Narberth 19 - Ystrad Rhondda 7: After the thrills of the Six Nations, Championship League rugby returned to the Lewis Lloyd ground on Saturday. The Under 12s and 13s provided a curtain-raiser with games against Bath and Wexford. In the clubhouse, there were two reunions. The Former Players Association met in the Players Bar and the reunion of the successful Youth squad of the 2001 -2002 season took place in the Folly Farm Otters Holt.

In addition, the Balcony Bar was occupied by the match sponsors and in the main bar there were several groups of ball sponsors. Sheena Conbeer and staff provided a fine buffet lunch. Second placed Ystrad Rhondda also came with a strong group of supporters, so before the game, the clubhouse was full and abuzz with chatter.

When the teams took the field, they stood for a minute’s silence in recognition of the death of a past Ystrad Rhondda player, Ceri Sweeney.

The Otters, with 11 senior players injured, took the field with a few unfamiliar faces in the pack and on the subs bench. They kicked off towards the clubhouse end and immediately went into attack mode, and literally the first move on the far side of the ground saw an attempt to score involving Nick Gale. Unfortunately, in the process, Nick damaged his knee and had to be replaced by Lewys Gibby.

Initially, Ystrad kicked their way out of trouble, but Otters fly-half Jonathan Rogers kept pinning them back with his strong kicks. The Otters threes continued to probe the opposition, but moves broke down when they knocked-on in the tackles.

Quickly we saw that the Otters pack had the upper edge in the scrum, forcing Ystrad Rhondda backwards. In the threequarters, as usual Jack Price was prominent with his strong running.

Play moved to the stand side and wing Gethin Gibby managed to almost break clear, but was forced to kick the ball ahead as he was challenged. Unfortunately, it was minored before he could reach the try line.

Then on 15 minutes, Lewys Gibby, out on the opposite wing, appeared to break clear, sprinting up the touchline, but as he went to touch down over the Ystrad Rhondda line, the flag of the Otters’ touch judge went up, much to the dismay of supporters.

From the resultant lineout, Ystrad were able to clear the danger. Then a Narberth lineout in midfield saw Ystrad gaining possession when the ball was overthrown, but as they kicked into the Otters 22, fullback Ianto Griffiths was able to clear the danger.

Ystrad began to gain momentum and were awarded a penalty just inside the Otters half and kicked into touch on the 22. Ystrad used the possession effectively and on 25 minutes scored via winger Kurtis Williams.

The Otters had kicked long, the ball landing in touch. Ystrad Rhondda took it quickly and kicked towards the Otters 22 . The visitors quickly moved left towards the far touchline and suddenly Kurtis Williams broke free and sprinted clear of the defence to score his try, with the conversion being added by fullback Corey Shepherd.

The Otters restarted and both teams contested for the ball, but Ystrad Rhondda offended at the breakdown, enabling Jonathan Rogers to kick into the visitors’ 22. At the lineout, the Otters safely gathered the ball and set up two pick-and-drive phases. Then Rhys Lane fed Jonathan Rogers, who slipped the ball to Jack Price, who, spotting a gap, raced forward to touch down under the posts, with Jonathan Rogers converting. The score was now level once again, seven points each, on 30 minutes.

Ystrad Rhondda restarted quickly following through, but offended at the breakdown. Jonathan Rogers placed the ball back towards the clubhouse corner. Alex Jenkins jumped clear in the lineout and a rolling maul was set up and then released and fed to Jonathan Rogers, whose kick crossed the try line, bouncing on the deadball line.

The referee awarded a five-metre scrum for an offence at the maul. The ball shot out into touch, but the referee reset the scrum and again for a third time. The Otters were too strong, with the visitors again offending and this time the referee quickly moved under the posts to award a penalty try.

There was then a bit of confusion for Ystrad Rhondda, who, not realising they had conceded a penalty try, intended to kick out from the 22, but were made to restart at the halfway line. This was on 34 minutes.

Immediately Ystrad Rhondda replaced their props with the score at 14-7.

Play continued without any further incident for the referee to end play at half-time.

Looking back on the half, the Otters were pressurising the scrums with their power and Ystrad Rhondda were unable to use the lineout effectively, creating unnecessary scrums and putting themselves under pressure.

Ystrad Rhondda backs looked sharp, but had limited possession, with Jonathan Rogers at fly-half kicking astutely to pin them down.

On the restart of the second half, Ystrad Rhondda gained more ball and set up several attacks, but the Otters’ defence remained strong.

The Otters were able to regain the ball on 44 minutes and outside centre Keiron Jones broke clear to score an unconverted try, giving them a 19-7 lead.

Ystrad Rhondda attacked fiercely, but each initiative was stopped by the keen tackling of the Otters. Tthen Rhys Lane made a positive break of his own, making many metres, but was brought down and knocked-on.

The Otters’ coaches made changes to the front row, with Bradley Davies replacing Dan Jacobs and Dan Smith replacing Rhodri Owens. Dan Smith had been laid up for many weeks with a serious leg problem and was pleased to be back in action once again.

This was followed by an Ystrad Rhondda attack which reached the five-metre line, but the Otters defence forced a knock-on, enabling the pack to win the scrum and clear their lines.

For the next 10 minutes, play remained midway, with both defences strong wand several knock-on situations.

The Otters made a further change, withdrawing Callum Tree. Threequarter Jake Jenkins came off the subs bench, taking his place at inside centre, with Jack Price moving into the second row - much to the surprise of supporters.

On 73 minutes, young Llew Jones, who had shone in the Youth squad, made his debut, with Rhys Lane coming off after a sterling performance. This required a positional change, with Lewys Gibby coming off the left wing to take up his normal position at scrum-half and Llew Jones moving to the wing.

Play continued until the Otters were penalised. Ystrad Rhondda kicked to touch, but again were unable to throw correctly at the lineout. From the subsequent scrum, the Otters moved down field, setting up several pick-and-drive phase,s before Ystrad Rhondda were penalised on their 22. Unfortunately Jonathan Rogers’s kick failed to add to the score and the match ended with the Otters enjoying a well-earned win and in the process moved into second place in the table.

There are three games to go, with the Otters having a game in hand. However, this weekend they are away to Tata Steel, who are often strong opponents. The next and last home game of the season is on Saturday, April 6, when Maesteg Quins are the visitors.

Later in the clubhouse, match sponsor Evan Pritchard announced that the man of the match was newcomer Roy Osbourne.

Director of rugby, Sean Gale, commented that he was pleased with the win.

“The performance was outstanding, the game was full of vigour, Jonathan Rogers played well, we created a lot of chances. We were under 10 penalties, which gave us opportunities. A special mention needs to made of Kyle Hamer, Roy Osbourne was outstanding, Tom Kaijacks scrummaged particularly well. Lewys Gibby fitted in well on the wing. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. Dan Jacobs’s knee injury, Nick Gale. They may be fit by next weekend.

“Last Wednesday, I did not know what side I was going to field and next week looks similar. These lads are dying for their jersey. I was proud of them. We had six contracted back row players and they were all injured. The replacements did really well.”

Narberth fielded: Ianto Griffiths, Nick Gale (Lewys Gibby), Keiron Jones, Jack Price (Jake Jenkins), Gethin Gibby, Jonathan Rogers, Rhys Lane, Dan Jacobs (Bradley Davies). Rhodri Owen (Dan Smith), Tom Kaijacks, Callum Tree (Llew Jones), Alex Jenkins (capt.), Dewi Williams, Kyle Hamer, Roy Osbourne.