Pembroke Dock Quins 5 pts

League leaders Haverfordwest came to Bierspool on Saturday and walked off with the spoils in a match in which no quarter was given from the first whistle to the last.

The Quins kicked off, with a biting crosswind blowing from the west, and with the game just five minutes old, found themselves unlucky not to get on the scoresheet when fullback Damien Miller, with the line at his mercy, was pulled back by referee Colin Phillips for a forward pass earlier in the movement which surely would have resulted in a seven-pointer.

The Quins were disrupting the Blues’ lineout quite regularly, with second row Mike Davis being a real thorn in the side of the visitors, but it was in the scrums that the Quins struggled.

Blues outside-half Mike Jones seemed to open up the Quins with a fine run on 20 minutes, but the home defence was well organised and snuffed out the danger.

The Blues, although dominating possession and recycling the ball effectively, could not make serious inroads into Quins territory, with back row forwards Barry Parsons, Stefan Halward and Joe Powell outstanding.

With the half drawing to a close, the Quins spurned an opportunity to get on the scoreboard first. Opting for a five-metre scrum after the Blues had infringed, instead of a pick up and go, the Blues demolished the Quins scrum and the chance had gone.

The Blues pressed in injury time, but could not force a score and the half ended all-square at 0-0.

It was the Quins who started the second half with a bang. After a fine run by right wing Paul Jonkers, they recycled 30 yards out and a rap round move involving outside-half Lewis Davies sent young left wing Jake Griffiths powering up the touchline, before linking with centre Thomas Doyle, who kept up his hot streak to notch up his sixth try in three games.

Davies missed the conversion, but with a five-point lead the Quins looked like they could blow the title race wide open, but the Blues responded within five minutes when left wing Scott Candler pounced on a Quins mistake.

A fine pick-up enabled the winger to race in from 35 yards.

Fullback Danny Morgan missed the conversion, and with the score at 5-5, the win was up for grabs, but it was the Blues with 15 minutes still on the clock who grabbed the crucial score when the Quins transgressed and Morgan slotted the resultant 30-yard penalty.

Crucial errors were now creeping into the Quins game, costing them dearly as they failed to get any sustainable momentum going.

However, they did have a chance to level, but Ben Hathaway, making his debut from the Youth team, watched agonisingly as his kick attempt looked good until the elements had the last say.

The game was watched by a large crowd who could not have failed to be impressed by the attitude and commitment shown by both sides and the excellent refereeing of Colin Phillips.

If ever there was an advert for a change to a full Pembrokeshire League, this was it, especially with all three results possible right up to the final whistle.

Quins team: Damien Miller, Paul Jonkers, Thomas Doyle, Charlie Dearden, Jake Griffiths, Lewis Davies, Jason Scarfe, Sean Willington, Carl Williams, James Gardener, Alex Pierce, Mike Davis, Alex Pierce, Joe Powell and Stefan Halward. Replacements - Dean Wilcox, Ben Hathaway, Darren Potter and Jack Davies.