Whitland 8 pts. Narberth 24

Narberth went home with the derby win under their belts winning by 24 points to eight, but the scoreline in this Swalec League Championship clash on Saturday does no justice to the match and how close it really was.

Both sides gave 110 per cent and, on their second half performance, the visitors just edged it, but the scoreline was helped by two refereeing decisions which left everyone in the ground scratching their heads, but Narberth smiling.

After both outside-halves had missed with early penalty chances, it was Whitland who eventually took the lead after 16 minutes when on this occasion Scott Newton was on target with a penalty goal.

The Borderers clung on to this lead for nearly 20 minutes, but five minutes before the interval, Narberth were awarded an attacking scrum 10 metres from the Whitland line, out near the touchline. The home side appeared to have been holding the edge in this department and were therefore somewhat bemused that when the scrum went down, referee Alan Jenkins, with no warning, awarded a penalty try to the Otters.

With number 10 Rhys Roberts having no trouble in adding the extras from in front of the sticks, it gave Narberth the lead for the first time by seven points to three.

Two minutes before the break, Scott Newton did have a chance to close the gap after the Narberth backs were caught offside, but he failed to split the uprights, leaving the visitors with a four-point advantage at half-time.

Narberth started the second period brightly and early pressure resulted in an attempted drop goal by Rhys Roberts, which he just put wide, but he did increase the lead with a penalty after Whitland centre Mike Giorgiou was sin-binned 10 minutes into the half.

Four minutes later, the Otters worked an overlap behind and skipper Steve Martin crossed for a try, which Roberts converted to increase the lead to 17 points to three.

Midway through the half, Narberth left winger Tom Bonnell became the second player to be sent to the sin-bin, but unlike his opposite number, Newton couldn't make the Otters pay as he failed with the resultant penalty.

With 10 minutes remaining came the second mystifying refereeing decision.

Narberth were awarded a penalty out on the touchline, some 35 metres out, and signalled to the posts for a kick at goal. As Whitland retreated, skipper Andrew Jenkins asked who had given away the penalty, leading to the referee marching the Borderers back a further 10 metres, where he allowed Rhys Roberts to tap and go and cross for the touchdown unopposed.

Outside-half Roberts also converted and with time running out it took the Otters into an unassailable 24-3 lead.

Whitland never gave up, however, and after a great 'show and go' by number 10 Scott Newton, he split the Narberth defence and sent winger Tomi Jones haring away for a well-deserved try in the corner.

Newton failed with the conversion attempt, his kick rebounding off the crossbar, and this left the final score in this bruising derby at 24 points to eight to Narberth.

Ironically, if Newton had kicked that, as well as the three penalties he missed and those controversial tries had not been given, Whitland would have won the game.

That said, Narberth did just enough to deserve it. With little given up front, they had the slight edge in the backs, with Johnny Morgan in particular looking lively and the centre partnership of Martin and Nick Jones holding the aces in defence.

For Whitland, there were some great performances up front by Gareth Lloyd, Marc Jones and Jack Mason; they were led well by Andrew Jenkins, while Mike Goirgiou put in some hard tackling and there were a number of good runs by winger Tomi Jones.

Conditions were ideal for a feast of running rugby, but that was never going to be the case in this game; there was just too much at stake. Narberth wanted to keep hold of their winning momentum while Whitland were looking to stop the rot and gain a bit of self-belief, a trait that coach Randal Evans says they lack.

"The difference in this level is that teams punish your mistakes and take their opportunities, we're not.

"We're killing ourselves by doing silly things. I don't think we're that far off. We've got the players to do it, but for some reason we're not doing it on the pitch. The players just have to believe they can."

If Evans's frustrations were palpable, then the same could be said for Narberth coaches Sean Gale and Jonathan Dodd's expressions of delight.

"We're playing better this year than we did last year despite the step up in level," said Dodd.

"The players are sticking to their plans and we've cut the try count against us because our defence is so good," added Gale. "We were a bit lucky with that third try, but we deserved to win the game."

Whitland fielded: Jonathan Thomas (Dafydd Williams), Tomi Jones, Carwyn Phillips, Mike Giorgiou, Will Davies, Scott Newton, Andrew Jenkins, capt. (Dafydd Evans), Rhodri West (Gethin Jones), Marc Jones, Gareth Lloyd, Raff Williams, Kieran White, Jack Mason (Nathan Price), Luke Owen, Llyr Griffiths (Dylan Richards)

Main match sponsors: Mason Bros, Lampeter Velfrey; G. D. Harries & Son Ltd, Narberth; Young Bros, Llandissilio; and Coors Brewing Company Ltd.

Team sponsors: Bargain Box, Narberth; Penderi Furniture, Whitland; and Hoelion Wyth

Ball sponsors: Davies Brothers, St. Clears; E. & M. Davies (Whitland Dairies); Simon Allen, of Allen & Partners; K. P. Thomas & Sons, Templeton; Ron Mounsey, McDonalds; Richard Fussell Shooting Supplies; Ieuan Griffiths Ltd; and Whitland Car Services.