Glynneath 12 pts. Narberth 20

The Otters picked up their first scalp of the season, with a 20-12 away win at Glynneath.

It was a glorious afternoon at the Abernant Park ground, with players and spectators enjoying the conditions as they basked in the September sunshine.

Anticipating an open and competitive game, spectators were not to be disappointed, as both teams looked to attack at every opportunity.

From a Narberth aspect, the disappointing performances in the first two games of the season were wiped from the memory.

The Otters played better as a unit, were more cohesive with much better handling and the defence was tighter.

The gaping holes in the back of defence which were apparent last week at Tata Steel were plugged, as the players took on board the instruction of the coaches given in the midweek training seasons.

At all times, at least one player was lying deep in anticipation of the big kicks over the top, to defend or counter-attack so as to negate the effect of any kick and chase moves.

As the teams battled for ascendancy, there were no scores until midway through the half when Narberth wing Jonathan Morgan touched down for a try under the posts after 22 minutes.

It was the result of a superb break by scrum-half Rhys Lane from inside his own half as he cut the Glyn defence to shreds before releasing Morgan for the final run-in.

The conversion by fly-half Ianto Griffiths gave the visitors a seven points lead at the interval after Glynneath full-back Chris Moore had missed out on a penalty opportunity to reduce the deficit.

In the second half, Glyn struck back with a try from wing Jordan Griffiths after 13 minutes. He took advantage of an overlap on the right, as he ran in to score near the right corner.

It reduced the deficit to two points as the try went unconverted.

Fly-half Ianto Griffiths widened the gap between the teams with a well-taken drop-goal and a penalty.

As the Otters gradually started to take control, another excellent handling movement enabled wing Jonathan Morgan to cross for a try near the left corner, which Ianto Griffiths converted.

Glynneath were not finished and replacement prop David Jones crossed for a try from a drive by the pack in the last move of the game, which full-back Chris Moore converted.

Commenting after the game, Narberth director of rugby Jonathan Dodd said: “As coaches, we were very pleased to get our first win of the season here at Glynneath, who are a difficult team to beat.

“It was a very good game. The pace and tempo of the game was of a high quality and both teams’ defences proved hard to penetrate.

“The boys played better and our defence showed a big improvement on our first two games, which we lost through poor defending.

“Glynneath made us work hard for our points and our tries were of a high quality.

“In conclusion, our performance will provide a good benchmark for the rest of the season.”

Narberth fielded: Scott James, Jordan Roberts, Nick Gale, Ollie Ryland, Jonathan Morgan, Ianto Griffiths, Rhys Lane (Jonathan Rogers), Dan Hobbs, Dan Smith, Ollie Evans, Ian Gough, Adam Clark (Lyndon Bateman), Gareth Bateman (capt.), Llyr Morris and Lewis Wood.