Gorseinon 26 pts. Tenby United 18

With an unexpected spate of injuries and players with work commitments, Tenby Tourers sponsored Tenby United travelled to Gorseinon in search of valuable league points with only 15 players and a game with uncontested scrums from the off - not an ideal situation, but one the team selected simply had to get on with and Gorseinon had to accept .

Kicking off on a still afternoon, the home side soon tested Tenby by using their speedy backs, stretching the United defenders across the field in both directions as they attempted to break through what was proving to be a resilient and solid red and black defensive wall, but on their third change of direction they created an opening with a long pass that put winger Owain Thomas in the clear and he went over wide out for a try Tenby could have done without so early in the match.

Undeterred by this early setback, Tenby rallied from the restart, with wing Mauritz Neumann fielding a high kick and charging straight at the onrushing home threequarters. The wing set up a situation that was carried on by Jonny Morgan, Yanik Parker and veteran Wyndham Williams, who linked with Rob Clark and number eight Roy Osborn, who tested the home defence.

The pressure was maintained as Tenby put together some probing attacks, eventually forcing the home side to concede a penalty, which Jonny Morgan goaled to narrow the scores to 5-3.

The restart was well fielded by Parker, who was deemed to have been tackled in the air while securing the ball, and he thankfully recovered from his heavy fall after treatment.

Gorseinon were trying to step up the pressure, but the Tenby defence held firm and, on securing the ball, surprised the home side with some quick slick handling, with fullback Elliot Dawes and Wyndham Williams combining to create an opportunity for Jonny Morgan to show his skills and pace as he waltzed through the home defence for a superb try under the sticks, which he converted, sending Tenby into a 10-5 lead.

Buoyed by snatching the lead, Tenby clicked into top gear and Gorseinon struggled to prevent another score, with Jonny Morgan a real thorn in their side, keeping their defence alert as he probed for openings, linking with both backs and forwards and again forced Gorseinon to concede a penalty with a high tackle, from which he increased his match tally to 13 and took Tenby into a 13-5 lead.

The forwards were standing up to the pressure being applied by Gorseinon when they threatened, none more prominent than Wyndham Williams, who was relishing his return to the first team.

Shouted on by their supporters, Gorseinon narrowed the lead, with Tim O’Kelly slotting over a penalty and closing the gap to 13-8, and this seemed to spur them on, as minutes later, centre Andrew Steele, following a slick interchange between forwards and backs, sliced through the overstretched Tenby defence for an unconverted try, levelling the scores at 13-13 as referee Brian Powell blew for half-time.

Following a stern half-time message delivered on the pitch by the coaching team, Gorseinon started the half with a flourish and Tenby were forced to defend.

A penalty at lineout time for a ‘double’ movement by skipper Hansford as he threw in, gave the home side the opportunity to kick deep into the Tenby half and the error was compounded as Roy Osborn late tackled a player, offering O’Kelly the opportunity to put the home side in the lead at 16-13.

So like the first half, Gorseinon were the first to score and Tenby were back trailing very early on in the second half. The pressure continued as Gorseinon really put the United defence to the test, with good interplay and backing up stretching the well-organised defence, marshalled by the Morgan brothers, but eventually the pressure told as slick interpassing between the centres and fullback Rees created the opening for fullback David Rees to cross for a well-worked try.

With O’Kelly adding the extras, the home side were now 23-13 up and ideally placed for the elusive four-try bonus point, while Tenby were robbed of their losing bonus point as the score difference was now up to 10 points.

With the game restarting, and the home supporters expecting their side to dominate proceedings as the Tenby XV tired, they were somewhat taken aback as it was the United who started to dominate, with quick ball being won at the breakdown, to add to the guaranteed ball from the uncontested/passive scrum situation.

Several moves tested the Gorseinon defence to the full, with smooth interplay and backing up the order of the day. Yanik Parker, Elliot Dawes, Jack Guerreiro, Pat Roberts, Mauritz Neumann all played their part in building on the momentum, with all the forwards also contributing, none more prominent than Rob Clark, Wyndham Williams, Charlie Patching and Roy Osborn, who ran themselves to a standstill as the half progressed, with the Morgan brothers at the heart of everything that went on.

The pressure was rewarded when a passage of inter-passing ended with Yanik Parker crossing for a well-deserved team try, closing the scores to 23-18 and a losing bonus point, or even a winning four league points, now a real possibility for Tenby.

Sensing that this momentum needed to be curtailed, Gorseinon wheeled on their replacements and the fresh legs had the desired effect as counter-rucking at the breakdown put the United under pressure.

Gradually Gorseinon started to steal the momentum back from Tenby, despite the sterling efforts of Pat Roberts, Elliot Dawes and Mauritz Neumann, with one effort, aided by the forwards, seeming to end with Roberts crossing the whitewash for a try, only for referee Powell, who was badly positioned on the wrong side of the breakdown, to rule no try - oh for a TMO at this level of the game.

The combination of counter-rucking and the odd rolling maul tested the stamina of the Tenby eight and illegally taking one maul to ground provided O’Kelly with the chance to put a little more daylight between the sides as his kick sailed over the bar, taking Gorseinon into a 26-18 lead and robbing Tenby yet again of their losing bonus point.

With time running out, Tenby summoned up whatever energy they had in their tired limbs and, in what turned out to be the last play of the game, forced the home side to concede a penalty, but a tiring Jonny Morgan pulled his long range effort wide of the uprights as referee Powell blew for time, and a relieved home side trooped off the park satisfied with a win, but without a four-try bonus point.

Getting a side together to travel east was a challenging task and the coaches should be applauded for achieving this and then the team dug deep and put in a performance they can be proud of, starting and finishing with the same XV against a side that sit fourth in a very tough and competitive division and benefited big time from being able to bring on substitutes as the game entered the gruelling final quarter stage.

Taking into account the circumstances, it was notable that, with the exception of the first 10 minutes of the second period, Tenby totally dominated the half, with Gorseinon only crossing the halfway line on a few occasions, and that was to chase kicks, but unfortunately coming off the field with nothing to show in terms of league points was a bitter pill to swallow, having held the home side to three tries and running in two themselves.

Tomorrow (Saturday), the longstanding Pembrokeshire Cup semi-final is being played up at Aberystwyth and it is anticipated that quite a few of the missing players will be available, although Tenby will still be minus a few first choices, due to work commitments over the Easter weekend.

Switching to the league and the two relegation spots, Tenby will then need to concentrate on gaining at least one more win to ease any relegation worries, although life in the bottom half of the table is interesting, with any team from sixth down under threat of being caught up in the end of season dog fight for survival in Division One West.

With current league points for the clubs involved ranging from 38 to 16, the situation will constantly be on the change as games get played. Currently for the six teams involved, this stretches from 18 down to 12 games played, with a completed programme needing 22 games by May 19, set as the new end of season by the WRU.

A very interesting and nail-biting six weeks ahead, with everybody viewing all the results that emerge with interest, as they roll out. Taking the break from league rugby, both Tenby and Aberystwyth will view the results involving the game between Tycroes and Llanelli Wanderers with interest… while the home game Crymych (who are currently bottom of the pile) have against Gorseinon will attract a fair amount of interest, with no doubt a flavour of players on permit added to the mix.

Tenby fielded: Elliot Dawes, Yanik Parker, Jack Guerreiro, Pat Roberts, Mauritz Neumann, Jonny Morgan, Matthew Morgan, Huw Evans, Ethan Morgan, Rob Clark, Luke Dedman, Wyndham Williams, Charlie Patching, Luke Hansford, Roy Osborn.