Fishguard and Goodwick 20 pts. Tenby United 18

Playing their first game of 2017, and travelling to Fishguard for the first of their reverse fixtures, top-of-the-table Tenby Tourers sponsored Tenby United were intent on preventing the home side from getting the double over them, having surprisingly lost 15-11 in their opening league game of the season, which was the first ever loss they had suffered to the Seagulls.

With returning Ashley Sutton selected at number 10, an exciting reshuffled back division had been selected by the coaching group with every intention of playing an open, running game, which has been evident all season, with 58 tries already scored, but their intentions were dashed by a bulky home pack that adapted better to the damp and heavy conditions, that even got churned-up with the pre-match warm-up sessions, sending Tenby sliding to their third defeat of the season and in the end were somewhat fortunate to trudge off the field with a losing bonus point.

Kicking off on a still, grey damp afternoon, on a pitch that had been worked on by supporters of the home side to make the match playable, Fishguard were immediately on the defensive as Luke Dedman disrupted the Seagulls as he chased the ball and his efforts were rewarded as Ashley Sutton drilled the ball deep into their 22. Still going forward, the ball was unfortunately dropped by Dedman and it took a brave chase and fall by Jason Asparassa to rescue Tenby as Fishguard eagerly chased the ball that had been hacked way down field.

Maintaining their momentum, Seagulls flanker Chris Shousha evaded several would-be tacklers as he waltzed through a bemused Tenby defence, only to lose the ball in the tackle on the Tenby 22, presenting wing Greg Lees Griffiths with the opportunity to hack the ball up field and, with a combination of his speed and superb footballing skills, he managed to keep the ball under control and won the race as it rolled over the line for the first try of the afternoon and a 5-0 lead.

Fishguard seemed to rely on huge up-and-under type kicks from fullback Nico Setaro, which were eagerly chased and followed up by his teammates, but these early attempts by the home side were more than matched by huge clearance kicks from either Tony Smith or Jonny Morgan.

The home side were fooled by Jonny Morgan with a change of tactic as, instead of kicking, he ran directly at and through the onrushing Fishguard players and linked with Mark Heywood, who maintained the momentum with a typical charging run and forced a penalty to be conceded, which Toby Smith slotted over for an 8-0 lead.

Things got better for Tenby when again from a dropped pass they set up a series of rucks close to the Fishguard line and, after several attempts to sneak over the whitewash, scrum-half Will Crockford eventually achieved it, with Toby Smith adding the extras to see them creep into a healthy 15-0 lead.

Second row Mike Davis picked up a knock during this phase of the game and was replaced by Alex Thomas.

For whatever reason, Tenby decided to see out the remainder of the half by sitting on their lead and keeping the home side in check with some resolute defending, but as has been the case previously this season, they incurred the wrath of the referee at the breakdown and two penalties slotted over by Setaro closed the half-time gap to 15-6.

And what’s more, from the success Fishguard gained from a few driving mauls late in the half, the scene was set for a very interesting and challenging second half, with a great deal depending on who scored next.

As the majority of attacking options for both sides had come from the opposition throwing the odd loose pass or a dropped ball, this was going to be a lottery, with either side keen to turn their good fortune into points.

The second half started badly for Tenby, with referee Pratt harshly penalising them, but from the kick to the corner and the resulting lineout, Luke Dedman stole the home side’s throw-in and, with a few pick and go’s, they managed to clear their line.

Undeterred by this failure to cash in on a scoring opportunity, the home side clawed their way back into the Tenby 22 and then embarked on a series of driving mauls that put the young and inexperienced Tenby eight under immense pressure and, as to be expected, they illegally brought one of the drives to a halt as it gained momentum and skipper Luke Hansford was sent to the naughty step for 10 minutes.

From the penalty, Fishguard again went for the corner and this time a clean catch and drive ended with tight-head Ryan McVeigh being driven over the line by his fellow forwards. With Setaro again on target with his kick, the score was narrowed to 15-13 and Tenby knew that their first game, in what is usually the muddy and heavy grounds part of the season, was going to take everything they had to prevent a loss.

Hard-working Dan McDermott was replaced by Lyndon Jones.

The game went into a period of kick tennis as both sides put in huge up-and-unders trying to force a dropped ball or knock-on situation, and it was Tenby who came out on top as the home side crept forward beyond the offside ‘line’ defending a Tenby attack and Toby Smith added three points for the first score by the United in the second half and a tight 18-13 lead.

In an attempt to introduce some fresh legs into the fray, Jordan Asparassa was replaced by Jack Guerreiro as the game went into the final quarter.

Getting slowly back into the game, Tenby were next to nearly add to their score when a neat chip over the onrushing defence by Ashley Sutton was hacked on by Toby Smith, but his last stab at the rolling ball took it dead and the opportunity was squandered.

Unfortunately, pacey Greg Lees Griffiths, who was also in the chase for the ball, pulled up with what looked like a hamstring problem and was replaced by Scott James.

With time running out, and a desperate Tenby defence just about keeping Fishguard in check, with crunching tackles being put by the back row, Luke Dedman and hooker Joe Poole, the home side reverted to their effective rolling maul tactic and, despite all the best efforts of the visiting eight, with some added weight from their backs, they could not prevent number eight Chris Shousha from crossing the line, much to the delight of the home supporters.

Despite the pressure, Nico Setaro calmly slotted the conversion, taking Fishguard into a 20-18 lead, which they held on to until referee Pratt blew for time, giving the home side their first ever double over Tenby, to add to their first ever victory against them back in September.

This defeat will give the Tenby coaching staff some worrying issues as, not only did they give away a healthy 15-0 lead, with a series of penalty infringements, they totally failed to halt the effective driving mauls from the bulky home eight which at the end on the day was the tactic that won the game for them. With heavy pitches now the order of the day through January and February, this weakness will need to be addressed as a matter of urgency, with tough games against Mumbles (who thrashed Haverfordwest 43-0, going over for seven tries) and Pontarddulais, who surprisingly lost 17-11 at home to Tycroes (missing the opportunity to go top of the league), on the horizon.

Tenby were somewhat fortunate in a way, as it was a mystery why Fishguard had taken so long to realise that keeping the ball tight amongst their bulky forwards, and playing nine-man rugby, was the best way for them to achieve victory.

Taking the other results of the day into account, the losing bonus points gained by both Tenby and Pontarddulais kept them in first and second place in the league on 39 points, with Hendy hovering just one point behind them in third place.

With another week off this Saturday, Tenby have until January 21 before they clash with Mumbles at Heywood Lane, which will be followed on the last Saturday of the month with a key game away to joint league leaders Pontarddulais. February is a strange month with a combination of Six Nations Saturdays and a blank week in the league seeing Tenby only taking the field once, with a home game against Llanybydder, on February 4.

Tenby fielded: Jonny Morgan, Greg Lees Griffiths (Scott James), Mark Heywood, Toby Smith, Jordan Asparassa (Jack Guerreiro), Ashley Sutton, Will Crockford, Dan McDermott (Lyndon Jones), Joe Poole, Ethan Morgan, Luke Dedman, Mike Davis (Alex Thomas), Andrew Cooke, Barry Parsons, Luke Hansford. Rep - Dan Allen.