Narberth 17 pts. Bargoed 22

Narberth lost their ground record for the season at home to Championship leaders Bargoed, despite a resurgent performance in the second half which came close to wiping out a 19 points lead by the visitors at the interval.

After the match, the Bargoed players and officials commented that the two fixtures against Narberth, had been the most difficult matches the Championship leaders had played so far this season.

The visitors took the lead in the first minute of the game after bursting through the Otters' defence and the move was finished by fullback John Purcell with a try converted by fly-half Josh Prosser.

A penalty attempt by Narberth fly-half Ianto Griffiths a few minutes later drifted wide of the posts and the visitors extended their lead after 29 minutes with a try by wing Lewis Prothero, converted by Prosser.

Throughout the half, Narberth were on the back-foot and unfortunately the first tackle was often missed. This resulted in other players being sucked in to tackle and open up gaps which the visitors exploited cleverly.

The third Bargoed try of the period was scored by prop Kieran Brown, which went unconverted.

A penalty by Ianto Griffiths reduced the lead for a couple of minutes, but Josh Prosser had the last word with an injury time penalty kick from 35 metres, to give Bargoed a substantial 22-3 lead at the interval.

As has so often happened this season, the Otters raised their game in the second half and looked a completely different side.

It had been the same in the fixture between the two teams earlier in the season at Bargoed and in both cases the Otters came close, but not quite close enough, to finishing the improved performance with a win.

Narberth had a strong bench and the early introduction of replacements prop Ollie Evans, flanker Gareth Bateman and wing Nick Gale had an impact and made a difference to the performance.

Four minutes into the second half, flanker Stuart Worrall finished off a move started by a catch and drive in the lineout following a good take by lock Alex Jenkins.

Worrall's try was converted by Ianto Griffiths and for the remainder of the half Bargoed had to pull out all of the stops to prevent the Otters from scoring again.

Replacement prop Ollie Evans was yellow-carded after 48 minutes, but there were subsequent yellow cards issued to lock Darren Lynch and hooker Leigh Meades to reduce the visitors to 14 players for two periods, during which Narberth came close to scoring.

Eventually, another try came after 80 minutes when replacement wing Nick Gale scored a try in the right corner after following up a deft grubber kick by replacement back row forward Gareth Bateman.

Ianto Griffiths converted from the touchline in front of the stand, but there was no time for the Otters to make further inroads into the Bargoed total.

Commenting after the match, Narberth head coach Sean Gale said: "It was a very disappointing display in the first half, as we fell off a few tackles and lineouts.

"The three tries scored by Bargoed in the first half came from miss-tackles and we were unable to get any gain line before the interval and our mistakes put Bargoed into the driving seat.

"There were a few choice words at half-time and the replacements in the early stages of the second half made an immediate impact. We started winning gain line, changed direction and we had the upper hand in the second half.

"Bargoed are a very good side and we have got a lot of things to work on. Injuries have not helped in the front row and scrum-half Rhys Lane is also out through injury, but Jonathan Rogers fitted in very well in his absence.

"With the benefit of gain line in the second half, we were able to get quick ball and looked a very dangerous side in the last 30 minutes.

"We gave Bargoed a bit too much respect in the first half. They had gain line which meant that we were on the back-foot and in those circumstances a side tends to fall off the tackles.

"Once we were on the front foot we looked a very good team.

"We are a very young squad, we are positive, although struggling with injuries, and we will keep fighting."

One big talking point in the second half was why Narberth did not opt to go for goal after being awarded penalty kicks in kickable positions?

Instead, the Otters decided to go for tactical penalty kicks into touch in attacking positions, but unfortunately the moves all broke down.

When such decisions come off and prove successful, the team is hailed for their bravery, but when they go wrong, supporters wonder what would have happened if the safe option had been taken to get points on the board.

Nevertheless, spectators had witnessed a great game of rugby, between two teams who 'play rugby' and were evenly matched on the day.

The Health Centre Balcony Suite match sponsors, Narberth Ladies in aid of cervical cancer, selected Narberth fly-half Ianto Griffiths as man-of-the-match.

There were other very good performances by flankers Stuart Worrall and Gareth Bateman, prop Steffan Jones and number eight Lewis Wood.

In addition to Ianto Griffiths and Jonathan Rogers behind the scrum, wings Rhys Lewis and Nick Gale caused problems for the Bargoed defenders.

The Folly Farm Otters Holt match sponsors were Nasuwt and the match ball sponsors were Mike Richards and Friends, Phil Hart and Friends, Graham Searle and Friends and Curly from Lampeter.

Narberth fielded: Jonathan Morgan, Rhys Lewis, Steve Martin (C), Morgan Griffiths, Lawrence Headlam (Nick Gale), Ianto Griffiths (Ashley Sutton), Jonathan Rogers, Sean Lloyd (Ollie Evans), Dan Smith, Steffan Jones, Adam Clark, Alex Jenkins, Nio Aioni (Gareth Bateman), Stuart Worrall and Lewis Wood (Timoci Kaumaitotya).