Narberth 43 pts Glynneath 3

Narberth supporters received a real Boxing Day treat, with the Otters providing a seven-try feast which, but for the tricky conditions, could have been more. The bonus point win ensured they remain in seventh position in the very competitive Championship League.

The ground surface had dried somewhat, but the overall saturated situation meant that the ground would cut up and could dictate tactics.

Within two minutes, it became obvious that the Otters had a huge scrum advantage when they pushed the lighter Glynneath pack backwards for more than 15 metres.

On nine minutes, with the Otters pressurising the opposition line, the referee had to reset the scrum twice. Supporters could see a penalty try in the offing, but to everyone’s surprise, flanker Lewis Wood broke away with the ball and prop Jamie Kaijak was quickly on hand to receive and cross for the first try. Kicking into the gale, Nick Gale converted to give the Otters a seven-point lead.

Narberth were in complete control, but promising moves were breaking down, with handling of the greasy ball difficult.

In this period, the referee disallowed a try when he was unable to ascertain the touch down. Another potential try came again from a scrum when scrum-half Jonathon Rogers crossed the line, only for the referee to call for a scrum-five.

This time at 19 minutes, the Otters’ pack forced Glynneath over the line for Lewis Wood to drop on the ball and claim the try. Nick Gale was unable to convert from a difficult angle, the gale affecting the flight.

The Glynneath fly-half Lloyd Thomas kicked off and Narberth were penalised as the ball landed in the Otters’ half, but Lloyd Thomas was unable to convert.

On 24 minutes, Glynneath replaced prop Calumn Jones with Marcus Davies. They then began to see more of the ball and showed they had the skills, but lacked the necessary power to cross the gain line.

On 31 minutes, Narberth were penalised for not releasing the ball when tackled and a ruck formed. This time Lloyd Thomas succeeded with the subsequent shot at goal, making the score slightly more respectable at 12-3.

In the period before half-time, Glynneath managed to be more successful at the rucks, but the Otters were resolute in their defence.

Just before the break, the Otters created an excellent try when Johnny Morgan received a reverse pass and was able to cut through the subsequent gap with an angled sprint to the line. Nick Gale converted.

Glynneath were careful with their line kicks, but failed to put in high kicks which, with the ball so greasy, may have caused the Otters problems.

In the second half, with the gale at their backs, Narberth used the high kick and soon the Glynneath defenders had problems fielding the ball.

However, before this, it was clear that, with Glynneath running out of front row replacements, the game would be subjected to uncontested scrums, which nullified the Otters’ clear advantage. Thus the high kick became a useful tactic for home side.

Two minutes into the half, Steve Martin scored with a fine try which was created by the pack making ground, releasing the ball for Liam Hutchins to gain useful metres before passing to Ollie Reyland who released Steve Martin for an unconverted try.

Narberth freshened up their front row, bringing on Ollie Evans, Marc Jones in place of Dan Jacobs and Jamie Kaijak.

Five minutes later, Ollie Evans broke clear during yet another onslaught in the Glynneath 22, with Ollie Reyland initially gaining ground for Marc Jones to be on his shoulder and he was able to feed Ollie Evans. Nick Gale again converted to give the Otters a 31-3 lead.

A few minutes later, Narberth coaches put the remainder of the subs bench onto the field, with Rhys Lane replacing Jonathon Rogers, Lyndon Bateman for Lewis Wood and Jordan Roberts for Jonny Morgan.

For the next 10 minutes, Glynneath managed to hold the Otters at bay and showed good rucking skills and attempted to move the ball, but were unable to break the Narberth stranglehold.

On 70 minutes, Alex Jenkins gained really good quality ball at the lineout, feeding Rhys Lane, who, with a sniping run, made ground before passing to Jamie Stephenson, who used a long pass to the left wing Nick Gale, who was able to pass to flanker Pat Roberts, who touched down for an unconverted try.

The final try gave prop Ollie Evans his second of the game. The Otters created a series of phases for Rhys Lane to finally feed his pack and with Ollie in bustling mood, he successfully crossed the line to touch down for a converted try by Nick Gale and a final score of 43 points to three.

Both teams are to be congratulated on their efforts to play open rugby in very difficult ground conditions, with the gale affecting tactics. The whole Narberth squad gave a real wholehearted effort and the win sets them up well for the visit this coming Saturday to the famous St. Helens ground for the fixture against Swansea.

Later, director of rugby, Jonathon Dodd, commented: “Very pleased with the win, we scored some good tries, left a few out there. I put it down to playing recent games in very wet conditions. This was a much more open game, Glynneath never stopped trying and it led towards a good open game. It was a good bonus point win. Very pleased with the selection of players; Jonathon Rogers and Llyr Morris at number seven were very good.”

Sponsors’ man of the match was Jonathon Rogers.

Narberth fielded: Johnny Morgan (Jordan Roberts), Nick Gale, Ollie Reyland, Steve Martin, Liam Hutchins, James Stevenson, Jonathon Rogers (Rhys Lane), Dan Jacobs (Marc Jones), Dan Smith, Jamie Kaijaks (Ollie Evans), Adam Clark, Alex Jenkins, Pat Roberts, Lewis Wood (Lyndon Bateman), Llyr Morris.