‘Pooler’ go out as Otters shine

The visitors were unable to wrest the initiative from the Otters’ pack and looked a mere shadow of the team which was once feared throughout the rugby world.

‘Pooler’ made a bright start with a good fourth minute try but lost their way as the Otters ran in four tries as reward for their superiority.

Veteran scrum half Adrian Killa and talented young full back Roger Davies were real candidates for the man-of-the-match accolade.

Both scored cracking tries and were heavily involved as Tom Bonnell and skipper Richard Davies grabbed the other home tries and Craig Jones contributed eight points as well as pinning Pooler back with some long-range kicking.

That the game went ahead was a tribute to some magnificent work by former players Bill Ridge and Tim Simons, plus committee members on the Wednesday evening, when all the snow was removed and the ground given a chance to soften.

Referee Wayne Davies was happy to make a start and although the pitch inevitably became boggy it was perfectly playable and the Otters showed their true capabilities.

Blind-side winger Dan Connolly set up the early Pooler try as he provided the scoring pass for full back Nicky Williams to slide in.

Narberth responded almost immediately when full back Roger Davies created the space for a try by winger Tom Bonnell in the clubhouse corner.

Pontypool centre Stuart Taylor put his side back ahead with a well-struck penalty but Narberth’s pack responded well, so that outside half Craig Jones levelled matters before landing a second penalty with the last kick of the period to nudge Narberth into an 11-8 interval lead.

Yellow cards for Dale Critchley and Rhys Bowen made Pooler pay a heavy price since they conceded tries in both ten-minute spells — the first from Roger Davies and converted by Jones, followed by an unconverted try by scrum half Adrian Killa as he sliced through the unprotected blind side from a scrum five.

Narberth were reduced to 13 men late on as locks Chris James and Alex Jenkins were yellow-carded, but the home defence held firm as John Leyshon, Gareth Bateman, Chris Scarf and Simon Griffiths made telling tackles.

The final nail in the Pontypool coffin was hammered home by a try from home skipper Richard Davies, converted by Jones, as Narberth celebrated victory and looked forward to finding out who their next opponents might be – and Pontypool looked a shadow of their former mighty selves.

Narberth: Roger Davies; Nick Jones; Richard Davies (Capt); John Leyshon; Tom Bonnell; Craig Jones; Adrian Killa; Sean Lloyd; Dan Smith; Justin Hughes; Chris James; Alex Jenkins; Chris Scarf; Simon Griffiths; Gareth Bateman. Replacements: Mark Heywood; Matthew Davies; Tom Slater; Richard Sharpe-Williams; Jason Jennings; Aled Harries.