Betws 2nds 22 Swansea University 19 

The seconds managed to maintain their unbeaten start to the season when they triumphed in this entertaining fixture at Heol Felin.

The early entertainment was provided by the team management as they strived to produce a team to take the field.  Eventually with Chris Jenkins back from College for a first start in 2 years, the return of ‘Big Jim’, Paul Jones and Alan Thomas out of retirement and Steve and Rob nicked from the Uni team a XV was formed.

The University side, made up mainly of freshers, were playing their first match which meant both teams took a while to settle.  Luckily for Betws Steve Student did well at fly half gaining good field position and some neat forward forays saw veteran war horse Gwynfor Evans plough over for a try.  Simon Jenkins slotted a ‘Leicester special’ conversion, off both posts before going over.

Betws continued to have the edge in the scrums and despite Chris Jenkins throwing in being almost as bad as Gwilym’s they continued to go forward.  Good driving play saw tries for Chris Jenkins and Alan Thomas.  The University side had their moments though, displaying a quick backline and Betws were indebted to Steffan France for a try saving tackle on the line.

The start of the 2^nd half saw Betws continuing to have the upper hand and Nathan Murray got the teams 4^th try to put them 22 nil ahead.

As the half progressed a combination of the ref insisting that the fly halfs swap, the Students starting to get the benefit of some decisions and the fact that some of the home team were 15 - 20 years older than their opponents, saw the Uni side get back into the game.  Some poor defensive alignment allowed them to make big inroads and they scored at regular intervals as the game drew to an exciting climax.  Betws were again grateful to Steffan France who managed to get his hands almost under the ball when it was over the line and also some late arrivals in the form of Greg Thomas and Richard Stuart.

Leighton Rees moved up to prop for the final minutes of the match and in fact Betws were pushing for a score when the final whistle went.  Both sides would have been pleased with aspects of their performance and the crowd and the referee were well entertained.

There was more to follow though with the debutants on the Uni side having to strip naked and dive onto the pitch in a initiation that may have put many people off the idea of a university education.

Betws: Rob Student, Steffan France, Nathan Jones, Lee Moulten, Luke Stratford, Steve Student (Dai Williams), Nathan Murray, Alan Thomas (Richard Stuart), Chris Jenkins, Gwilym Lewis (Cpt), Gwynfor Evans, Seth Jones, Simon Jenkins, Leighton Rees, Paul Jones (Greg Thomas).