Division Three West A:

Milford Haven 77-5 St Davids

WINGER Craig 'Yoda' Thomas grabbed a hat trick of tries as Milford Haven went top of Division Three West A by crossing 13 times against St Davids on the 4G surface at The Obs last night (Friday).

With previous leaders Pembroke not in action this weekend, The Mariners took full advantage as they seared into a 44-0 lead at half time, and added 33 more points thereafter to remain unbeaten in the league this season.

But to the credit of St Davids, they opted to fulfil the fixture despite the vast majority of sides in Wales choosing to postpone games this weekend due to the Wales v Georgia Autumn International, and were rewarded for perseverance in the second half when hooker Noel Lyons drove over for a consolation try.

However, The Saints were unable to handle the pace and tempo of the home side early on, and Milford No 8 David Round opened the scoring after picking up from a five metre scrum.

Flanker Dai Sweeny got the second try after gathering a clever chip from Lee Riley, before the No 10 crossed himself by breaking clear on half way and outstripping the cover defence.

Riley was involved again for the bonus point score, kicking a penalty to the corner and from the resultant lineout drive, and prop Nathan Davies touched down.

The Mariners continued to attack with venom and a blindside move from a scrum saw Round and No 9 Dan McClelland combine to set Riley free down the right wing, before he slipped the scoring pass inside to winger Thomas.

The home side did have second row Brandon Cooper yellow carded but it mattered little as a quick tap penalty from McClelland set up a try for full back Matthew Reynolds.

And there was still time for two further Milford scores before the break, as centre Jimmy Thomas burst through a gap for a 40 metre try, before second row Chris Hall also powered over from 22 metres out after a well-timed pop pass from McClelland.

Mercifully for The Saints, the deficit was only 44-0 at the break due to the poor conversion rate of the home side, with McClelland and Riley only managing one successful attempt each from the eight tries scored.

But the visitors, who didn’t help their cause by missing four separate penalty kicks to touch in the first half, came out with more organisation after the break, and Alan MCellland’s side had to repel some pressure before breaking upfield for Thomas to jink over for his second try out wide.

Riley converted from the touchline before Thomas grabbed his treble with another sharp finish.

The visitors however, did then respond with their only try after replacement flanker Gabe York and No 8 Anthony Davies both made inroads in the Milford 22, before hooker Lyons took a short pass of scrum half Rhys Owen Price and barged over from close range.

The Saints did work further good field positions but were unable to add a second score, whilst at the other end, Milford centre Dan Jenkins pounced on a loose pass in midfield and score a try he himself converted.

From the resultant kick off, Saints replacement prop Dan Murphy came onto the field – only to be sin binned seconds later for tackling a player in the air – and The Mariners inevitably made their numerical advantage count when Round and then Jenkins again went over for tries in the dying minutes.

James Trueman came off the bench at outside half to convert both, leaving McClelland content with his side’s work.

“We wanted to secure a bonus point early and played at a great tempo in the first half,” he told Telegraph Sport.”

“We scored some nice tries but fair play to St Davids, they really dug in second half and played with a great spirit.”

Saints coach Matthew Williams added: “They are a very good side and it took us a while to get used to their off-loading game.

 “But we kept going and the second half was markedly better. That was a big positive to take for us.”

Today (Saturday), the only other Division Three West A game today sees Neyland host Haverfordwest, 2.30pm kick off.

Milford Haven: Matthew Reynolds, Craig Thomas, Jimmy Thomas, Dan Jenkins, Dean McSparron, Lee Riley, Dan McClelland, Nathan Davies, Luke Ryan, Adam Rees, Brandon Cooper, Chris Hall, Dai Sweeny, Dan Wonnacott, David Round.

Replacements: Charlie Biggs, Dean Aldred, James Trueman, Darren Lewis, Sam Dolling.

St Davids: Rhys Evans, Josh Strangward, Gavin Smith, Emyr Wile, Berwyn Warlow, Mathew Bennett, Rhys Owen Price, Kieron Richards, Noel Lyons, Will Davies, Chris Jenkins, Rhys Tudor Price (capt), Curt Buchanan, Carl Evans, Anthony Davies.

Replacements: Rhys Morgan, Steve Griffiths, Dan Murphy, Gabe York.