Pembroke Dock Quins 13 - Neyland 10: The Quins pulled off their first victory of the season, defeating the league leaders in a bruising encounter at Bierspool. The All Blacks will now have to pull out all the stops if they are to have any chance of promotion.

The Quins gave a debut to 18-year-old Gethin Bradney at scrum-half, in which he partnered his older brother Rhys to become the first ever brothers to play at half-back for the Quins.

It was the All Blacks who struck first in the 10th minute when centre Alex Codd pounced on a Quins mistake to score halfway out. Outside-half George Evans converted to ease his side into a seven-point lead.

Most spectators must have thought, ‘here we go again’, especially after the drubbing Neyland had handed out in September, but they could not have been further from the truth. The hard work being put in by the coaches is starting to come to fruition, although their is a long way to go with this young Quins side.

They countered the Neyland back division brilliantly; even when a tackle was missed there was always another Quins player ready to put his body on the line, as no one took a backward step.

The half ended with the Quins pack slightly on top, with replacement Alex Pierce and second row Darren Potter both putting in a huge shift.

As the second half started, it was obvious that the Quins would have to score first, especially against the league leaders, and that is exactly what they did do. A Quins rolling maul was pulled down when a certain score looked on, and the referee had no choice but to award them a penalty try. With the score now even, and the Quins playing their best rugby for some time, a shock result seemed on the cards.

The All Blacks, however, soon hit back when George Evans slotted over an awkward penalty to restore his side’s lead.

The Quins, though, with still 25 minutes left, were simply not going to go away, as they tore into what was now becoming a very nervous Neyland side. The Quins started to force errors, and when the visitors were penalised 30 yards out, they made the right decision to go for the three points, fullback Arron James banging it over, and it was all square at 10-10 with 15 minutes to go.

The All Blacks, however, were soon back on the attack, but it was the Quins who broke out of their own 22 through outside-half Rhys Bradney, who pounced on a loose ball and set off into Neyland territory, where he chipped ahead, only to be taken out off the ball. It was an obvious penalty and up stepped Arron James who, with the ground in deadly silence, put another 30-yard kick straight between the uprights to put the Quins into the lead.

However, there was still 10 minutes of the match left as Neyland laid siege to the Quins line, but the young home side repelled them time after time as the team ethic started to show as each player to a man did not give an inch.

The Quins can look back on this match with great pride after the turbulent times they have been through. Taking points when on offer was crucial, and for young captain Hywel Baker to make these decisions in a tight game went a long way to securing a hard fought victory. Also it is very rare that a bottom side beats a top side in rugby, but it happened at Bierspool on Saturday.

Team: Arron James, Ben Gibby Harry Lawrence, Jake Griffiths, Liam Scourfield, Rhys Bradney, Gethin Bradney, Rob Hearne, George Bellmaine, Joe Gray, Martin Culley, Darren Potter, Hywel Baker (capt.), Jordan Palmer, and Nick Drewett.

Replacements - Alex Pierce, Josh Brown, Tom Clarkson and Mike Jones.