Tata Steel 18 Narberth 28

The Otters travelled to Margam last Saturday with the strongest squad available, with a few players unfortunately missing through injury.

The Sports Ground was in excellent condition for the first game of the Specsavers National League season. Games against Tata Steel have always been competitive.

The Saints kicked off towards the east with the advantage of the very slight slope and, once in possession of the ball, went through several phases until they offended at the breakdown.

Fly-half Jonathan Rogers kicked the penalty into touch, the Otters retained control at the lineout and, as they advanced, captain Richie Rees suffered an illegal tackle and was awarded a penalty. Though 40 metres from the Tata Steel posts, fullback Nick Gale easily kicked the ball high between the uprights for the Otters to gain an early three-point lead.

The game restarted with the Otters advancing upfield and Jonathan Rogers kicking long towards the steelworks side of the ground, where Tata Steel gathered and kicked the ball into touch.

Alex Jenkins safely gathered at the lineout and the Otters advanced to the opposition five-metre line. Suddenly the Steelmen broke out and raced downfield near the touchline and, when challenged, passed inside to winger Dan Howell to score the first try.

Scrum-half Niall Popham failed to convert it, but Tata Steel now had a 5-3 lead.

Six minutes later, Nick Gale regained the lead for Narberth and they were never behind again, with Nick Gale in outstanding kicking form.

Both teams were playing a similar game, but with both defences strong. Sometimes possession was being gained when the ball fell loose during some strong tackles.

Tata Steel had the opportunity to take the lead with a very kickable penalty, but Niall Popham’s effort fell short of the posts.

On 32 minutes he had a further opportunity when the Otters were penalised at the breakdown, but again his kick was short and wide of the posts. In contrast, three minutes later when the Steelmen were similarly penalised, Nick Gale added three more points with the boot to give Narberth a 9-5 lead.

Tata Steel had another penalty on 39 minutes and this time changed their kicker, bringing fullback Liam Popham forward, who slotted it safely between the sticks.

On 40 minutes, the Otters scored again through yet another Nick Gale penalty, this time from in front of the Tata Steel posts, giving a half- time lead of 12-8.

Both teams were strong in defence and both teams advanced forward via phased rugby. The Otters made good use of Jonathan Rogers’s ability to kick long into the opposition half and frequently forced defenders to have to turn to recover possession.

Richie Rees, playing at number six, suffered several heavy tackles as he led his team.

The second half restarted and within a minute Nick Gale was called into action and this time landed a huge 49-metre penalty, with the ball still high as it sailed between the posts.

Six minutes later, head coach Sean Gale made a change in the front row, bringing Tom Kaijacks off the bench in place of Dan Jacobs and with Richie Rees having to withdraw with a blood injury to be replaced by Steffan Phillips.

The front row change then saw the Otters winning scrum penalties as they overpowered Tata Steel at the set-piece.

The next move saw number seven Tom Powell break clear and advance 30 metres before being pulled down. From the breakdown, the ball was moved left and number eight Roy Osborne advanced down the clubhouse side before putting a foot onto the white line.

It was not long before Tata Steel were penalised again though, and once again that man Gale added three points, bringing the score to 18-8, which looked a healthy lead as a bandaged Richie Rees returned to the fray.

Five minutes later, the situation changed when the ball broke loose from a tackle and Tata Steel broke free of the Otters’ grip, with winger Amir Jiwa Walji sprinting clear before passing inside and receiving a return pass to score a try, which Liam Popham converted. As a result the score became 18-15.

This sparked new life into Tata Steel, who pressed hard to score, getting a lineout on the five-metre line, only to fail to maul the ball over the line, with Tom Kaijack prominent in holding them at bay.

Tata Steel were awarded a scrum, but with the Otters pack in the ascendancy, they easily pushed them off the ball.

The Otters made further changes, replacing Rhys Lane with Lewys Gibby and hooker Rhodri Owens with veteran Dan Smith coming off the bench.

One minute later, on 71 minutes, Dan Smith was on the scoreboard. Jake Jenkins made an excellent break before being tackled a metre from the line, but the ball was passed to Dan, who enjoyed grounding for the try.

This time Nick Gale was unable to add to the extra points as his kick sailed right of the posts, but with the score now at 23-15, the visiting supporters were relieved that Tata Steel would have to score twice to get in front.

The next incident saw wing Dafydd Pritchard yellow carded for taking a Tata Steel player out on the side of a ruck.

Three minutes later, the Otters scored again when scrum-half Lewys Gibby, receiving the ball at the base of a ruck, ran around the opposition players before seeing a gap near the touchline. He sprinted down field, outpacing the near defence, before passing inside to centre Joe Hutchings, who crossed for a try. Nick Gale saw his conversion attempt veer left of the posts.

The referee played 10 minutes injury time, during which Richie Rees was yellow carded. Dafydd Pritchard returned, only for Tom Powell to also receive a yellow card.

The game finally ended with the Otters winning 28-15.

The Otters were delighted to start the season with the win in a hard fought game which gives them four points and good preparation for a visit tomorrow (Saturday) to Ebbw Vale, the Premiership club who they play in the first round of the Wales National Cup.

The man of the match award went to Nick Gale for his six successful penalty goals.

Afterwards in the clubhouse, attack coach Deiniol Evans commented: “Very happy, since we have had poor performances in the pre-season games.

Today we created several chances which we did not finish on a few occasions. The defence for the most part was pretty well organised. We still have lots to work on, but very happy with the win.

The pack went well, especially in the second half, with the scrum dominant. We created chances with the back line, but could not finish on occasions, as we would have liked.

“There were good performances. Nick Gale’s goal kicking was excellent, which kept us ticking over and kept us in the gam. I think as a performance that is the best we have had in three weeks, which puts us in a good position for te next game coming up.”

Narberth fielded: Nick Gale, Elliot Dawe (Ianto Griffiths), Joe Hutchings, Jake Jenkins, Dafydd Pritchard, Jonathan Rogers, Rhys Lane (Lewys Gibby), Dan Jacobs (Tom Kaijacks), Rhodri Owens (Dan Smith), Tom Slater, Jake Baker, Alex Jenkins, Richie Rees (capt.) (Seffan Phillips), Tom Powell, Roy Osborne.