Fixture

Not knowing quite what to expect was the general view of the visitors and their supporters at the outset in this round 3 tie against the holders and the nervousness showed. A string of penalties conceded by the visitors clearly illustrated this and they were lucky to be unpunished by some wayward kicking from the home side’s scrum half Ben Williams.

Gradually however the game settled down and St Clears were first to find their way onto the scoreboard with a well worked try from outside half Shane Morgan, following good work from full back Will Davies. An easy conversion for scrum half Geraint Jones producing a seven point lead after 15 minutes.

Burry Port hit back ten minutes later with a well organised scrum producing a try from flanker Llyr Sims but again the kicking was off target.

With half time approaching, a penalty for the visitors saw Geraint Jones slot home the kick and the visitors found themselves in a thoroughly deserved seven point lead looking the likelier to proceed to the next round. On the stroke of half time however, influential number 8, Carwyn Davies was consigned to the sin bin with a yellow card in a decision which arguably proved to be the turning point in the game, for deliberate knock on (surely one of the stupidist rules in the book!).

In the absence of pack leader Davies, together with a revitalised home side after the break, Burry Port were able to gain the upper hand up front and within five minutes of the restart a push over try for hooker Iwan Roberts and an easy conversion for Williams pushed them into the lead.

Geraint Jones hit the crossbar with a penalty kick from half way shortly afterwards and this together with an immediate reply of a try from second row Richard Parker, following a defensive mistake, seemed to take the wind out of the visitors sails.

A successful penalty from Williams and two further tries from hooker Iwan Roberts and wing Luke Ruddall, within five minutes, from a dominant Burry Port side at this stage effectively settled matters, producing a final decisive score of 34 to 10 leaving the visitors to lick their wounds and reflect on where it all went so wrong.