WEST Rugby round up- A win for Crymych, draw for Tregaron, but narrow defeats for Aberystwyth, Aeron, Fishguard and Lampeter.
Division 1 west
Crymych 41 Yr Hendy 14
Crymych made further progress up the table following a convincing win over Yr Hendy and if the Preselimen continue in the same rich vein of form they could well finish in the top three.
Rhys Davies and his men have made steady progress this season following a difficult time last term where they spent the last few months fighting relegation. They won’t have that worry this time around.
It was the visitors who came out on top in the corresponding fixture earlier in the campaign but the Pembrokeshire men took the game to the opposition from the outset and especially up front where the likes of hooker Carwyn Rees, stand in number eight Aled Harries, tight head Steff Harries and second row Dion Gibby making the hard yards and allowing busy scrum half Dafydd Phillips to set off his backline.
Tries eventually followed with hooker Rees bagging a couple both converted by outside centre Phillips who also chipped over a penalty and after the break tries from number eight Harries, full back Rhodri George and winger Nick Bevan with a pair killed the game off. For Hendy Lee Thomas and Jake Newman crossed for tries converted by Rhidian Morris.
Dunvant 12 Aberystwyth 9
Mid table side Dunvant added their eighth win of the season when they edged out Aberystwyth by just three points at Broadacre.
There was very little to choose between the teams in the opening half with the hosts leading 7-3 thanks to a try from blind side flanker Ben Davies and a conversion from left wing Adam Williams Parry. The only score from the visitors came from the boot of fly half Steff Rees.
Dunvant crossed for a second try after the break when second row Ollie Beck crashed over and despite a further couple of penalties from the Ceredigion side through Rees the hosts managed to hang on for the win.
Division 2 west
Pontarddulais 31 Fishguard & Goodwick 24
Two bonus points was the Seagulls reward for digging deep and coming back from a 28-0 deficit at the break away at Pontarddulais.
The visitors made another of their now infamous slow starts and they conceded tries to Bont flanker Jordan Davies, centre Jordan Hughes, with two and winger Scott Simmons, all converted by Aled Stone.
Stone added a penalty after the break before the visitors clawed their way back into the game with tries from hooker Jordan Jones, replacement Scott Riches and two tries from skipper Chris Shousha.
However time ran out for Fishguard and they had to settle for a couple of losing bonus points.
Milford Haven 12 Aberaeron 7
This much anticipated clash between the two form teams in Division 3 West A proved to be as tense affair and as expected it was a very tight battle at The Observatory Ground.
This hard fought top of the table clash was eventually settled by a second half try from Lee Riley which secured a 12th straight league win for The Mariners, whose destiny now appears in their own hands as they seek the title and promotion to Division Two West.
This narrow defeat leaves Aberaeron’s title hopes depending on favourable results by other teams to make up the deficit.
A decent crowd packed in and they were treated to a physical opening quarter, with Aberaeron maximising field position but unable to break the home rear guard. Milford slowly gained parity and they were first on the scoreboard , crossing in the 23rd minute when Dewi Williams charged towards the line, and from the ruck that followed scrum half Dan McClelland threw a dummy and sniped over. Winger James Trueman landed the conversion.
That seemed to spark Aberaeron though and centre Ollie Sawyer twice broke through in midfield but was thwarted by good cover defence, and No 10 Rhodri Jenkins was uncharacteristically off target with a penalty attempt to leave the hosts 7-0 ahead at half time.
With the result still in the balance in the second half, it was Aberaeron who had the upper hand and a concerted effort resulted in wing Dyfrig Dafis pouncing on the loose ball for his second try of the campaign. With Jenkins converting bringing the scores level the result was very much in the balance and it was finally decided when a quick penalty by the hosts created the opportunity for Lee Riley to cross in the corner.
The final whistle signalled a huge roar from the home crowd with Aberaeron left to reflect on a brave but fruitless performance with only a losing bonus point to show for an effort that deserved more.
Llangwm 7 Tregaron 7
Tregaron made the long journey down to Llangwm pay as they came away with a draw but the hosts were guilty of missing out on some very good scoring opportunities especially in the first half.
The Wasps enjoyed much of the early pressure and went ahead when centre Rob Neil powered his way over for a try which was converted by George Evans. The Ceredigion outfit hit back midway through the second half when speedy winger Ieuan Rees scampered over and impressive stand off Huw Bonner added the all important conversion to square the match at 7-7.
Both teams pushed hard for a late score but the game ended in a stalemate.
Division 3 west B
Trimsaran 12 Lampeter 8
A late score also denied Lampeter who cruelly lost this game with a last minute try against division high fliers Trimsaran.
It was Trimsaran were quickest out of the blocks and they ran in for a converted try after only five minutes but Lampeter bounced back when Emyr Richards crossed the whitewash and a further penalty by Huw Thomas put Lampeter ahead by a point and they dominated possession for long periods.
However they were undone in the dying minutes when the hosts grabbed their second try of the afternoon to steal the verdict.
Lampeter were very unlucky to lose out as for much of the game they were the better team but the never say die attitude from Trim saw them sneak through for victory.
