Championship: Tata Steel 15-28 Narberth

The dead-eye place kicking of Nick Gale helped Narberth to an away win over Tata Steel as the full back slotted six penalties - and although he was off target with two conversions it mattered little because The Otters withstood serious pressure to secure a great start.

Head coach Sean Gale will note the fact that his team had three yellow cards in the final quarter but can also reflect on a solid defensive display when at times under big pressure.

Gale junior fired over his first penalty after five minutes before Tata replied with a try four minutes later from winger Dan Howells – only for two more kicks by Gale to follow before home full back Liam Popham added three points.

There was still time for another Gale shot on target to give The Otters a 12-8 interval lead – and he added two more three pointers in the 41st and 55th minutes, only for Amir Jiwawalgi to score The Steelemen’s second try soon after.

But with skipper Richard Rees leading by example alongside back row colleagues Tom Powell and Roy Osborne, The Otters bounced back with tries via replacement hooker Dam Smith and Joe Hutchings.

So Narberth have made a good start to this tough league campaign but they face an even bigger test next Saturday at Ebbw Vale to play in the first round of the WRU Cup.

Narberth: Nick Gale, Elliot Dawe, Joe Hutchings, Jake Jenkins, Dafydd Pritchard, Jonathan Rogers, Rhys Lane, Daniel Jacobs, Rhodri Owen, Tom Slater, Jake Baker, Alex Jenkins, Rich Rees (capt), Tom Powell, Roy Osborn. Replacements: Dan Smith, Tom Kaijaks, Steff Phillips, Lewys Gibby, Ianto Griffiths.