Narberth 14 - Llanelli 33
Narberth continued their pre-season build up with an entertaining tussle against Llanelli and although the Otters lost against the Premiership side there was plenty of evidence that the young team assembled by Jonathan Dodd and Sean Gale will hold its own in the tough championship section of Welsh rugby.
They were strong up front as they certainly held their own in the set-pieces, put in some big tackles in broken play and generally looked sharp behind the scrum as half backs Rhys Lane and Ianto Griffiths looked lively and Johnny Morgan always posed a threat from full back.
Otters take an early lead but Llanelli battle back
The Otters took the lead early on with a set-piece move in the corner from which Lewis Wood scored a try as reward for his part in a lively back row involving new recruits Dylan Richards and Stuart Warrell - and Ianto Griffiths converted from wide out.
Llanelli levelled matters when pacy winger Lewis Thomas, who is studying for a veterinary degree in Bristol, sped over for a try converted by Gareth Walters, who then missed the conversion attempt when prop Ben Lewis and No 8 Stuart Leach combined to put winger Dafydd Lewis over in the corner.
Morgan scores quality try after Otters reduced to 14 men
Narberth were reduced to 14 men when Dan Smith was shown a yellow card but good work by Griffiths, Jason Howells and Richard Davies in midfield saw Johnny Morgan slice through to the posts for Griffiths to add the extras.
Both teams made changes and Llanelli’s greater strength in depth showed as Lewis Thomas put them ahead again after the interval and Walters converted. They added further scores from centres Jason Morgan and Johnny Lewis, both converted by Nick Danjasovic but Narberth battled hard until the final whistle to show they will be a cohesive unit for this new campaign.
Narberth: Johnny Morgan: Tomi Jones; Jason Howells; Richard Davies; Nick Gale: Ianto Griffiths; Rhys Lane: Sean Lloyd; Dan Smith; Owen Jordan: Tom Bannister; Alex Jenkins: Dylan Richards; Stuart Worrall; Lewis Wood. Replacements: Tom Slater; Gethin Evans; Steff Phillips; Luke Harvatt; Oliver Evans; Iwan Bowen-Rees