Narberth 18 pts. Glamorgan Wanderers 12

Narberth have moved back up to fifth position in the Swalec Championship table with a hard fought win against a determined Glamorgan Wanderers side.

It was all the more remarkable as the Otters played for 60 minutes with only 14 men, as a result of yellow cards, issued to three key players, prop Tom Slater, centre Oli Reyland and lock Alex Jenkins.

The Otters were also hampered as influential centre and captain Steve Martin had to leave the field for hospital treatment as a result of a serious leg injury.

Following extensive checks and examinations, Steve Martin had an operation for the achilles injury earlier in the week and is likely to be out of action for at least three months.

All being well, he should be fit to return to league duty at the start of next season.

In wet and greasy conditions, the Wanderers belied their league position and played like a top six team, in attack and defence.

The visitors created a number of clear-cut scoring opportunities in the first half and after the interval, but as a result of excellent defence, the Otters were able to keep the marauders at bay and did not concede a try throughout the game.

The Wanderers took the lead with a short range penalty kick by Pembrokeshire product and fly-half Ianto Griffiths, before his opposite number James Stephenson equalised with another short range penalty.

After 35 minutes, Narberth took the lead with a second penalty from Stephenson.

Just before the interval, full-back Jonathan Morgan followed up at pace, ran on to a delicate chip ahead from James Stephenson and outpaced the covering defenders to score an unconverted try near the right corner.

In the second half, Ianto Griffiths reduced the lead with a penalty, before Narberth centre Oli Reyland used his strength for the second week in succession to touch down for a try, converted by Stephenson after industrious work by the pack in the left corner.

No further points were scored until eight minutes into injury time when Griffiths slotted over a penalty to pick up a deserved bonus point for the Wanderers.

Speaking after the match, Narberth head coach Sean Gale said: "It was a very good win against a gritty Glamorgan Wanderers side.

"In defence, it was a good dogged performance and we took our chances well going forward, whilst the Wanderers failed to convert scoring opportunities into points.

"Our half-backs made the difference and the important thing is that we seem to have recovered the winning habit and we would like to keep this going for the remainder of the season."

Match sponsors HSBC selected Narberth fly-half James Stephenson as man of the match and there were other top quality performances from his half-back partner Rhys Lane, centre Oli Reyland and prop Steffan Jones in another excellent team display.

The County Financial Otters Holt match sponsors were the Howells Family Reunion and match ball sponsors were the Narberth Former Players Association, First Milk Liaison Group, DEFLO and Eric Mathias.

Narberth: Jonathan Morgan, Will Lewis, Steve Martin (capt.) (Nick Jones and Adrian Killa), Oli Reyland, James Russell, James Stephenson, Rhys Lane, Steffan Jones (Sean Lloyd), Dan Smith, Tom Slater, Gyles Vaughan, Alex Jenkins, Lawrence Reynolds, Wayne Williams and Timoci Kaumaitotoya (Steffan Phillips).