Llangwm 14

Pembroke Dock Harlequins 29

Pembroke Dock Harlequins made the short journey across the Cleddau Bridge to Pill Parks and came away with a deserved win.

But Llangwm never gave up trying and scored two tries in quick succession as reward in the second half.

That the game was played at all owes much to the good work of the ground staff because heavy rain and hail prior to and during the game made conditions difficult, and referee Colin Phillips used his common sense with his decisions throughout.

But the Quins always looked stronger up front for much of the match as they took several Llangwm scrums in the first period and could well have scored more than the two unconverted tries they managed but for over-elaboration and a ball that got more slippery as play continued.

Alex Pierce, Barry Parsons, Gareth Spure, Mark Van Ryan and Neil Harries caught the eye for the Quins as the front row of Peter Roach, Carl Williams and Dai Moseley looked strong in the scrums, and it was Van Ryan who opened the scoring after Harries and Parsons had done the hard work.

The Quins might have had a second during a long period of pressure but then Adam Cawley did cross after going close a couple of times before, to give the Quins a 10-0 interval lead. This despite some excellent defending by Wasps full back Jonathan Brock alongside some big hits in the centre by Andrew Slark, playing on loan from Neyland.

The Quins scored a third unconverted try when Simon Coleman and Liam Smith put Sam Irwin over in the right corner, and they made the game safe when a powerful surge for the line was illegally halted and referee Colin Phillips awarded a penalty try which Jonathan Rogers converted from in front of the posts.

It says much for the Wasps’ resilience that they responded well, with Ian Griffiths, Ben Llewellyn and Mike Terry leading by example, and after Andrew Brock had been bundled into touch just short they got on the scoresheet when second row Laurence Holder ploughed over for his first try and Andrew Brock added the extras.

Veteran prop Richard McIntyre came on as winger for the Quins and his first touch, an attempted clearance kick, was charged down by Dan Morgan before the winger raced 35 metres to the posts for Rogers to convert.

McIntyre was quickly transferred into front row action and helped set up the final score of the game when another rolling maul saw Irwin and Carl Williams vying for the touchdown before Rogers converted to round off an entertaining match enjoyed by a good crowd, considering the conditions.

Llangwm: Jonathan Brock, Dan Morgan, Andrew Brock, Andrew Slark, JoJo Francis, Chris Thomas, David Lewis, Gethin Lewis, Mike Terry, Adam James, Ben Llewellyn, Laurence Holder, James Lewis, Ian Griffiths, Ashley Jack. Replacements: Simon Preddy, Lewis Murphy, Josh Morgan; Aled Morgan.

Pembroke Dock Harlequins: Damian Miller: Liam Smith, Sam Irwin, Tom Osborne, Sam Richards, Jonathan Rogers, Adam Cawley, Peter Roach, Carl Williams, Dai Moseley, Gareth Spure, Mark Van Ryan, Alex Pierce, Barry Parsons, Neil Harries.

Replacements: Simon Coleman, Chris Harries, Richard McIntyre, Mike Scourfield.

Referee: Colin Phillips (Cardigan).