Narberth and Wanderers serve up try fest
Narberth 51
Wanderers 28
“It’s a great pity that this fixture will disappear from the fixture list because of the WRU reform of the league structure. From our point of view it’s a game full of entertainment, good rugby and great hospitality. Everything community rugby matches should be!” commented secretary and ex-chairman Alyn Humphreys following the game at Narberth.
“After a poor first half totally controlled by Narberth we gave them a real scare at the start of the second half” commented manager Mark Gould “Great to see Will Jameson back after a long layoff and Tom Hughes put in a performance after being asked to play out of position”
“We haven’t got the experience to control a game as of yet and that showed in the second half after we had got back into the match” Commented Martyn Fowler “but great to see the team spirit growing on the bus trip back”
On a grey but dry day down West the home side took early advantage after landing a penalty from halfway 3-0. The Wanderers had a chance to level it up soon afterwards but a Tommy Taylor penalty drifted just wide. The game settled with the home side happy to kick deep forcing the visitors to play from their own 22 and Narberth clearly had the better of the aerial exchanges in the first quarter. After the first scrum on 11 minutes a clear advantage was established by the home side and they were able to alter their approach. A second penalty gave them a 6-0 lead as the Wanderers struggled to gain any foothold in the home side half of the field. A rare foray with forwards and backs handling well did give them some heart but the Narberth defence was strong and they were soon able to kick deep and force the visitors back onto the back foot. Not surprisingly the first try of the game followed when a penalty was awarded near the Wanderers line and the home side scrum forced a penalty try 13-0. Feeling the confidence growing the Narberth attack became more expansive and soon afterwards they followed up with a second try working the ball out wide and straight from the kick off the Wanderers defensive chase was poor and the home side were able to race away and add a third try making it 25-0 with plenty of time left in the first half. Against the run of play the Wanderers faithful then had something to cheer. After some loose juggling of the ball on halfway Max Wootton popped up with possession and he found himself in space. He galloped clear and as the defence loomed he lobbed a pass to Will Trethewey who raced away for the visitors first score. Taylor added the conversion 25-7. The half then ended with the home side re-establishing the ascendancy and securing the bonus point before the sides went into the break with Narberth comfortably ahead 30-7.
Any feeling that the Wanderers may have stayed on the bus in the first half were soon changed as the visitors came out of the box firing. Another home side deep kick was fielded by Will Adams Jones and after the ball was recycled they went on the attack. After a couple of carries in midfield Morgan Williams set Tom Hughes away. He outpaced the defence and raced away from 45 meters to score. Taylor converted 25-14. The visitors certainly had their tails up and with Shaun O’Rourke and Max Wootton carrying well, for the first time in the game they took the play to the opposition. Further inroads took the ball deep and once again Morgan Williams was on hand to provide a scoring pass for Jac Williams, who returned after being lost in the Beddau wilderness for 4 months, to score the third try. Taylor converted again 30-21. At this stage a comeback was a possibility and both sides started to ring the changes. Sadly, for the visitors the revival was short lived. The game started to break up and Morgan Hughes, on as a sub, popped up and led a kick chase downfield. Narberth recovered well and the ball was cleared up field. The Wanderers scrambled back but on trying to clear the ball was charged down and gathered for a fifth try 37-21. Despite a lot of structure lost from the game the pace remained high and there was certainly more of a contest. Narberth extended their lead with another converted try to make it 49-21 and then a 7th try after a scrum near the Wanderers line took them to 51-21 as time ran out. Testament to the spirit in the visitors they kept going to the end. Reward for all the hard work put in from Morgan Williams and Max Wootton saw a bonus point secured right at the end of the game. A quick penalty by Williams and more carries by him took play deep and Wootton popped up and crashed over (after a 90 metre carry – His words????) to secure the 4th try. Taylor converted. Final score an emphatic win for Narberth 51-28.
Wanderers’ scorers
Tries: Will Trethewey, Tom Hughes, Jac Williams, Max Wootton.
Cons: Tommy Taylor (4)
Management Man of the match: Max Wootton
Massiv Man of the Match: Morgan Williams
PIcs: https://flic.kr/ps/c7gzd