Tata Steel 14 pts. Narberth 25 - Tata Steel had been occupying second spot in the Championship until coming unstuck the previous week, but the Otters saw the game at Margam on Saturday as one to win and prove they were nearly table-toppers.

An above average number of supporters travelled to the game, including the majority of the Narberth clubhouse staff. Although on arrival the Steelmen’s ground looked in fair condition, this changed before kick-off, with a series of heavy showers making it difficult for both teams to play an open game of rugby.

The Otters kicked off and, with the continuing downpour, both teams were obviously directed to use high kicks and, whilst Narberth fullback James Stephenson remained sound, safely making good catches, the Tata Steel defence had difficulty in fielding the ball, which the visitors seized on at every opportunity.

Both sets of forwards set up drives, but handling the ball proved difficult and, whilst the Steelmen attempted to attack the Otters defenc, they found them an immovable force, with every player aware of their defensive role and overall strategy.

The many knock-ons resulted in the scrums cutting up the ground even further.

Tata Steel had a pair of hefty second rows and their weight early on enabled the Steelmen to make ground with their forward drives and with some short passing. Their locks were also putting their extra weight into the boilerhouse of the scrum, putting the Otters eight under pressure.

The Tata Steel threes passed the ball effectively and used the diagonal kick from time to time.

Midway through the first half, though, the Otters began to gain more ball, with both James Stephenson and fly-half Jonathan Rogers begining to pin the Steelmen in their own half.

Then, on 24 minutes, when Tata tried to attack from midfield, centre Jack Price wrestled the ball free and with a forceful break made ground before being tackled. The Otters quickly rucked and Rhys Lane fed the ball out, it being moved swiftly from right to left, where lurking on the far side was Sean Jenkins, who on receiving possession, sprinted forward and over the line for the first try. Jonathan Rogers converted.

The fierce exchanges in the rucks and tackles saw Tata having to use replacements.

Unfortunately, a few Narberth attacks faltered through dropped passes. However, in yet another drive forward, prop Bradley Davies suffered from a high tackle 30 metres from the Tata try line and Jonathan Rogers calmly kicked the three points giving the Otters a 10-0 lead.

Tata restarted into the Otters’ half, but Jonathan Rogers replied, kicking them back into their own 22. Then, as they attempted to run out, they were penalised and again Rogers was on target for another three points.

Tata responded fiercely and at a ruck, the Otters were warned for causing an obstruction. Subsequently, at the very next ruck, a further offence occurred and Steffan Phillips incurred the wrath of the referee and received a yellow card.

From the resulting penalty, Tata Steel ran the ball out from their 22 and, through a number of phases, proceeded towards the Otters’ line, where they forced a penalty. Using the advantage of their extra weight, the Steelmen chose a scrum rather than a kick and were able to force the Otters pack over the line for their number eight Mathew Llewellyn to score and fly-half Lawrence Bamsey to convert the try.

This brought the first half to a close with the score at 7 - 13 and with Otters hooker Dan Smith in considerable discomfort with a leg injury.

The West half of the ground was now badly cut up and muddy from the heavy showers, but bright sunshine arrived to give the Otters a disadvantage.

When the Otters took the field for the second half, Dan Jacobs was brought on, with Bradley Davies moving to hooker.

Tata Steel kicked off and again attempted some high kicking, but James Stephenson had no difficulty fielding these ‘bombs’.

They had clearly been instructed to increase the intensity, with the Otters down to 14 men and struggling to hold the scrums.

Whilst the clashes between the forwards became increasingly fierce, the Otters’ defence remained strong and the Steelmen seemed to require increasing attention from their support team.

With the ‘sin bin’ time up, Richard Rees replaced Pat Roberts.

When the Otters regained the ball, Jonathan Rogers pinned the Steelmen back in their 22 with some accurate kicking. However, kicking a penalty into the bright sunshine, he failed to increase the score.

Centre Jack Price put the opposition on the backfoot, with his powerful running causing them to defend and kick into touch. From the lineout inside their 22, Alex Jenkins took a clean catch and the forwards mauled forward. When it went to ground near the try line, the ball was released for Rhys Lane to instinctively dive forward and somehow manage to squeeze over close to the posts, enabling Jonathan Rogers to slot the conversion between the sticks on 62 minutes.

Adam Clarke replaced Jake Simm in the second row.

The ground conditions within the Tata Steel half were worsening and the slippery ball caused a series of knock-ons. Tata scrum-half Jacob Williams, who had played well first half, was withdrawn and replaced by Rory Pitman on 72 minutes.

Two minutes later, the Otters made sure of their second place league position.

James Stephenson raced forward and when he was brought down, the ball went through several phased rucks, before reaching winger Liam Hutchings, who made absolutely certain with a try in the corner. Jonathan Rogers failed to convert, but at 25-7, Narberth were out of sight.

At this point, Ianto Griffiths entered the fray, replacing Jonathan Rogers.

Three minutes later, with the Steelmen lying flat to the Otters’ attack, winger James Owen intercepted a long pass and hared downfield to score near the posts, with centre Bleddyn Davies converting.

This proved to be the final score, ending the game at 14 - 25.

The Otters were jubilant at the final whistle, having overcome a very determined home team who never gave up, but the game demonstrated Narberth’s strength in depth and their total team spirit, with every player playing their part in a very hard fought contest.

Once again their well-organised defence gave them the platform to achieve a great second place in the league. No team can overtake them now, and all those closely connected with the club can look back on a most successful season, which still has two home games to play.

Tomorrow (Saturday), Narberth are home to Skewen, who are sure to be stern opponents. Kick-off is 2.30 pm and no doubt supporters will want to give the Otters a great welcome home!

Later, head coach Sean Gale commented: “It was a fantastic win, we treated this as a cup final, a game we really wanted to win. The boys came up trumps when a lot was against us, the weather was really bad, there was a big downfall of rain immediately before the game and Dan Smith, who has been crucial to us for the last 11 years, went off at half-time. It resulted in Bradley Davies moving from prop to hooker, with Dan Jacobs coming off the subs bench. They did a really good job; our lineout in the last 20 minutes was fantastic.

“I thought that Jonathan Rogers and James Stephenson were outstanding, the way they played and controlled the game. The two centres played really well with the forward game.

“I thought our substitutions made a big difference, Richard Rees was really good when he came on and Dan Jacobs was really forceful in the scrum and Adam Clark put in a bit of physicality from the second row. They brought on Rolly Pitman, but failed to make any ground.

“Defensively we were superb, the spirit in the squad is absolutely fantastic and I think we fully deserved our second spot in the league and next season it is onward and upward. We need to enjoy the remainder of the season and hopefully gain two more wins.”

Narberth fielded: James Stephenson, Liam Hutchings, Jack Price, Ollie Reyland, Jack Parkinson, Jonathan Rogers (Ianto Griffiths), Rhys Lane, Bradley Davies, Dan Smith (Dan Jacobs), Tom Slater, Jake Simm (Adam Clarke), Alex Jenkins (capt.), Pat Roberts (Richard Rees), Stephan Phillips, Sean Jenkins.