Neyland 29 Pembroke Dock Quins 12

For the first 50 minutes of this eagerly awaited local derby, the sizeable crowd that descended on Neyland Athletic ground would have been disappointed. Neither side was able to gain the ascendancy, the game was littered with dropped passes and wrong options and in short it was a dire spectacle.

Thankfully, midway through the second half, the game increased in tempo and turned into a well-contested match which both sides can take heart from.

Going into the match, Neyland would have been the clear favourites as they had form on their side. The previous week they had a big win over Aberaeron while the Quins went down badly against Penygroes. However, form seems to go out of the window as far as derbies are concerned and this game was no exception as both sides struggled to get their act together.

From the outset neither side gave an inch upfront and it was obvious that this game was going to be won in the backs. Despite coming under a bit of pressure at the start, it was the Quins backs who made the first real sortie up field as Gareth Lewis took the ball after it was released along the line, but sadly for him the move came to nothing.

Also, it was the Quins who had the first opportunity to score as they were awarded a kickable penalty but nerves or lack of form seemed to get the better of Roy Davies and he fluffed a golden chance to put his side into the lead.

This seemed to shock the home side into playing some rugby and they produced a good move when Greg Miller hit the line at pace and had a chance to speed over in the far corner. Frustratingly for the home side, he cut back inside right into the mass of the covering defence and again the game remained scoreless.

The first try of the game came after 30 minutes when from a drop out 22, the Quins collected the ball, spread it wide and created an overlap for talented flanker Gareth Scourfield to score. Unfortunately for the visitors, Davies missed the conversion but the try was the catalyst that the game needed for both sides and the spectators.

Neyland came back almost immediately and some neat interplay between the forwards and backs stretched the visiting defence enough for powerful No8 Matthew Williams to race over from just over 22 yards.

Nicky Greggain missed the conversion, but the try seemed to give the All-Blacks confidence and they played the better rugby before the whistle was blown for half time.

The second half started at a much better pace that the first and Neyland continued where they left off, with an immediate score.

They showed the virtue of keeping the ball in hand and supporting the ball carrier, they made the ball available at rucks and mauls and from a number of phases, flanker Colin Picton was on hand to score after Miller again entered the line at pace.

Greggain struck the conversion well this time and suddenly the home side were seven points to the good.

With their tails up they were able to play rugby and almost scored again but they lost the ball close to the line.

Their third try came courtesy of a piece of individual brilliance by scrum half Mark Riley who had the presence of mind and the speed to break down the blind side and score in the corner for a sensational try.

Minutes later Miller again showed the virtue of straight running when he entered the line, beat a few would be tacklers and scored.

Whether or not this try made them sit back a little remains to be seen but the Quins came back at them and were able to score a try by Roy Davies who dived under the posts following a period of sustained pressure close to the Neyland line.

It was no more than the visitors deserved for never giving up but it was Neyland who had the last say when Picton capped a fine game for him, quickly peeled off a lineout, fooled the defence and crossed the line virtually unchallenged for the try of the match.

PICTURED: Nicky Greggain sets his backs moving for Neyland