By Jonathan Twigg

THE Tenby Tourers sponsored Tenby United won their third game of their Division 1 West season when they beat Gorseinon on Saturday (Nov 18) at Heywood Lane 13-6 in a match sponsored by Sion Brace Construction.

The ‘Seasiders’ have found life in the division higher difficult at times this season but they played with accuracy, pace and an uncompromising attitude, attributes required to compete against teams plying their trade at this level.

Gorseinon, home club of Wales and Scarlets full back Leigh halfpenny arrived on an unbeaten six game run stretching back to the middle of September which included an away victory at the then unbeaten league leaders Dunvant progressing to the third round of the National Plate.

The Tenby side included three players on permit, all former ‘red and blacks, where Dan Colley from Pembroke came in on the wing, Pat Roberts, normally a flanker with championship side Narberth in the centre and Narberth team mate Jonathon Rogers at outside half.

Rogers brought to the table something perhaps the home side have missed on occasions in that he kept the ball going forward ensuring the game was played in the opposition areas, which was a huge motivation to his peers, especially the forwards who rose from the coal face with energy when they saw their efforts were rewarded.

Tenby’s Jonathan Rogers with the ball in hand

During the second half such was the dominance and game management applied from Tenby, Gorseinon struggled to get out of their own half for long periods. The Tenby forwards to a man were committed to the cause and took the slippery ball with confidence into the lion’s den and have the skill level to set the play or execute an off load to keep the ball alive.

Man of the match Jack Clancy would have devoured the steaks he received for his performance from Heywoods Butchers in Saundersfoot, as he made many crashing inroads to the heart of the Gorseinon defence, carrying for vital yards whilst also being like a fourth back row forward in hunting down the ball and pressurising the opposition into mistakes.

Tenby have a solid back row unit now Roy Osborne has returned from Carmarthen to dove tail in with Andrew Cooke and Barry Parsons, whose work rate was on par with Clancy.

This game was going to be won or lost on how the Tenby pack faced up to the bigger visiting forwards and alarm bells would have been ringing for coach Chris James early on as his side were nudged backwards in the scrums and needed to up their game to gain parity.

Respect came with the work off the ball in defence where props Lewis Davies and Rob Clarke were heavily involved, with young hooker Kyle Hamer who was also a key component in the offensive work of his side.

Hamer peeled off a line out on halfway to set play in motion for the opening score with Rogers left boot put Tenby in the danger zone.

Winger Moritz Neuman found Cooke on his shoulder as play went with speed into the Gorseinon 22 for centre Jack Guerrio to finish off a forty metre move under the gaze of gateman Des Brace for a 5-0 lead.

Gorseinon had an attacking flair, led by full back Andrew Steel who sought out space and wanted the ball in hand as often as he could. He found willing allies in scrum half Jack Gronow and winger Liam Cross who set the play in the Tenby half and skipper Sean Haycock had little hesitation in taking a scrum set piece when they were awarded a penalty.

Outside half Nick Popham and his centre Richard Rees couldn’t make the break through before Gronow slotted a straight forward penalty after second row Luke Dedman was caught offside to reduce the deficit to 5-3 after a quarter of an hour.

Tenby have an exciting backline who were able to exploit some missed tackles with skipper Johnnie Morgan not needing a second offering to run deep into the Gorseinon half, only to be called back for a miniscule foot in touch.

Clancy stole the line out where Parsons and Neuman stretched the home side across the field, where prop Davies and Cooke set up space for Roger to put a cross kick into the hands of Morgan on the opposite side, with space to canter across in the corner after twenty five minutes.

Referee Rob Hale who travelled from Ebbw Vale for the noon kick off took the opportunity to speak to captains about the back chat he was receiving from players who hadn’t heeded many penalties where they were marched back 10 meters and he identified issues with scrum halves Gronow and Matthew Morgans crooked feeds!

Rogers missed his second conversion attempt but Gronow added a second penalty just before half time where the indiscipline of the Tenby side would be an area of concern for coach James and his number 2 Andrew Morgan during the half time team talk.

The weather deteriorated during the second half, but it seemed to galvanise Tenby further, with Clancy, Davies and the back especially relishing the impact side of the game, which saw visiting prop Callum Steele leave the feel with a shoulder injury.

Knowing Rogers was bringing a calm acuity behind them with decision making the Tenby forwards needed no second invitation to do the hard yards, keeping the ball hemmed deep in the Gorseinon half for long periods.

Rogers missed a long range penalty although his ‘up and under’ were a cause of confusion which Cooke and Neuman capitalised on.

The game plan saw Osborne, Davies and Hamer play well with the ball in hand as did Haycock who set up one last thrust from the visitors to get an equalising score after Rogers extended the lead to 13-6 after centre Tim Payne strayed offside with five minutes to play.

With Hale playing through added time Popham had twice punted the ball into touch after the home forwards were penalised and play was set for a line out from 5 metres, which Nick Southgate secured, and his forwards got momentum.

Replacement hooker Joe Poole smuggled himself into the contact area for Tenby and the Swansea University undergraduate managed to wrestle the ball into his hands and emerge to the undoubted delight of his comrades who engulfed him when Hale blew for full time.

Coach Chris James shared that delight as he said: “It builds our campaign; it’s the first game in a sequence where we are aiming to go into 2018 close to the top of the division. We have come unstuck this year in games where we have made mistakes at crucial times and in impact areas which have cost us points but today we were magnificent in all areas.”

Having witnessed his side spend time in the opposition territory but not convert the pressure into points, James was philosophical in stating “we managed the game well, with Jonathon (Rogers) on permit from Narberth playing the game in the right areas and making calls which enabled us to be on the front foot all match. Credit to Gorseinon for the challenge they presented as Clancy, Lewis Davies, Kyle Hamer and the back row continually drove at them.”

Such was the intensity of the home play Gorseinon lost Callum Steel with a shoulder dislocation and second row Nick Southgate with an AC ligament injury as they made over seventy tackles in the second half. The Tenby backline “is purring” said James, “where the work Andrew (Morgan) puts in with handling at practice coming to fruition today and our defensive pattern and discipline restricted the opportunities we offered for Gorseinon, which ultimately led us to victory.”

Next up for Tenby will be a Pembrokeshire Cup Quarter final at Milford on Saturday (Dec 2) with a noon kick off again before they travel to Tycroes and Llanelli Wanderers in the lead up to Christmas, returning to Heywood Lane on Saturday (Dec 30) when Kidwelly will be the visitors.