Division Three West A: St Davids 10-0 Pembroke Dock Harlequins

It wasn’t pretty, but they won’t care in St Davids.

After a predictably hard battle with Pembroke Dock Harlequins, in adverse weather to say the least, the Saints grabbed their first win of the season with second half tries from centre Gavin Smith and winger Luke Brooks.

And yet, the fact two backline players grabbed the winning scores was ironic, after a fierce (and scrappy) battle up front that left the game scoreless for more than an hour.

Chances were few and far between in the first half as the rain teemed down, although away hooker George Bellermaine went close, bundled into touch by the corner flag after pouncing on a loose ball from a lineout.

A box kick from No 9 Elliot Lewis also caused panic for the home defence, but Josh White was adjudged to have been in front of the kicker as he hacked on – and the Quins were also held up on over the Saints line before failing to capitalize on the five metre scrum that followed.

St Davids had moments of pressure themselves but a failure to retain the ball in attack cost them dear - firstly following an outside break from full back Rhys Morgan, before a series of forward drives came to nothing and Lewis duly turned defence into attack with a sharp break upfield.

But the best chance came from the final play of the half after a burst from flanker Tommy Reynolds, outstanding for the home side, set up an overlap but Morgan’s scoring pass to Brooks drifted forward.

The second half followed a similar vein, and the Saints missed the chance to put three points on the board as outside half Matty Mcleod’s was off target with a wide angled penalty.

To their credit, the Quins kept trying to play despite the worsening conditions, and full back Rhys Bradney and centres Tom Doyle and Harry Owen all threatened with runs in midfield that ultimately came to nothing.

But as the half wore on, it was the Saints who tightened a grip on thing and after 62 long minutes, the first try came. Albeit in messy circumstances.

Player coach Anthony Davies led a series of charges towards the line, but the Quins had seemingly repelled the danger when the ball went loose, only for outside half Aaron Cookson to have his clearance kick charged down by Mcleod and Smith dropped on the ball over the line to score.

The conversion was off target and the Quins responded with a spell of pressure in which No 8 Hywel Baker featured heavily, but again, the home pack’s dominance at the scrum proved crucial as they won a penalty 10 metres from their own line.

And with eight minutes left the second score came after No 8 Davies and centre Jack Jones had taken turns to charge down the blindside, and Mcleod duly risked a cross field kick that bounced up into the hands of Brooks and the winger did the rest from close range.

The visitors did finish on the front foot though and were cruelly denied a losing bonus point from the game’s penultimate play, as scrum half Lewis seemingly sniped over but the ball was dislodged as he went over the line.

It meant the Saints celebrated a first league victory in almost 10 months, while for the Quins, the winless start to the season goes on.

Anthony Davies (St Davids player coach)

“It feels good.

“We’ve had possession and control in games all season but not turned it into the points. Today we got the tries we needed.

“The boys dug deep, and we’ll definitely take it.”

Tom Doyle (Quins captain):

“It was a tough game in even tougher conditions.

“We didn’t take our chances when they came and there is a lot of things we need to put right. But fair play to St Davids they defended their line well.”

Man of the match: Gethin Bateman (St Davids)

It wasn’t a day for the purists, and therefore fitting that a front five player was deemed man of the match.

Young flanker Tommy Reynolds was everywhere for the Saints, while scrum half Lewis was a threat around the base for the Quins, but it’s Bateman who gets the nod.

On a day when the set piece was always going to be crucial, his handling in the lineout was flawless. And both in the ball carrying stakes, and the tackling ones, he featured heavily for 80 minutes.

His play was more solid than spectacular. But on a day like today, solid was exactly what was needed.

A case for the defence:

This was never going to be a classic, and in truth, the difference was St Davids took two of their chances, and Pembroke Dock took none of theirs.

But the home defence also withstood heavy pressure and showed guts when it mattered, and three times the Quins were held up over the line. On each occasion, they were second best in the scrum that followed.

Under new coach Neil Machin the Quins are clearly working towards an open brand of rugby, but today was not the day for attacking from deep and they paid the price.

St Davids not only held out at crucial times, but played the conditions better. Their win was narrow one, but it was deserved.

The way forward?

I said beforehand whoever lost this was in for a long few weeks.

The Saints will be delighted, two seasons ago they endured a winless campaign, and there is always a huge sense of relief whenever they get a victory on the board.

Player coach Davies has a basis to work with – a solid set piece. Whether they can adapt their game to cope in faster paced contests remains to be seen.

Inevitably, Machin and co will be downhearted by the result. They have a young side and are undoubtedly building, but at some stage that must to be turned into a win or morale will drop.

On a dry day, this would perhaps have been a different story, and I have no doubt the Quins will win games this season. But they will feel they’ve missed a chance here.

We'll all drink to that:

Forget the result, there was something heartening about two local sides, both at the lower end of the WRU scale, defiantly battling like hell in torrential weather when most superior club teams had called games off.

A difficult contest to referee was also well handled by Ross Grieve, and the game in Wales needs up and coming referees more than ever right now.

I'll probably be scorned for encouraging alcohol intake now, but there were drinking contests between the two sides after, and the club house had an old school, social feel about it. Indeed, an away side staying on these days is rare.

Our grass roots game isn’t dead yet you know.

 

St Davids: Rhys Morgan, Tanapon Phumkonsan, Luke Brooks, Gavin Smith, Jack Jones, Luke Brooks, Matty Mcleod, Harvey Godkin, Will Davies, Rhys Price, Dan Murphy, Rhys Tudor Price (capt), Gethin Bateman, Dan Jenkins, Tommy Reynolds, Anthony Davies. Replacements: Ben Evans, Andrew Groves, Noel Lyons, Fraser Watson, Chris Jenkins.

Pembroke Dock Harlequins: Rhys Bradney, Will Nicot, Harry Owen, Tom Doyle (capt), Elis Williams, Aaron Cookson, Elliot Lewis, Chad Monk, George Bellermaine, Darren Potter, Ben Gibby, Martin Cully, Josh White, Liam Scourfield, Hywel Baker. Replacements: Garth Spure, Carl Williams, Joe Grey, Ian Osborne, Phil Hughes.

Referee: Ross Grieve.