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CN EMLYN YOUTH 15 BURRY PORT 19

Emlyn welcomed the unbeaten league leaders to Dol Wiber in this West Carmarthenshire Youth league encounter which was once again played in fine weather conditions.

Emlyn started disappointingly and within 10 minutes were 19 in deficit after conceding 3 early tries.   At that stage it looked that it was going to be a long afternoon, with the older visiting unit in command and controlling possession.

To their credit the young Emlyn side decided not to capitulate and began to strike back securing two scrum strikes against the head. Their forwards stepped up to the mark and began producing quick ball for the backs to gain territory.

After 22 minutes Emlyn kicked to the corner and gained lineout possession through Rhys Thomas. The pack gathered behind him and drove over in the corner for an unconverted try, with hooker Dion Lewis emerging as the jubilant try scorer.

The score seemed to galvanize the team and from the restart lock Gareth Stevenson charged at the opposition with his young pack members in support.  Following a sustained period of pressure outside half Crwys Rees slotted a 25m penalty to narrow the deficit.

Emlyn spent the rest of the half in the opposition half and narrowed the gap further when captain Crwys Rees slotted a second penalty from 30m.

Half Time – CNE 11 Burry Port 19.

 With Emlyn playing up the slope and with improvement in their pattern of play, there was renewed optimism that the home side would be able to overcome the deficit and emerge victorious.

The home side attacked in the Burry Port half for most of the second half and were rewarded with a fine score. The forwards produced a series of phases of play producing quick ball outside the Burry 22. The ball was then swiftly handled by the entire backline to replacement right winger Tom Griffiths who still had a lot of work to do. Grifiths bumped off the first defender before outstripping the covering defence to crash over in the right corner for a fine team try.

During the remainder of the half Emlyn tried valiantly to score a match winning score but were thwarted by a well drilled, committed Burry Port defence who determinedly held out to preserve their unbeaten record.

As the final whistle sounded Emlyn began to reflect on the poor start they made, but the coaches will be pleased with the commitment they demonstrated in nearly pulling off a shock victory.

The visitors were a combative outfit and at times over stepped the mark, incurring the wrath of the referee who penalised them by issuing 3 yellow cards.

Final Score – CN Emlyn 16 Burry Port 19

MOM – Sam Forrester-Evans

Emlyn Scorers:  Tries: Dion Lewis, Tomos Griffiths.  Penalties: Crwys Rees 2.