Gowerton 17 - Betws 59

Gowerton put in a valiant effort to disrupt the visitor’s set-piece but they had little else to offer and the power and pace of promotion chasing Betws proved too much for them in this Division 5 South West fixture. Betws opened the scoring after 5 minutes when full back Mathew Rees broke through from short range, but in a scrappy opening, it was mid-way through the half before they increased their lead when centre Gary Davies scored after powerful driving by forwards Gavin Thomas and Dan Howells.

Mathew Rees again created the overlap to sprint 25 metres to the corner for his second try and a wind assisted penalty from half way by centre Gavin Davies increased the lead to 18 – 0. Gowerton eventually got on the scoreboard with a penalty by wing David Jones, but a powerful scrum saw the visiting forwards drive forward enabling wing forward Gavin Thomas to score the bonus point try on the half hour. Gavin Davies converted from the touchline to make it 25 – 3.

The home back division were always under pressure and a spilled pass in mid-field was picked up by the impressive Gavin Davies who sprinted 40 metres to the try line giving Betws a healthy 30 – 3 lead at half time.

Betws outside half Phil Saunders increased the lead early in the second half by weaving his way through the defence to score, but home centre Gary Humphries hit back after his forwards had created the opening, with the conversion making it 35 –   10. Soon after, Gavin Davies added a smartly taken drop goal and brother Gary then added his second try after second row Joe Adams had again supplied good lineout possession. Mathew Rees added the conversion.

The home forwards continued to battle however and were rewarded with a try by prop Mike Morse when he peeled off an impressive forward drive. The conversion made it 45-17 with 10 minutes remaining. The visitors finished strongly though with replacement centre Cellan Davies showing his experience by rounding the defence with a 40 metre touchline run to score. Another mid-field turnover allowed Betws to spread the ball wide with prop Ian Morris lurking on the wing to grab the final try. Mathew Rees again added the conversion to make the final score 59-17.

The Betws Second XV also produced an impressive performance in clinching the Llanelli & District Section B title by beating second placed Newcastle Emlyn 25 – 0 at Maes-y-Felin. Owain Williams snatched the vital third try in the last minute ensuring that they also clinched the trophy for scoring the most tries.

The First XV has two tough away fixtures this week when they travel to Pontardawe on Tuesday and Trebanos on Saturday. Bonus point wins are needed from both games if they are to continue their impressive run in their quest for promotion