PHOTOS:
Lewys Gibby on his way to the try line
Lewys Gibby - delighted with his hat-trick
Pictures by Ceri Coleman Phillips

 

Feature Match – Division Three A (West)

 

Gibby guides Scarlets to a big home win

 

Pembroke 69 - St Davids 10

Pembroke’s hardy band of supporters breathed a collective sigh of relief as the Scarlets played St Davids in their first match since 5th December and also welcomed back Toby Smith, Rhys Johns, Scott Powell and Max Hayward from long-term injuries.

Pembroke were understandably ring-rusty but coach Geraint Lewis was delighted by the way his team handled – and praised St Davids determination to try and play good rugby.

The Scarlets went ahead when flanker Dom Colman set up fellow back row player Cyle Wetherall, before a driving maul resulted in a try for Colman himself.

Livewire scrum half Lewys Gibby, playing on permit from Narberth, then sliced through in midfield before his opposite number Fraser Watson sniped down the blind to touch down for St Davids following a driving lineout from his pack.
 

Gibby grabs more tries

But Gibby added his second just before the break – and centre Toby Smith added his fourth straight conversion to give Pembroke a 28-5 lead.

The Scarlets then proceeded to dominate after the break, and after Colman charged over for his second score, further tries came from centre Sean Dalling and No 8 Sam Smith – while Gibby completed his hat-trick and Toby Smith crossed twice himself, before creating the most popular try of the day for replacement winger Matthew Lewis.

Smith also added a further three conversions.

But The Saints had positives in the form of promising league debuts from youth players Matty McLeod and Zak Morgan – and claimed the final word when Watson took a quick tap penalty and set up centre Sion Morgan to cross over.
 
 

Swalec Plate – Round Four:

 

Borderers move into last eight of the Swalec Plate

Whitland 10 - CR Cymry Caerdydd 6

Whitland are now just two matches away from becoming the first Pembrokeshire team to reach the final of the Swalec Plate competition after this determined and committed display against a CR Cymry Caerdydd team which is currently in ninth place in Division Two of the East Central League.

The Borderers had another good individual performance from skipper Raff Williams, alongside hooker Shane Webster, whose lineout work was excellent, and flanker Danny Evans, whose non-stop play earned plaudits from the Borderers’ supporters.

They took the lead with a Nico Setaro penalty but were trailing 6-3 after visiting No 10 Oliver Jenkins had landed penalties either side of the oranges.

Then pacy winger Sion Coles intervened as he skinned his marker wide out, put in a clever chip which he regathered and sped to the posts for Setaro to add the simple extras.

As CR Cymry tried desperately to claw their was back there was some terrific work by veteran scrum half Andrew Jenkins and winger Deian Augustus, alongside the rest of the Whitland defence – and the final whistle saw them ease to a narrow, but fully deserved victory.

 

Swalec Bowl Round Three:

 

Blues win as game is curtailed

 

Cardiff Meds 0 - Haverfordwest 17
(Match stopped due to an injury)

Haverfordwest’s Swalec Plate match at Cardiff Medicals finally got under way and the Blues played well in the first period to deservedly build up a 17-0 lead but then centre Chris Turner sustained a nasty leg injury which meant a delay whilst waiting for the ambulance to take The Blues’ player top the Heath Hospital.

In the final analysis the Medicals’ players and officials, decided to concede the tie to Haverfordwest and the referee sensibly ended the match without any further play taking place.

Full back Danny Morgan had given The Blues the lead with a good try which Gareth John converted and with Will Ridge making a promising debut as he played alongside Gareth Phillips, Logan Hughes and Ieuan Griffiths a second try came from Griffiths, this time converted by Mikey Jones, who also slotted a penalty to round off the scoring. 

Division One (West):

 

Seasiders stuffed in second half

Loughor 45 - Tenby United 29

What a transformation in two halves!

Tenby United were deservedly 24-10 ahead at the half way stage of their basement battle at Loughor but could only manage another five points in the second period as their defensive wheels came off and they conceded another 35 points!

Bustling second row Luke Dedman gave Tenby the early lead but Loughor responded with a try by winger Lawrence Headlam and added another try before half Time from Simon George as Tenby winger Greg Rees-Griffiths scored for the Seasiders after a clever little kick ahead, catch and run to the posts, plus another for flanker Maritz Neumann, all converted by Jonathan Rogers to go with a well-struck penalty as Timoci Kaumaitotoya and Alex Jenkins played well up front.

Dedman managed another try in the second half after prop Peter Francis had scored for Loughor and Tom J Davies added the extra points – but with a 29-17 advantage things still looked good for the Seasiders.

But then Tenby made errors galore and tries came thick and fast for the homesters, starting with second row Tim Butler and followed by others from Kristen Davies, Headlam again and flanker Tom J Davies. Full back Tom Davies converted all four to put more distance between the teams at the bottom of the table, and leave the Seasiders reflecting on what might have been.


 

Division Three A (West):

 

Mariners mount a real challenge

Milford Haven 55 - Llangwm 5

Milford Haven took another big step in their quest for promotion as they beat a struggling Llangwm outfit and scored nine tries in the process.

The Wasps, for whom Steve Picton and Rhys Cooper played well, could only manage one score, an unconverted try, by Dewi Williams, one of five players loaned by the Mariners to help out this Llangwm club which is struggling to field a team.

Wasps’ team manager Richard Scriven was quick to praise the opposition and the referee for helping out and it meant that at least it was another fixture fulfilled by Llangwm at a trying time for them.

The Mariners were 31-5 ahead at the interval as outstanding No 8 Sam Dolling gave them the lead before evergreen second row Dai Sweeney added to his considerable tally this campaign alongside wing Lee Riley and young scrum half Dan McClelland and full back Jordan Roberts as Joseph Kiff notched two conversions and Roberts added a third.

Dolling also opened the second half scoring with a length of the pitch spectacular and other tries followed for Roberts, McClelland and Trueman, who also converted two of them  to set the seal on a win for Milord Haven and another defeat for the Wasps.

PHOTO:
Sam Dolling charges forward for the Mariners
Picture by Matthew Kelly of Rawphotography
 

All Blacks denied in last seconds

Neyland 8 - Cardigan 9

Neyland came within a short time of causing the day’s upset as they led promotion-chasing Cardigan by 8-6 with the seconds ticking away – but then they conceded a penalty and Cardigan’s fly half Llyr Tobias was on target to snatch the verdict and give his side a vital victory, but without the bonus point they had hoped for.

Tobias had landed a three-pointer in the first half but missed with another three chances from more difficult ranges – and a penalty from scrum half Mark Riley hauled the All Blacks level.

Tobias added his second successful kick but with Gareth Lawlor, Jack Harries, Riley and Jonathan Lloyd all playing well the homesters took the lead with a well-worked unconverted try from centre Patrick Bellerby.

Home hopes of a seventh win were eventually dashed, however, when Tobias launched his late penalty between the posts, and Cardigan’s narrow win keeps them in second place behind Haverfordwest but with Milford Haven breathing down their necks!

PHOTO:
Neyland surge forward against Cardigan
Picture by Matthew Kelly of Rawphotography

 

Depleted Quins pay the price

 

Pembroke Dock Harlequins 10 - St Clears 15

Pembroke Dock Harlequins were without half of their regular squad through work commitments and injury and paid the inevitable price as they went down to a defeat at Bierspool against a St Clears’ team sitting 16 points below them in the table.

The Quins took the lead after 24 minutes with a penalty from outside half Lewis Davis but the Saints responded immediately with a corner try for full back Liam Price, who did well to convert from wide out.
Price also notched a penalty before the break and although the Quins had useful performances from prop Dean Wilcox and centre Thomas Doyle it was Price who featured again with an unconverted try.

The Quins had the final word when Lewis Davies crossed for an unconverted try but it was too little, too late for the home side!