Tenby United 50 pts. Llanybydder 8

With this rearranged game being played on the same day that leaders of Division Two West, Tycroes, were playing their final game of the season, at or around 4 pm, the Tenby United coaching and management team, along with other contenders, Hendy and Pontarddulais, would know exactly what target they would need to achieve to take over at the top of the section.

So, in line with other games played recently, a win was essential, while a four-try bonus point would also come in very handy.

In the initial away fixture way back in September, the United came away from Parc Teifi with a comfortable 31-21 bonus point victory, scoring four tries to Llanybydder’s two, despite the very small pitch not really suiting their open style of play.

It was hoped that the current rich vein of form the team was in, with 22 tries in their last three matches, would be replicated on a Heywood Lane pitch in superb condition, against visitors sitting bottom but one in the league and that, despite a comfortable 30-10 home victory the previous week against Tumble.

With Scott James returning to the starting line-up and Jordan Asparassa, recovering from injury, making it onto the bench, the side was much the same as the one that had defeated Carmarthen Athletic in their last fixture.

There was one last minute change, though, with hooker Dan Allen being called into work to be replaced on the bench by Nicky Guymer, who hoped to take to the field at some time for only his second first team game of the season.

Kicking off in ideal conditions, made better when the racket which had blasted out from the tin shed was switched off, the Tenby Tourers sponsored United quickly settled into a playing mode that was to dominate proceedings as they put Llanybydder under pressure with some quick ball from the breakdown and slick handling among the backs.

Fly-half Ashley Sutton was main instigator of several threatening moves, but surprisingly, despite a load of possession, the only two early scores were a penalty from Sutton, matched by one for the visitors from Steffan Davies for a 3-3 scoreline.

The penalty against Tenby was for offside, an offence that was to rear its head time and time again through the afternoon and one that hopefully was addressed on the training paddock this week.

With just under 15 minutes on the clock, Tenby finally breached the visitors’ defence with their first try of the seven to be scored, with the short side being used continuously until the defence just melted away for Mike Davis to canter over for a score, extended with a conversion by Ashley Sutton, to make it 10-3.

The visitors tried to respond via a series of huge kick and chase options, which were more than matched by similar kicks dished out by Toby Smith and Jonny Morgan.

Capitalising on their limited opportunities, the visitors tried to develop an attacking move, but two excellent tackles by Scott James stopped anything from developing.

With the United sticking to their short side attack option, a gap again developed and this time it was Andrew Cooke on hand to take the final scoring pass, going over wide out, for an unconverted try and a 15-3 lead.

With passing amongst their backs slow and ponderous, the visitors switched to attacks dominated by the forwards, with a series of pick’n’gos, supported by the odd charge for the line by a bulky forward cutting in at an angle, but the Tenby defence held firm.

Uncharacteristically, Joe Poole slipped off one tackle, only to make amends seconds later with one of his dumper-truck efforts which brought that move to a sudden halt.

The tempo of the game began to wane a little as play became a bit sloppy, with mistimed passes, wrong options being taken, the odd dropped ball and runs crossing the whitewash into touch, but on the half-hour, quick ball from the breakdown was exploited with a series of slick passes ending with Mark Heywood sending Toby Smith in for a try, converted by Ashley Sutton, and a 22-3 lead.

Tenby were now into regularly winning quick ball mode, either from the lineout or at the breakdown, and an off-the-top ball from the lineout by Mike Davis allowed the half-backs to release centres Scott James and Toby Smith to combine and free fullback Jonny Morgan and put him in for the all-important try bonus point.

With Sutton adding the conversion, the lead was now out to a comfortable 29-3.

With the four-try target now reached, Tenby relaxed somewhat and the visitors put them to the test with a series of charges for the line by their forwards and a kick and chase move which ended with home centre Scott James being harshly yellow-carded as his opposite number seemed to simply run into him as the ball was not going to be reached before it trickled over the deadball line.

Referee Randall seemed to spend an age warning players about offside and in the end called the two captains together to give them a stern lecture on what he was obviously not happy about and eventually blew for half-time.

Tenby started the second half in sloppy fashion and allowed the visitors to dominate proceedings, but fortunately the opportunities they created were not cashed in on and in a similar vein, a superb break by Ashley Sutton was halted as Moritz Neumann, who appeared to be put clear, was brought to ground by a tackle by the last defender.

With Llanybydder continuing to press for a score, the scrum was providing Tenby with some problems as the continual wheel applied by visitors, which seemingly went unnoticed by referee Randall, had began to resemble a spinning top, with it being a lottery as to where it would stop and which scrum-half would have possession.

From one of these messy situations, with all the forwards having to stand up to see which way they were facing, wing Steffan Davies stole in for an unconverted try, closing the score to 29-8.

Tenby started slowly to get their act together again, with Mark Heywood and Toby Smith combining and threatening to score, only for the final chip and chase by Smith to trickle dead before he could reach it.

However, with the United more than adequately preventing the visitors from creating anything threatening, it was not long before forwards and backs combined to create an overlap for Mark Heywood to trot over the whitewash and loop around under the sticks to give Sutton an easy conversion, taking the score out to 36-8.

The home coaching team obviously thought it was ‘game won time’ and, following an initial substitution of Rob Luly for Ethan Morgan, Jordon Asparassa, Charlie Patching and Alex Thomas also came on for Scott James, Andrew Cooke and skipper Luke Hansford.

The new set-up quickly settled in and a superb crossfield kick by Ashley Sutton took play to the visitors’ 22 and developed into a situation where burly winger Moritz Neumann crashed through the dispirited remnants of the Llanybydder defence, before popping the ball to the supporting Alex Thomas, who went over for a try, converted by Sutton and a 43-8 lead.

From the restart, a blatant tackle on the Tenby player catching the ball, while still in the air, ended with a finger-wagging telling off by referee Randall, when 99 per cent of similar infringements these days end up with a yellow card. Maybe trying to remind players that he did have a yellow card, he then sent Jordon Asparassa to the naughty step for pulling a player into a ruck on the Tenby line.

Tenby were now simply playing the game out, emptying their bench, with hooker Joe Poole making way for Nicky Guymer, taking the field for a welcome return to first team rugby.

Llanybydder did put one or two moves together, with one involving their right winger, who for the first time in the match actually caught the pass, only for his opposite number, Mark Heywood, to clatter him into touch. Well, he had waited all match to do just that.

Rounding off a day when the slick passing and lines of running by the Tenby threes had given their opposite numbers a lesson in back play, Ashley Sutton, Toby Smith and Mark Heywood combined well to release wing Moritz Neumann for a well-deserved try, which was converted by Sutton, taking his contribution for the day out to 15 points and the match score to a pleasing 50-8 win.

With Tycroes running riot at Haverfordwest and exceeding the 100 points mark in the game, leaving them with 75 league points and no more games to play, Tenby crept up to second position in the league on 69 points and with both Pontarddulais (68 points) and Hendy (67 points), other contenders for promotion not having games, it makes tomorrow’s game at Heywood Lane against Hendy a crucial must-win target, taking all the other finishing options out of the equation.

As mentioned earlier, the coaching group must be concerned with the continuous sound of the referee’s whistle for offside when with solid game management this infringement can be controlled. Players need to be more alert to the situation and play heads up rugby and communicate more effectively.

Tenby United would like to thank Tenby Rotary Club and Felinfoel Brewery for their match sponsorship and Felinfoel Brewery for their ball sponsorship, as well as Heywood’s Butchers for man of the match sponsorship which deservedly went to, would you believe, Mark Heywood. Well done Mark.

Tenby fielded: Jonny Morgan, Mark Heywood, Scott James (Jordan Asparassa), Toby Smith, Moritz Neumann, Ashley Sutton, Matthew Morgan, Rob Clarke, Joe Poole (Nicky Guymer), Ethan Morgan (Rob Luly), Luke Dedman, Mike Davis, Andrew Cooke (Charlie Patching), Barry Parsons, Luke Hansford (Alex Thomas)