Carmarthen Athletic 27 - Pembroke 11: After many seasons apart, these two home grown teams renewed competition and as in the past the home club gave their usual warm welcome to their visitors. Despite a solid start to the season, the Pembroke coaches, playing squad and supporters knew they were travelling to meet a very competent and confident opposition in Carmarthen Athletic, after their two big, five point wins to start their own season. The weather was overcast, dry and breezy, whilst the pitch was in excellent condition. Pembroke were as selected, whilst the home squad was altered a little prior to kick off and the scene was set for a top of the table clash in front of a large, expectant crowd.

The game started dramatically with the strong home pack taking the first scrum against the head, after a flawed kick off, which certainly put the visitor’s pack on their metal immediately. In the first ten minutes, with the home team playing with the wind, it was obvious that their No 10 Karl Williams was going to sit in the pocket, use the wind to kick his team into good field position and mount concerted pressure through the pack on the visitor’s defences. Pembroke defended well and mounted well constructed attacks, which saw their forwards and backs combine really well to make deep inroads; early on Pembroke’s No 10 Toby Smith spotted a chance to kick to the corner for his left wing, only for the bounce to deny the visitors and early score. Then thirteen minutes in, after yet another period of good combined interplay the visitors pushed into the home last quarter and their forwards forced a transgression in the loose, twenty two metres out in front of the posts, allowing No 10 Toby Smith to slot over an easy kick for an early lead. The home side struck back minutes later, after good combined play took them close to the visitor’s line, after repeated phases, which stressed the Pembroke defences, prop Bowen was put into space and he crashed over for a well deserved score, which went unconverted to give them a 5-3 lead at the end of the hotly contested first quarter, which had seen the visitor’s create but not finish a number of very good opportunities.

Pembroke’s industrious forwards maintained pressure and forced an indiscretion in the loose after twenty five minutes, twenty metres out in front of the posts, which was coolly slotted over by Smith. The home forwards were proving to be very aggressive at the breakdown, which was providing turnover ball and opportunities to push deep into Pembroke territory; after twenty eight minutes the home forwards forced a penalty thirty metres out, but kicker Williams missed the chance to extend their lead. Minutes later and under pressure, the home forwards transgressed again thirty five metres from their own line; this time Williams kicked his team to the corner, but they lost possession and No 10 Smith kicked a huge clearance to remove the danger and relieve the pressure. Pembroke continued to thwart home attacks and at times the home backs’ handling let them down in critical, attacking situations, whilst they too had to work hard as Pembroke mounted sporadic attacks, without converting this possession and territory into points. As the end of this very compelling and competitive half approached, the home team were awarded a penalty, which was converted by Williams to give the home side an 8-6 advantage as the half time whistle sounded very soon afterwards.

The first half had seen two well matched sides show their ability to mount concerted attacks, with forwards and backs combining well, but both too failed to convert chances, due to poor handling at critical times; the battle at the scrum had been won by the home side. Pembroke generally wanted to move the ball wide, whilst the home No 10 was more committed to kicking his team into good field position; both back rows had played well and the teams had demonstrated excellent scramble defence. Pembroke’s young, back three, whilst solid under the high ball, seemed a little indecisive on their tactics on occasions and their attempts to run out of defence were often halted, putting their team under some unnecessary pressure well behind their forwards.

Pembroke made changes at half time and hoped to be more effective a scrum time, as this had proved a tough examination in the first half. Carmarthen started strongly, their forwards and backs combined well and excellent handling saw their backs move the ball wide to put full back Thomas in for a deserved try in the corner, which went unconverted. Pembroke then seemed galvanised into action, producing a mini period of real pressure, which saw their backs squander a chance as full back Harding Jones lost possession in a tackle near the home line. Then tragically for the visitors, with the referee unsighted, the home No 10 Williams, took a quick tap penalty in Pembroke’s twenty two, only to knock on, regain possession and crash over the line; to the anger of the away support and the incredulity of the home supporters, the try was awarded and converted by the same player, giving the home side a healthy lead. Not deterred, the visitors continued to create a number of opportunities out wide through their adventurous backs using long cut out passes; they pressed hard, but again poor handling and determined defence prevented them from scoring. Then at the start of the last quarter, the visitors kicked a penalty deep into the home twenty two, from the ensuing lineout they formed a driving maul, which opened up room for No8 Sam Smith to crash over for a well deserved, unconverted score, which was met with huge delight from the travelling support. With more changes, Pembroke’s scrum was now operating on a more level footing and mounting pressure of its own, whilst the introduction of Rhys Cadogan at scrum half for the visitors, also brought urgency and pace into their attacks, which were stressing the home defence more regularly as the last quarter progressed. Young Pembroke full back Harding Jones showed his running skills and set up a number of good field positions, but the home defence stood solid. Thirty minutes in final substitutions were made by the visitors and these fresh legs brought yet more vigour to the visitor’s attacks. With five minutes to go the home side scored a crucial and deciding try from close in, when their young, livewire prop Bowen, popping up yet again in the loose, as he had done all game, to finish off a period of sustained phases from his determined forwards; this went unconverted. The final minutes saw Pembroke press, but they were met with obdurate defence and failed to score again, leaving the home side deserved winners at 27-11.

Pembroke’s coaches and supporters praised their squad for their endeavour, creativity and perseverance in what they described as a creditable performance, whilst similarly paying a complement to the home coaches and their squad for their aggressive and determined performance. They also acknowledged that the Pembroke squad had learned a lot from this game, had identified areas for improvement and realised that the error rate had to be reduced considerably to ensure a higher conversion rate from hard earned territorial advantage. The referee meanwhile paid tribute to the effort, commitment and performances of both squads, in what he described as a “totally absorbing, entertaining and well fought match, played in good spirit.”

Pembroke play Burry Port at home next weekend, knowing they will pose an equally potent threat, after another win against Fishguard last weekend. After analysing this performance, they understand the areas they will need to work on, in order to repel other challenge from Aberystwyth in the WRU Plate the week after.

SECOND XV

The “Tigers” entertained Carmarthen Druids (ie. Carm. Athletic seconds) in lovely, autumnal conditions on a perfect surface. Coaches Tosh Rowlands and Simon Edwards had a strong and eager squad available to them, despite the firsts being away to the same club, whilst the players relished the opportunity to play against new opponents and establish their credentials for a chance to be selected for the senior team.

A strong Pembroke 2nd XV had a tough match against a formidable Carmarthen Druids side, which had several experienced old heads in key positions. The match was down as a friendly, but proved to be a full blooded and highly competitive affair right up to the final whistle. 

Pembroke took the lead through an early Rhys Johns penalty, but Carmarthen soon struck back with a converted try. Pembroke centre Fraser James, scored a cracking try for Pembroke linking well with veteran co centre Mark Williams, which was converted again by Rhys Johns. The lead changed hands several times as Carmarthen scored, before Fraser James crossed again and Matthew Washbourne finished off some good interplay to score on his senior debut, which was a just reward for a very impressive all round game alongside the equally impressive Harry Dawe in the Pembroke 2nd Row. Carmarthen added another try, but a further Rhys Johns penalty gave Pembroke a 23-21 lead at half time.

An equally tight and highly contested second half saw Pembroke restrict Carmarthen to a solitary penalty, while Matthew Lewis, after some counter-intuitive play from his centres, scorched over for his 2nd try in as many matches to give Pembroke some breathing space. The result was sealed with 10 minutes to go, as Pembroke’s man of the match, Fraser James, completed an outstanding hat trick and send a message to first team Head coach Geriant Lewis, that he’s fit, ready and in fine form to link up with the senior squad in the coming weeks. Whilst others in the squad had similarly signalled their presence and would relish an opportunity to step up. It was also good to see Scott Payne return to play in the town colours after an eighteen year break that has seen him do an Ironman and play for a number of other clubs.

The squad will play a curtain raiser next weekend, taking on an ARMY XV KO 12.30pm, prior to the first team’s home fixture. An extensive list of other forthcoming fixtures for this season has been posted in the clubhouse.

UNDER 17

The first game of the season for  Pembroke under 17s was an away trip to Fishguard . Conditions were challenging due to heavy overnight rain, which only eased minutes before kick off. Despite the conditions and the wet ball, both sides played some first rate attacking rugby, with a confident Fishguard side taking full advantage of a home fixture with some early pressure on the Pembroke line . Pembroke’s defence was tested in the early phases of the game  but held firm against a number of strong attacks. The Pembroke pack set out their intentions from the outset, establishing early dominance at the first scrum, which continued as the  game progressed. The lineout also performed well with regular attacking ball won, which allowed the backline to test the Fishguard defence .

Early in the first half a forward led attack resulted in a well taken try scored by Dewi Roberts, which was converted by Kyren Gray. Fishguard hit back later in the half with a converted try to end the first half level.

In the second half, with the wind advantage, Pembroke continued to build pressure and enjoyed long spells of territorial advantage forcing the under pressure Fishguard defence to be regularly penalised at the breakdown. Following an earlier miss, kicker Kyren Gray made no mistake with his second opportunity to give Pembroke a well deserved lead. Not to be outdone, given a rare opportunity just outside the Pembroke twenty two yard line, Fishguard struck a drop goal to square the scores. Pembroke regained the lead a few minutes later, with another Kyren Gray  penalty after yet another infringement at the breakdown which halted a promising Pembroke attack. Late in the second half, Fishguard took advantage  of a Pembroke infringement to bring the score back to level pegging with around ten minutes to play. The closing minutes saw the Pembroke forwards and backs combine very well to regularly threaten the Fishguard line. The final whistle came with Pembroke camped deep in Fishguard territory, leaving the final score at 13-13. 

Both sets of spectators had enjoyed a highly competitive game and whilst Pembroke felt disappointed with the draw, having led on three occasions during the game, their coaches and players were very pleased with their first performance of the season. Both teams will be eagerly looking forward to the return fixture later in the season.  

WOMEN’S RUGBY

The squad continues to train hard in readiness for their opening fixtures in early October. The officers for this new section have ordered their new team kit and would like to give a huge public thank you to the following sponsors, who have given so generously to support the inauguration of the section and it’s new kit; these include, MISS JONES SALON, PRICE & KELWAY SOLICITORS, THE SHIPWRIGHT INN, CORK & BOTTLE Co, THE ARCH KITCHEN and PEMBROKE DOCK CRICKET CLUB. All fixtures will be advertised in advance through the club noticeboard, social media and local newspapers and the whole club is excited to see the ladies compete in their first matches. Everyone at the club wishes them every success in their first season.