WRU Championship: Narberth 16-11 Maesteg Quins 

Narberth allowed themselves to be sucked into a war of attrition and in the end were grateful for two late Quins’ forward passes before recording a win that leaves them second in the table.

The Quins had clearly come to assert themselves and some of their players were in the ear of referee Chris Oliver from the outset, and the result was a stop-start game where The Otters took an early lead via a Ianto Griffiths penalty.

But it was soon cancelled out as The Quins enjoyed a dominant spell where they notched a Tadge McGluckin penalty and an unconverted try by Geraint Evans.

They missed other chances as a flamboyant dive by Alex Griffiths over the whitewash saw him lose possession – and Kieran Watkins was halted right in the corner.

Narberth huffed and puffed as Jack Price always posed a threat and Richie Rees led a back row where Tom Powell and Dewi Williams also made played well.

The Otters had few clear-cut try-scoring chances but as the Quins blocked possession at rucks they were penalised and Ianto Griffiths landed two penalties to give his side a 9-8 interval lead – and rapped the woodwork with another attempt.

The third quarter saw the home side begin to make headway as Price and Gethin Gibby made runs and it was the latter who finally claimed The Otters’ try after a run up the touchline following some quick hands – and sped to the posts for Griffiths to land the simple extras.

But they failed to turn more pressure into further points and with experienced centre Lee Ronan directing operations alongside skipper Andrew Healy, playing at No 8, The Quins began to sense an opportunity and opted for a penalty to take them within seven points at 16-11 - and might even have grabbed victory in those final minutes.

But the Otters held out as their bench also did well – and now can look forward to another interesting tussle when these teams meet again on April 27th in what is the only match left of another successful season for Narberth under Sean Gale.

Narberth: Ianto Griffiths, Gethin Gibby, Jack Price, Jake Jenkins, Yannic Parker, Jonathan Rogers, Rhys Lane, Daniel Jacobs, Rhodri Owens; Gareth Harvard, Alex Jenkins (capt), Roy Osborn, Dewi Williams, Tom Powell, Richie Rees. Replacements: Bradley Davies, Dan Smith, Kyle Hamer, Lewys Gibby, Llew Jones.