Narberth lose out to Old Parish (From Western Telegraph)

Narberth lose out to Old Parish

Maesteg 16 Narberth 14

Narberth fell to only their third defeat of the season as they looked to put more distance between them and the chasing group at the top of the table with a win at Maesteg.

But the Old Parish, seeking a ninth consecutive win, were clearly stronger than when The Otters had beaten them by 39-28 at the Lewis Lloyd Ground and neither side was ever able to gain the upper hand conclusively in heavy conditions, despite the fact that the Otters had more of the possession.

The lead changed a couple of times before Maesteg went into the second minute of injury time with a two-point advantage - and Narberth had a golden opportunity to snatch the double as they were awarded a penalty 30 metres out and fairly close to the posts.

It seemed that they might take the verdict as talented young full back Aled Davies looked to slot his fourth penalty of the afternoon - but he sent the kick wide of the target and the Otters had to settle for a rare second best!

The Narberth staff must have known that this would be one of their real challenges because Maesteg have shown good form recently after a shaky start to the season, with experienced players like Richard Morgan and Matthew Pearce at half back, skipper Matthew Wareham at No 8, Jeff Sollis and Alan Peaver in the second row.

The Otters were at full strength as Alan Reynolds came into the back row, forming a strong trio with Gareth Bennett and skipper Simon Davies.

And the Otters looked as if another win was on the cards as they fought back from an early three-point deficit through a Pearce penalty, with Aled Davies kicking a penalty, fly half Simon Daniel put through for a good try by Chris MacDonald after a thrust down the middle by Andrew Bowen and another Davies penalty giving them an 11-3 advantage after good work by the Otters man of the match, prop Fifitapuku Faletau.

Pearce notched his second kick to raise Maesteg hopes and after the break the home fly half found the target for the third time as forwards Gareth Edwards, Gareth and Aneurin Davies, Kevin Baldwin and L A Jones did the spadework.

Then the Old Parish recaptured the lead from a lineout won by Sollis which allowed hooker Gareth Davies to peel around and set up a ruck on the Narberth 22 before popping the ball up for scrum half Morgan to side-step his way through to the line, Pearce adding the extra points which gave his side a five-point lead.

It stung Narberth into raising the tempo and Aled Davies slotted another penalty after a missed attempt.

The Otters went close when Alan Reynolds fielded a mis-placed clearance and set John Whitticombe and Andrew Jones on a burst but the final pass went to ground.

But they must have thought that they had snatched victory when the referee awarded them a penalty for a ruck offence in the dying seconds - but the final kick of the match went wide and the Otters just missed out on a chance to go even further ahead at the top of the table.

Narberth Aled Davies: John Whitticombe; Andrew Bowen; Tevita Manaseitava; Andrew Jones: Simon Daniel; Chris MacDonald: Fifitapuku Faletau; Kevin Davies (Simon Delaney); Rob Jones: Jamie Bohata; Jason Jennings (Emori Kaletau): Alan Reynolds; Simon Davies; Gareth Bennett. Replacements (not used): Dai Balkwill; Wayne Jones.

l Narberth are without a fixture on Saturday, March 3, in Division Two of the National League, because of the rugby international at the Lansdowne Road, Dublin between Ireland and Wales.

Supporters not travelling to Dublin will be able to savour the big match atmosphere by watching the International live on the large screen at the clubhouse.

League fixtures will resume the following Saturday, when Narberth are home to Beddau.

The postponed away fixture at Tredegar will be played on Saturday, February 16th. Kick of will be at 12 noon to avoid a clash with the international at Cardiff between Wales and France.

The away fixture at Oakdale, which has been postponed twice, will be played (subject to confirmation) on Saturday, April 6th, with an early kick off to avoid a clash with the Wales v Scotland international at Cardiff.

Narberth were due to play Abertillery away in a league fixture on Saturday February 23rd. It will be postponed as Narberth are home to Caerphilly on the same date in Round 7 of the Principality Welsh Cup.

The new date for the postponed away fixture at Abertillery has been pencilled in for the morning of the England v Wales International at Twickenham, on Saturday, March 23rd.

Members of Narberth RFC who have applied for international tickets that coincide or may coincide with the dates of rearranged league fixtures are requested to inform the club secretary immediately, if they wish to cancel their orders for International tickets.

Members who applied for tickets for the Wales v France International on Saturday, February 16th, should collect their tickets from the clubhouse as soon as possible.