Tenby United 20 pts. Pontarddulais 3

Tenby United took the field on Saturday hoping to build on their excellent victory the previous week at Mumbles, taking on old rivals Pontarddulais who, when they were both in the same division back in season 2013/14, lost the home game 13-28 down at the Bont and were on the wrong end of a 26-16 Seasiders victory at Heywood Lane.

The warm weather was just about right for an open game, with little or no wind, and the first opportunity to show his skills fell to Matthew Morgan, who tested the visitors’ defence to the full as he was bundled into touch deep in the Pontarddulais 22.

It was Morgan and Toby Smith next up to test the defence and in their eagerness to halt the threat, Pontarddulais gave away a penalty for offside and Smith stroked the kick over the crossbar for an early 3-0 lead.

Sparked by this reverse, Pontarddulais took on the Tenby eight at the set-piece and a retreating scrum offence gave Aled Stone the opportunity to level the scores, which he failed to do.

Determined to get on the scoreboard, however, the Bont kept up the pressure, with Rhys Samuel prominent in the next attack, and their period of pressure in the Tenby 22 eventually yielded dividends, with Stone successful with his next shot at goal, putting the visitors on the scoreboard.

With both Luke Dedman and Mike Davis dominating the lineout, Tenby constantly had a supply of good clean/quick ball, which halfbacks Crockford and Smith exploited, with the rest of the threes eager to test the visitors’ defence, but it was ironical that the next score came from a scrappy passage of play on the Pontarddulais line, with skipper Hansford crossing for a try converted by Smith and a well-deserved 10-3 lead.

Continuing their attacking mood, Smith sent a booming kick from the home 22 deep into the visitors’ 22 and from the passage of play that followed, Matthew Morgan was again just stopped short of the Pontarddulais try line. Quick ruck ball at the breakdown, however, allowed Tenby to switch play to the other corner, where the Pontarddulais defence had drifted offside and Smith extended the lead to 13-3, with the first half brought to a close by referee Cambourne.

From the restart, a knock-on presented Tenby with an early foothold deep in Pontarddulais territory and a promising passing movement involving backs and forwards ended with Matthew Morgan linking with centre Scott James, who slid over close to the posts for an excellent team try, again converted by Toby Smith and a comfortable 20-3 lead, which surprisingly was the only score during the half as the game ebbed and flowed, despite a series of lengthy stoppages as referee Cambourne lectured the players and captains.

The attacking play that was prominent in the previous week’s good win at Mumbles was again on display against the Bont, with slick ball movement and good backing up, exploiting any chinks spotted in the Pontarddulais defence, and this consistency from provided the momentum Tenby needed to come away with a solid victory, with a well-organised defence restricting the visitors to a single penalty. It will be hoped that this consistency and momentum is continued when the team travel deep into Carmarthenshire to take on Llanybydder tomorrow (Saturday).

Tenby would like to thank Molson Coors for their match sponsorship and St. Brides Hotel & Spa and Heywood’s Butchers, both of Saundersfoot, for their ball and man-of-the-match sponsorship.