In their first Championship League game against Narberth, Newcastle Emlyn had a very successful day. The event attracted great interest, with a large crowd, which included a significant Narberth following. Amongst the gathering were current Welsh internationals Scott Williams and Gareth Davies, both products of the local club.

For the neutral watcher, the final moments provided an exciting finalé. However, when the final whistle blew, everyone found it hard to believe the result, as with 60 minutes played, Narberth appeared to have a significant 21-3 lead and almost complete control of the game.

The game started with Emlyn kicking off away from the clubhouse. The early exchanges gave little away of how the game would evolve. The home side’s game plan appeared to be a kicking one, supported by their pack.

In early minutes they were awarded a penalty and their kicking winger, Dan Davies, placed it into touch on the five-metre line. From the resultant lineout, they moved the ball through several phases, before knocking on, allowing Narberth to heel from the subsequent scrum and clear their lines by running the ball into Emlyn’s 22.

On seven minutes, Narberth were awarded a kickable penalty, which unfortunately went wide of the posts.

Then on 13 minutes, the Otters finally opened the scoring. Winning a ruck in Emlyn’s 22, number eight Lewis Wood quickly moved forward, twisting his way through several attempted tackles to force himself over for a try near the corner. Ianto Griffiths was unable to succeed with the conversion.

As the game progressed, with Newcastle Emlyn kicking frequently, the Otters threequarters were able to put the home defence under pressure and on 20 minutes Nick Gale, playing on the far wing from the stand, received the ball on the halfway line and made a scintillating break, but after a few phases, the movement broke down when a forward pass spoiled a clear chance of a try.

Five minutes later, winger Jordan Roberts was adjudged to be held just inside the Narberth half. Awarded a penalty, a quick tap saw the Otters kick the ball over the line, only for the touchdown to be adjudged unclear.

Narberth continued to pressurise their opponents’ line and after several phases, the referee awarded a penalty for offside and this time Ianto Griffiths made no mistake to give Narberth an 8-0 lead.

Newcastle Emlyn responded after 36 minutes when, following a series of phased play, they were awarded a penalty themslves, which winger Dan Davies duly slotted between the sticks to complete the first half scoring.

At the start of the second half, the Otters took control, but Lady Luck was not on their side. First Steve Martin, returning after a long break through injury, fumbled a promising move and then when the Otters did cross and touch down, they were penalised for a crossing movement which enabled Newcastle Emlyn to clear their lines to halfway.

On 47 minutes, illegal interference at the breakdown by the home side enabled Nick Gale to bang over a 46-metre long penalty kick.

This was followed by the Otters pack mauling from a useful penalty kick to the five-metre line, but the referee disallowed the resultant touchdown.

Further pressure from the Narberth pack on 55 minutes, however, saw the referee award a penalty try for persistent infringement at the scrum, sending the Newcastle Emlyn flanker to the sin bin. Ianto Griffiths converted to tak the score to 18-3 in Narberth’s favour.

Minutes later, Narberth withdrew Adam Clark, bringing Lyndon Bateman off the subs bench.

On 60 minutes, Bateman was obstructed and loose talk by Newcastle Emlyn saw the referee award the Otters an extra 10 metres, Ianto Griffiths easily kicking the penalty to now make it 21-3.

At this stage it looked as though the Otters would score again, with their pack overpowering the opposition, but three minutes later, Newcastle Emlyn scored their first try.

Attacking in midfield, they kicked through the Otters’ defence where fullback Shaun Leonard was tackled prematurely by Jordan Roberts, with the referee awarding a penalty try and sending Roberts to the sin bin.

All of a sudden, Newcastle Emlyn began to show more spirit and, whether it was touchline advice or a realisation that the Otters had a defensive weakness, but they began to play positively, with the threes beginning to link together effectively.

On 68 minutes, winning a penalty on the halfway line, they ran the ball to the stand side, passing to winger Dan Davies, where a very ineffective defence enabled him to run clear and touch down and convert the try, bringing the score to 21-17.

Narberth replaced Jonathon Rogers with young Lewis Gibby, while Marc Jones replaced number six Pat Roberts.

The Otters now faced a very resurgent Newcastle Emlyn and mistakes began to occur under constant pressure from the home club.

On 72 minutes, Newcatle Emlyn scored their third try when a ground kick through the Otters’ defence was touched down by fullback Leonard and converted by Dan Davies.

Narberth responded and fought themselves back into the home team’s half and, via a series of phases, took the ball into the 22. Emlyn defended strongly, but eventually on 80 minutes, Narberth were awarded a penalty about 30 metres out, in front of the posts. Ianto Griffiths took the kick, which at the last moment appeared veer to the right side of the posts. One flag was raised, but the referee correctly indicated no score.

A moment later, the whistle blew for full-time and local supporters left their positions in high spirits, with the Narberth supporters finding it very hard to believe that, after controlling the game for so long, they actually ended up losing.

Later, supporters were still discussing the game and the coaches were still trying to fathom how, having played their best rugby of the season to date, they managed to let the game slip from their grasp through some poor efforts in the final 17 minutes. Opportunities spawned in the first 63 minutes, when tries were lost through lack of focus and errors, was another reason for the unexpected defeat.

Narberth fielded: Johnny Morgan, Nick Gale, Steve Martin, Ollie Ryland, Jordan Roberts, Ianto Griffiths, Jonathon Rogers (Lewis Gibby), Lewis Wood, Llyr Morris (Ryan Rees), Pat Roberts (Marc Jones}, Alex Jenkins, Adam Clarke (Lyndon Bateman), Jamie Kaijaks, Dan Smith, Dan Jacobs. Subs - Ryan Rees, Adam Davies.