Narberth 9 pts. Aberavon 19

Heroic efforts by the Narberth pack were not enough to prevent the Otters from being outgunned by Premership side Aberavon in the second round of the Swalec Cup after going down to a 19-6 defeat at home on Saturday.

Considering the deluge of rain during the week, it was a welcome relief to players, officials and supporters to hear that the match was on, after being denied live rugby following a combination of waterlogged pitches and the rugby international matches in Dublin and Cardiff.

An early morning pitch inspection revealed that the wind, which had caused so much structural damage in Pembrokeshire and other parts of the UK, also had a flip side and had been instrumental in drying out the pitch.

The Otters were playing their first game for five weeks, but showed little sign of rustiness and competed from the start. However, it soon became clear that Aberavon looked extremely dangerous with ball in hand, with a lively attack-conscious set of backs.

After 12 minutes, the Wizards lived up to their nickname, when the backs conjured up a bit of magic to create an overlap for wing Mike Powell on the left, who used his pace to run in a try converted by fly-half Ceiran Thomas.

Otters fly-half Ianto Griffiths clawed back three points with a penalty kick from his reliable left foot, but missed out on a more ambitious kick a few minutes later from the halfway line.

A penalty by Ianto Griffiths four minutes before the interval completed the scoring for the first half as the Wizards went into the break with a one point advantage after playing against the wind.

In the first minute of the second half, another fluid threequarter movement by the visitors set up a try in the left corner which was finished by fullback Paul Bamsey, which went unconverted.

After 48 minutes, the Otters suffered a blow when influential lock forward Alex Jenkins was injured and played no further part in the match.

Although the Narberth team continued to put up a gutsy performance, the Wizards scored their second try of the match from a lineout near the left corner flag.

The ball was recycled a number of times before replacement flanker Chris Davies went over for a try converted by Thomas to bring the scoring for the afternoon to an end.

The Otters did not let Aberavon get away with a cricket score and the 13 points difference at the final whistle was a fair reflection of the respectively abilities of the two teams on the day. Narberth did create some scoring opportunities, but these were not finished, as the Wizards' defence was so tight-knit.

Commenting on the match, team management spokesman Robert Lewis said: "It was a very good game. Aberavon came to Narberth with a very strong side and these days there is a big difference in every level of each of the leagues.

"There was not a lot between the sides up front because the Narberth pack played so well, but the Aberavon backs were a lot sharper, which made the difference and clinched a win for the visitors, to move on to the third round.

"The boys put up a great fight, but Aberavon deserved to win."

The Health Centre Balcony Suite match sponsors Alta Cymru selected Narberth lock Adam Clarke as man of the match. He seems to improve week by week.

The visitors found that the front row of Owen Jordan, Dan Smith and Tom Slater formed a formidable unit. Once again the back row of Stuart Worrall, Dylan Richards and Lewis Wood worked tirelessly throughout the match.

Behind the pack, fullback Jonathan Morgan had a number of good attacking runs and posed a number of problems for the Aberavon defence.

The Folly Farm Otters Holt match sponsors were First Milk Liaison Group.

Apart from attracting a large crowd of spectators, the match ball sponsors were there in numbers, including an Aberavon based company plus 44 committee members and supporters.

The full list was John Mathias; Pump Services Aberavon; Martin Williams; The Landshipping Boys; Tenby Male Voice Choir; Steve Allen and Friends; Celtic Classic Car Tour and the Aberavon Supporters.

Narberth fielded: Jonathan Morgan (Nick Gale), Will Lewis (Tomi Jones), Steve Martin (C) (Ashley Sutton), Richard Davies, Jason Howells, Ianto Griffiths, Adrian Killa, Owen Jordan (Ollie Evans), Dan Smith (Ashley George), Tom Slater, Adam Clarke, Alex Jenkins (Simon Griffiths), Adam Clarke, Dylan Richards, Stuart Worrall and Lewis Wood.