ticking along with a brace of penalties in the first 10 minutes and then any Narberth hopes of a recovery disappeared into thin air when Steel scored four tries in the space of just six minutes.

The first was scored by outstanding flanker Stuart Edbooke after 12 minutes, the second by winger Ricky Thomas, the third by fly-half Simon Evans and the fourth by replacement number eight Cameron Davies with virtually his first touch of the ball.

Three of the tries were converted by Gareth Walters, who also converted the injury time try scored by Stuart Edbrooke, who touched down under the posts to rub salt into the wound.

Narberth did not look like getting on to the scoreboard in the second half.

The visitors fielded a slightly unfamiliar looking team, as injuries, together with players being unavailable, kept the Narberth coaches fully occupied in finding players who were able to play on a Friday evening.

It resulted in the return of three former favourites, two of whom were available under the dual registration rules.

Despite the difficulties in fielding a suitable team on the evening, Narberth head coach Sean Gale was bitterly disappointed by the performance and result.

Commenting after the match he said: "It was a hugely disappointing result. Tata took every chance they had. They are a very strong side, although we beat them at home and are two places above them in the Championship, but this time we were simply not good enough.

"Unless we make our tackles we don't deserve anything out of a game.

"At half-time we were still in the game, but started badly in the second half, Tata got points on the board and we became deflated.

"We were unable to cope with the driving lineout and the scrums.

"There was a lack of cohesion, but we have got to come back fighting. I am looking forward to seeing how the players react after a defeat like this, which does not happen very often".

On a quickly forgettable night for the visitors in very cold conditions under lights at the Tata Sports Ground, there were some beacons of light for the Otters, with committed displays by flanker Wayne Williams, centre Steve Martin, scrum-half Jarred Bayliss and lock Alex Jenkins.

Narberth fielded: Jonathan Morgan, Will Lewis, Steve Martin (capt.), Richard Davies, James Russell (Nick Jones), Stuart Morris, Jarred Bayliss (Aled Jones), Sean Lloyd (Jamie Kaijaks), Craig Hawkins (Steffan Jones), Tom Slater, Chris Scarfe, Alex Jenkins, Gareth Bateman (Simon Griffiths), Wayne Williams and Steffan Phillips.