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23 September 2018 / Team News

Hard fought local derby

NEWCASTLE EMLYN 3 NARBERTH 15

When Narberth replacement full back Nick Gale won the race to touch down for a converted try deep into injury time, he denied the home side what would have been a fully deserved losing bonus point in what was a pulsating local derby, played where the result was in doubt right up until the final whistle. The injury hit home side really rose to the occasion and their well organised aggressive defending had the esteemed visitors rattled on a number of occasions. There would have been no complaints from the visitors if the score had remained at 3 – 3.

On a wet autumnal afternoon both sides opted for a similar strategy of long kicks downfield to exert pressure on the opposition line. Fortunately for Emlyn they had the mercurial Shaun Leonard back in their ranks at full back and his siege gun boot enabled Emlyn to return a number of Narberth kicks with interest. The defensive work of Leonard working well with his two wingers, both returning from injury, Llyr Davies and Llyr Freeman, meant that Narberth were unable to sustain a regular foothold in the Emlyn twenty two.

Early pressure did come from Narberth and it was a sign of the confidence they had in their excellent start to the season that when after quarter of an hour they were awarded a penalty kick in the Emlyn twenty two they opted for a scrum rather than the straight forward kick at goal. The Emlyn pack proved to be more than capable of holding the visitors drive and they forced a knock on, and from the resultant scrum cleared their lines. When awarded a similar penalty a couple of minutes later Narberth had no hesitation in taking the kick at goal and full back Ianto Griffiths opened their account.

Both sides, when they did get into their opponents half, looked to move the ball and Emlyn were well led by skipper Alex Williams playing at flanker, who continually led the way with some powerful carries at the Narberth defence. He was well supported by prop Emrys Davies and second row Dan Havard, but the Narberth defence just about held firm due to some tackling around the fringes. The same could be said of the Emlyn defence when Narberth had the ball, with flanker Callum Evans and centres Andrew Owens and Teifion Davies leading the way with some excellent tackling.

The discipline from both sides was first class and penalties were few and far between. Emlyn did concede one on their ten metre line, after some twenty minutes, but Griffiths’ effort was wide of the posts. On the half hour mark Emlyn were awarded a penalty just inside the Narberth half and up stepped Leonard to kick a monstrous forty five metre penalty goal to bring the scores level.

The last ten minutes of the half was virtually all Emlyn, as they continued to attack the solid Narberth defence. Their technique at the ruck was excellent and the support given by the rest of the forwards, notably second row Bleddyn Davies, prop Lewys Jonathan, hooker Lee Griffiths, and number eight Gareth Thomson in clearing out opponents, enabled the side to go through series after series of rucks until scrum half Dafydd Evans was forced to kick over the top of the defenders. The intensity with which Emlyn were playing was making life difficult for the visitors. In the line out Dan Havard excelled and had his best game of the season, with the excellent throwing in of hooker Lee Griffiths enabling Havard to continually win quality ball for the backs and forwards to utilise.

The Narberth defence, led by centre Jack Price, could not be breached and as half time approached all Emlyn had to show for their efforts were two long range penalty kicks at goal, one by outside half Arthur Lennon and the other by Shaun Leonard. Unfortunately both attempts went just wide of the uprights.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with defences very much on top. All the early pressure came from the home side but to their credit Narberth did not concede a penalty for the first fifteen minutes of the half. The closest the home side came to scoring was after a series of quick rucks the ball reached Emlyn outside centre Teifion Davies who made a lovely outside break and looked certain to score only for him to be brought down by a crunching tackle from Price who appeared from nowhere.

Narberth changed their tactics in the second half and used the powerful Price to carry the ball down the 10/12 channel aiming for the dimunitive Emlyn outside half Lennon. Centre Andrew Owens, along with flanker Evans and replacement Owain Powell, proved more than capable of shutting down this threat with some excellent low tackling. Emlyn on the other hand, when they had the ball in their hands, continued to use the boot of Leonard and Lennon to kick themselves into the Narberth half and attack from there.

It came as rather a surprise to the large crowd when, as the game approached the half hour mark, the covering Lennon fielded another long Narberth kick in his own twenty two. With no support around him everyone expected him to kick downfield but Lennon had other ideas and decided to run the ball at the approaching Narberth players. Out-numbered five to one there was only one inevitable conclusion, Lennon was stripped of the ball on the Emlyn twenty two, it was swiftly transferred to winger Gethin Gibby who scooted over in the corner for an unconverted try, very much against the run of play.

By now the pace of the game was beginning to tell on some of the Emlyn players playing their first games of the season, and Emlyn emptied their bench to try and give fresh impetus to their attacks. Dai Jones and Gethin Davies came on in the front row, Osian Davies in the second row and Mike Jones at scrum half, but try as they might they could not find a way though the Narberth defence.

As the game went into injury time it looked as if Emlyn would have to settle for a consolation losing bonus point. Emlyn had the ball and had gone through a series of rucks around the half way line and looked to be running the clock down until the final whistle was blown. Then for some inexplicable reason they hoisted a kick downfield, caught comfortably by the waiting visitors’ winger Parker who passed the ball in field. Instead of kicking Narberth ran the ball at Emlyn and when it looked as if the Emlyn defence would nullify the situation, they chip kicked ahead and replacement full back Nick Gale dived on the ball in the in goal area to score a try converted by Griffiths.

Showing tremendous character from the restart Emlyn managed to get their hands on the ball and pressurise the visitors’ line and were awarded a penalty but they had to score a try for a point and they ran the ball but were unable to breach the solid Narberth defence. It was a big disappointment for everyone that such a gutsy, competent, performance, without doubt the best of the season so far by the red and whites, left them with no points at all.

 

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