Skewen 24 pts. Narberth 31

Narberth’s visit to Tennant Park, Skewen, on Saturday, started quietly enough, but this game became a real thriller in a game fiercely contested by both teams and which was not settled until the last few minutes.

Conditions were perfect for this SWALEC Championship league game. The ground has a relatively flat playing area and on the day a reasonably firm playing surface.

This was a game of the proverbial two halves. The first period had Otters supporters ecstatic, but the second half saw Skewen put the Otters on the rack.

A strong organised defence is a feature of the Otters this season and the determination of the squad provides an admirable resilience to pressure which overcame a fiercely determined opposition.

The Otters kicked off and immediately went on the attack. Initially Skewen were winning the rucks, but after Narberth regained possession, Skewen on six minutes attempted to kick from their line, only for the Otters to regain the bail and for Skewen to offend, causing a scrum. The Otters heeled and Rhys Lane fed Jonathan Rogers, who kicked a fine drop goal from over 40 metres, the ball sailing high between the posts.

The next score also came from the Otters. On 11 minutes, their scrum, surprisingly under pressure, heeled the ball, which was taken forward by the back row and passed to Jake Simm, who was able to spin it clear to Rhys Lane. He sent through a bouncing grubber kick, which the Otters chased, collected and when tackled rucked for the ball, to be fed to the threes, with centre Joe Hutchings dashing clear of the defence to score the first try, with Nick Gale converting. This gave the Otters a 10-0 lead.

The Skewen coaches suddenly became quiet and there were murmurings, with Paul James, of Wales and Ospreys fame, alongside them throughout the game.

Skewen came back at the Otters and, with both sides fiercely competing at the breakdowns, Narberth flanker James Bain was sent to the sin bin on 15 minutes.

The Otters’ determination to overcome the 14-man issue was evident in their increased efforts. However, three minutes later, the Skewen fullback landed a penalty when the visitors were adjudged to have veered offside in their defensive line.

On 26 minutes, Narberth were awarded a penalty, but this time Nick Gale failed to find his target.

Then, with 15 players back on the field, they again increased their efforts, leading to Nick Gale increasing the lead with a penalty kick on the half-hour mark.

Both the threes and forwards were putting in every effort to break the gain line. Second row Jake Simm was much involved, supported by the whole pack; the ball was being moved to the threes and kicks to the corner put pressure back on the home side.

The Otters pack set up a series of phases and when the ball was released, Rhys Lane fed centre Joe Hutchings, who crossed the try line, with Nick Gale converting to give his side a 20-3 lead at 35 minutes.

Three minutes later, Gale himself crossed the line, only to be called back when a forward pass was identified.

In the next two minutes, the Otter threes became too relaxed and some sloppy passing allowed Skewen to apply pressure on the 22. This enabled them to attack on the five-metre line, the ball was released and, on receiving possession, fly-half Anthony Buselli dashed around the defenders close to the ruck to find a gap to score an unexpected try, which he converted, giving a half-time score of 20-10 to Narberth.

Besides the pack’s aggressive efforts, Jonathon Rogers was effective with his tactical kicking and Ollie Reyland really put great effort into his forceful breaks.

The Otters stayed on field for their half-time briefing, but Skewen chose to leave the field.

When the game was restarted for the second half, the home side began to dominate, clearly inspired by their late first half try. They kept the Otters pinned in their half, managing to keep possession and not allowing Narberth to break out.

On 55 minutes, the Otters replaced James Bain with Dewi Williams.

The second Skewen try came after 61 minutes when the Otters defence was manipulated to the left side and a pass inside saw substitute James Ball dash through the resultant gap to touch down, with outside-half Anthony Buselli adding the extras with the conversion.

On 66 minutes, Narberth replaced Ryan Rees with veteran Justin Hughes.

After a ruck offence, Skewen chose a scrum and from the heel their number eight and skipper Ed Price broke away to score in the left corner. Buselli again converted to now take the home side into a 24-20 lead.

On 70 minutes, the Otters withdrew Jonathon Rogers, replacing him with Ianto Griffiths. A minute later, Nick Gale reduced the deficit with a 38-metre penalty, after which the Otters brought on Calumn Tree for Sean Jenkins in the back row.

Skewen then suffered a yellow card on 77 minutes for persistent ruck infringements, with Nick Gale putting the Otters back in front 26-24 with another successful penalty from 40 metres.

There followed 10 minutes of injury time, during which the Otters battered the Skewen defence with several rucks and mauls, before releasing the ball for the threes to move from left to right enabling Nick Gale to run clear and touch down and to convert his own try.

After being on the rack for much of the half, the Otters showed their confidence and sheer determination to turn events round and achieve a clear win at 31-24.

This win has moved Narberth to joint second place in the table with Tata Steel. Tomorrow (Saturday), they are home to Beddau, kick-off 2.30 pm.

Later, team manager Sean Lloyd commented that the team had produced a great win, having had to withstand a side who in the second half monopolised the ball for long periods.

“The win showed the fine qualities existing in the squad,” he said. “First half we were very much on top until the last few minutes and laid the base for the win. Rhys Lane and Jonathon Rogers played well and second half the substitutes were able to play their part. The spirit in the squad is excellent.”

Narberth fielded: James Stephenson, Nick Gale, Joe Hutchings, Ollie Reyland, Jack Parkinson, Jonathon Rogers (Ianto Griffiths) Rhys Lane, Dylan Cooper, Dan Smith, Ryan Rees (Justin Hughes), Jake Simm, Alex Jenkins (capt.), Sean Jenkins (Calumn Tree), James Bain (Dewi Williams), Steffan Phillips.