Aberaeron win 29-12 at Haverfordwest in Three West A

For the first 40 minutes it was an uninspired contest, for the 40 that followed Aberaeron came to life.

And the visitors will travel back to Mid-Wales tonight with a deserved bonus point win in the bag having scored five tries against a Haverfordwest side that were erratic for large parts.

A bad day for The Blues was further compounded with an injury to skipper Matthew Clarke, who was stretchered off in the first half, while Lee Summons also limped off late on.

The game started in scrappy fashion and home full back Craig Barnett missed the first chance to put points on the board as he was wide with a 40 metre penalty. Moments later Aberaeron No 10 Rhodri Jenkins made him pay by landing three points from closer range.

And it was then that Clarke went to ground seemingly holding his knee, and it forced a reshuffle in the Blue pack as Ben Llewellyn came into the second row with Kyle Williams going to No 8.

Haverfordwest were still clearly trying to push the pace in the early going but their play lacked accuracy, and three times attacks broke down via the ball going loose. Further frustration followed after Barnett threatened with a clever chip and chase that yielded a kickable penalty, but it was duly reversed as the No 15 piled into someone after the whistle.

Midway through the half it was Aber who took command, as for the first time they managed to inject pace out wide and a series of phases ended with flanker Aaron Lewis being high tackled by Summons just yards from the line.

The home scrum half saw yellow for his troubles, and from the penalty that followed Aber went for a scrum and it paid dividends, as full back Morgan Llewellyn cut a perfect angle off Jenkins to go under the posts. The No 10 added the simple extras.

From kick off The Blues responded and a series for forward drives forced a close range penalty of their own but synonymous with their first half display, they opted for the lineout and failed to gather it cleanly as the chance went begging.

Aber second row Gethin Hughes was then also yellow carded and Barnett was just wide with a penalty attempt bang on half way. Then from the final play off The Blues sensed a chance to attack from deep but centre Dan Richards, who had punched holes effectively in the opening stages, saw his chip ahead drift straight into touch.

But Steve Barnett’s side did appear to start the second half with more intensity and purpose as a strong run by Williams led to a penalty that Barnett put in the corner, but again the ball went loose in midfield and at the other end Aber centre Dafydd Llewellyn, who grew influence as the game wore on, broke free down the right only to be halted by Josh Atherton’s cover tackle.

Moments later the Mid-Wales side did strike though as slick handling put winger Rhodri Thomas free down the left, and although he was denied by a crunching Barnett tackle, his off load found Llewellyn who in turn slipped in Jenkins to score.

The introduction of centre Gareth Owens added bite to The Blues and he promptly pulled a try back, latching onto a perfectly weighted chip from No 10 Mikey Jones and going under the posts for Barnett to convert.

Hopes of a Haverfordwest comeback were soon stifled though from another classy piece of play from Dafydd Llewellyn, who went clean through in midfield before giving the scoring pass to Thomas out wide. Jenkins nailed the wide angled conversion.

The winger had a lot more to do for his second try after Aber scrum half Dylan Morgan had fielded a loose kick and fed him out wide, with Thomas then cutting in and spinning out of Barnett’s last ditch tackle to score by the posts. Jenkins again did the honours.

The game finished with a consolation score for The Blues though as Owens, a constant threat late on, wriggled free on the left and after being hauled down just short of the line, gave the offload to Ben Llewellyn to crash over.

But by then the visitors had a bonus point win wrapped up, and they remain unbeaten since September 1st and that opening day loss to Llanybydder.

Aberaeron coach Aled Davies: “I’m absolutely delighted.

“Haverfordwest are a good team and not many sides will come here and get a bonus point win.

“Our defence was superb but when the game did open up we were clinical. We have a big pack at Aberaeron but we’ve been trying to develop out back play as well and today was exactly the kind of display we’ve been aiming for.”

Man of the match: Dafydd Llewellyn.

It took almost 50 minutes for this game to open up, and when it did, it was Aberaeron centre Llewellyn who stood out.

His brother Morgan had already cut over for a first half score, but in the second period it was Dafydd who reveled in the extra space, playing a big hand in two tries and injecting pace every time he had the ball in his hands.

If your defence tiring and getting ragged, he’s not the man you want running at you.

Fraser’s final word:

At half time, there appeared little to write home about. Both sides made errors going forward and frequently failed to secure their own lineout ball, and Morgan Llewellyn’s well worked try aside, there had been little by way of high quality.

But Aberaeron have a big pack and eventually, they ground the home side down. No 9 Dylan Morgan was sharp in outside half Rhodri Lewis, they someone composed and deadly accurate whether kicking out of hand or at goal. They bid their time and when the game opened up, they were clinical.

They can mix it up front, and threaten behind, and I wouldn’t rule them out in the fight for promotion.

On the contrary, you only had to look at the Haverfordwest players leaving the field to gage their disappointment. Although Kyle Williams was outstanding up front their performance was disjointed and over the 80 minutes, five times I noted they lost the ball in the Aberaeron 22. Yes, that may have been down to good defence, but you can ill afford to be that wasteful against the stronger sides.

The Blues have scored tries aplenty of plate and have the weapons to hurt teams, and the second half cameo of Gareth Owens was one positive to emerge for Steve Barnett.

But the Haverfordwest coach is nothing if not honest, and he will know that in their two biggest games this season, his side have come up short.

Haverfordwest: Craig Barnett, Rhys Baker, Gareth John, Dan Richards, Josh Atherton, Mikey Jones, Lee Summons, Rhodri Harries, Jamie Zambas, Terry Lovell, Karl Busch, Kyle Williams, Jack Clancy, Morgan Layton, Matthew Clarke (capt). Replacements: Ashley George, Matthew Clayton, Ben Llewellyn, Gaz Owen, Jamie Barnett.

Aberaeron: Morgan Llewellyn, Dyfrig Dafis, Dafydd Llewellyn, Ollie Sawyer, Rhodri Thomas, Rhodri Jenkins, Dylan Morgan, Sion Evans, Alex Danton, Gethin Hughes, Lewis Tomlins, Aaron Lewis, Dan Lewis, Tudur Jenkins. Replacements: Huw Wozencraft, Deian Morgans, Bleddyn Thomas, Gethin Dafis, Jason Freeman.

Referee: Steve Bancomb.