Tenby United 6pts. Whitland 21

Despite the final scoreline suggesting that the eagerly-awaited derby match at Heywood Lane last Saturday between GD Harries and Sons sponsored Tenby United and Whitland was a one-sided affair, for most of the game it was anything but and was a hard fought battle between the two rival clubs.

From the word go the Seasiders looked to move the ball wide and keep the experienced Borderers pack moving and this worked well, with powerful running centre Mark Heywood running hard at the heart of the Whitland midfield and quick ball meaning that the United’s wingers Greg Lees Griffiths and Jordan Asparassa could run in the wide channels and really cause the visitors problems.

Pressure was turned into points early in the game for the home side when Heywood was brought down just short of the Whitland line before an offence from the visitors allowed outside-half Aaron James to land the early penalty for the United.

Whitland struck back within minutes when the Seasiders’ backline were deemed as being offside and visiting outside-half Nico Setaro fired an early warning shot across the United’s bows with a well-hit penalty goal, and in doing so, gave a warning that any offences committed within striking range would be punished by the talented kicker’s boot.

Up front, despite the odd shaky looking scrum early on, the home side were getting the upper hand, with flankers Jason Ronowitz and Timoci Kaumaitotoya along with stand-in captain number eight Rob Weston all working hard at the breakdown to earn the Seasiders plenty of turned over ball, and, with Weston and second row Luke Dedman dominating the lineout, good ball was plentiful for the United’s back line to run with.

Despite good attacking play, however, the Borderers’ defence held strong and kept their hosts out and they had plenty of attacking opportunities themselves, but the Seasiders’ defence was equally as tight.

This was never more apparent than when the visitors were awarded a scrum on the United five-metre line and the Tenby eight worked hard as a unit to turn the ball over and clear their lines through the boot of Aaron James.

With frustration beginning to show in both teams, the penalties and unforced errors were starting to make the referee’s whistle sound more often than either set of coaches would have liked and it was from one such lapse in discipline that the Seasiders took the lead again.

The home side were rewarded with a penalty through the hard work of the back row and when a Whitland forward was found guilty of back-chat, the man in the middle marched his side back 10 metres and brought the penalty mark within the range of James’s boot.

The young fly-half landed the goal to put the home team into the lead by six points to three with 10 minutes remaining of the first half.

The two teams continued to trade blows without reward, until another offside decision against the United allowed Setaro to even the scores right on the stroke of half-time, bringing the half to a close with the scoreboard reading six points apiece.

As the teams took to the field for the second half, it was clear that Whitland had been rattled in the first half and their plan to easily brush aside the basement battling Seasiders wasn’t entirely going to plan by the changes they had made to their onfield personnel.

This was a sensible move as they showed their intentions right from the off when they opted for a scrum rather than to kick a penalty to touch and at the ensuing scrum they shoved the home pack over their try line for Borderers number eight Ryan Banner to claim the unconverted touchdown, giving his side the lead that they wouldn’t give up for the rest of the afternoon.

Both teams made further changes throughout the second half and were locked in a hard fought battle which virtually saw them cancelling each other out, making for an uneventful half, or, for the most part that is.

As the game entered the final five minutes, a draw probably would have been the fair outcome, but as has been the norm of late for the Seasiders, that wasn’t going to be the case and they were to be cruelly beaten again despite their valiant efforts.

The Borderers pack must be commended for their intelligent and clinical play in keeping the ball tight in the latter stages, which meant that any attacking opportunities the home side would get were few and far between and in doing so they prevented them levelling the scores.

The visitors continued to strangle the game and patience and good discipline was to be rewarded by the ever-reliable Setaro, who landed a dropped goal with just three minutes remaining, extending the lead to 14-6 to Whitland.

The Seasiders still had a chance to grab a vital losing bonus point as the clock ticked down, but were guilty of trying too hard and making unforced errors and giving away a penalty on the halfway line was to prove to be the killer blow to their hopes.

Setaro put the ball deep into the corner and with the Borderers pack getting the shove on following the five-metre lineout, the Seasiders couldn’t do much to stop them driving over the line for talented second row Aidan Laxton to claim a well-worked try, which Setaro duly converted to the sound of the final whistle.

The visitors ran out winners of a typically hard fought derby by 21 points to six and the home side were left still searching for their first league win of the season.