Tenby United 12 pts. Felinfoel 30

With one or two key players becoming available, after spells of being out injured, Tenby Tourers sponsored Tenby United took to the field for what was predicted to be a tough game against a Felinfoel side who, like the Seasiders, had narrowly lost out in the WRU Plate the previous week, and were intent on returning to winning ways in the league, where they were unbeaten and sitting in second place in the table.

Kicking-off, the visitors were soon on the backfoot as initially Ashley Sutton, attempting an ambitious penalty attempt from the halfway line, and then winger Jordan Asparassa, who miraculously forced his way through what ended as a three-man tackle, gave them a taste of what was to come, which was quickly followed by a steal at the breakdown by skipper Luke Hansford.

The momentum, however, was lost when from a lineout close to the Felinfoel line, the visitors stole a home throw-in and were able to clear the danger.

This reverse was immediately responded to by centre Craig Barnett, who cleverly linked with Yannic Parker and was on hand to take the scoring pass back inside off the winger to cross the whitewash and, with Sutton adding the extras, Tenby deservedly secured an early 7-0 lead.

Responding immediately from the restart, Felinfoel easily broke through the usually sound Tenby defence when fly-half Aled Roberts dummied his way over the line for a try he converted to level the scores to 7-7.

This instant response triggered a series of attacks which a buoyant Felinfoel side put together and it called on Tenby to tighten their defence, with Jordan Asparassa doing extremely well to handle an attack on his side of the field with a tremendous smothering tackle that brought the threatening move to a halt.

From the resulting scrum, however, the first of the game, a concerted effort by the visitors’ pack shunted the Tenby eight backwards at a worrying rate of knots, ending with referee Andy Davies awarding Felinfoel a penalty.

Felinfoel were threatening to increase their score every time they had the ball and Tenby were a poor second when it came to attack, but their defence was just about holding firm, although their valiant efforts were aided by the visitors throwing loose passes and ignoring some overlaps when a simple pass would have paid dividends.

The game developed into a kicking duel between Aled Roberts and Ashley Sutton, with both coming out on top and when offered an attempt to regain the lead from a penalty, Sutton was unlucky when his effort struck the upright and bounced back into play to be hoofed clear by fullback Dawe.

Tenby were slowly clawing their way back into the game, with Moritz Neumann, Jack Clancy, Rob Luly, Mike Davis, Yannic Parker and Andrew Cooke prominent , although Cookie spoilt his contribution when he was pinged by referee Davies for holding on after being tackled.

Felinfoel attacked at every opportunity and, unlike Tenby, whose moves were mainly lateral, with little or no penetration, Felinfoel were sharper and crossed the gainline on most occasions, forcing the United backwards.

In defence, Jonny Morgan, Roy Osborn, Lewis Davies, Moritz Neumann and Matthew Morgan stood out, along with Jordan Asparassa, who was obviously not going to let anybody get past him, despite their size.

One Felinfoel move did break the stout Tenby defence, but fortunately what would have been the scoring pass was correctly deemed to be forward by referee Davies.

Luckily for Tenby, scrums were few and far between as from the next set-piece they were destroyed by the powerful Felinfoel eight and Roberts stroked the resulting penalty over the crossbar, giving the visitors a 10-7 lead, which minutes later became 13-7, with Craig Barnett penalised for putting in a high tackle.

With the game approaching half-time, there was a repeat of kick tennis, with this time Sutton emerging on top, but from the ensuing threequarter moves that developed, the well organised visitors defence forced Tenby across the field with any penetration through the solid bank of black and white shirts easily handled.

Felinfoel received the kick-off for the second half and clearly showed their intent by going straight on the attack, but Tenby held firm and, with Mike Davis and Roy Osborne eventually providing a reliable source of lineout ball, they managed to put one or two threatening moves together, but as with the first half, the visitors’ defence remained solid and gaps could not be created.

Tenby had obviously had some words exchanged at half-time about the troubles at scrum time and at the next scrum, despite being shunted backwards, a clean channel one ball from a quick Kyle Hamer strike was picked up by number eight Roy Osborne, who managed to make ground, but as the rest of the forwards were way behind the ball, there was little support.

The game management being applied by Tenby was being easily handled by the visitors’ defence as attempts were made to unlock what was a solid defensive line and the infringements at the breakdown were on the increase, allowing Roberts the opportunity to put the United way back in their own half with some well directed penalty kicks.

The visitors seemed content to just hold onto to their lead, with the odd attacking move being put together, but they upped the pace as the game went on, forcing a hurried clearance, which fell invitingly into the hands of Roberts, who coolly increased the lead to 16-7 with a neat dropped goal.

With changes to personnel being made, Tenby surged into attack mode, with Roy Osborne, Luke Dedman, Ashley Sutton, Jason Asparassa and Craig Barnett all heavily involved, but Felinfoel held firm and easily smothered any attempt to break through.

A threatening attack cleverly put together by the Felinfoel threes broke down, but hooker Evans was on hand to scoop up the loose ball and canter over under the sticks for his side’s second try and, with Roberts continuing his fine kicking form, the extras were added, and the lead slid out to 23-7

The score was somewhat unkind to Tenby as it did not reflect the amount of effort being put in and the improvement in performance based on last week, but Felinfoel presented a challenge much greater than anything experienced to date in the league and the United were simply unable to cope or conjure up anything that could end with a score.

However, persevering with the few attacking opportunities that did come their way, a combined move that involved both forwards and backs ended with some slick passing putting winger Yannic Parker over wide out for an unconverted try, narrowing the lead to 23-12 and a potential losing bonus point, maybe?

Despite the efforts of Ashley Sutton, Jordan Asparassa, Roy Osborne, Jonny and Matthew Morgan, along with Joe Poole, the bonus point potential didn’t materialise and an attempted scoop of a ball that had gone to ground in their final attack was gratefully accepted by visiting wing Owain Davies, who went over unopposed for their third try of the afternoon and, with Roberts adding the conversion, bringing his contribution to 20 points, the game ended at 30-12.

Coaches Cone and Mogs were obviously disappointed with the outcome, but were pleased with the overall performance of the team. They acknowledged that against a side of the quality of Felinfoel, the United were unable to put too much creative stuff together and work would be needed on the training paddock during the week to get the team selected and in the right mood for their difficult away trip to Llangennech tomorrow (Saturday).

Tenby United would like to thank the Felinfoel Brewery for sponsoring the match and Tenby Rock Shop for their ball sponsorship, along with Heywood’s Butchers for their continued man-of-the-match sponsorship. Your support is very much appreciated and your generosity is very welcomed.

Tenby fielded: Jonny Morgan, Jordan Asparassa, Craig Barnett, Moritz Neumann (Jack Guerreiro), Yannic Parker, Ashley Sutton, Matthew Morgan, Rob Luly (Rob Clarke), Kyle Hamer (Joe Poole), Lewis Davies, Mike Davis, Jack Clancy (Luke Dedman), Luke Hansford (Barry Parsons), Roy Osborne, Andrew Cooke.