SWANSEA UPLANDS 3 – BETWS 41

Betws put in a powerful pack performance with the solid front row of Gareth Jones, Captain Paul Roberts and Ian Morris putting the home scrum under pressure throughout.

Although dominating the opening exchanges territorially, Betws continued to make mistakes and were unable to break down a determined home defence. However, a series of powerful driving displays by the forwards saw a gap eventually opening for outside half Phil Saunders who sliced through to score after fifteen minutes play.

Uplands immediately reduced the deficit with a penalty from their No 10 Lewis Barry but man 0f the match Phil Saunders continued to dictate play with his high work rate keeping the home defence busy. The visiting forwards continued to apply the pressure but it was full-back Mathew Rees who increased the lead when he sprinted fully 40 metres to the line following a weak kick out of defence.

With the wind behind them in the second half, the visiting pack took full control against an overworked home defence and No 8 Dan Howells was the beneficiary of a pushover try from a short range scrum. Saunders converted for a lead of 17-3 after 10 minutes play. The pressure was maintained when prop Ian Morris powered over from a quickly taken short range penalty and Dan Howells scored his second try, converted by Saunders, from another short range scrum.

The home scrum was in complete disarray at this stage and they were forced to concede a penalty try at another retreating short range scrum. Replacement second row Cellan Harries was also causing problems for the homesters with his strong running on his league debut.

The visiting pack was further rewarded for its tireless efforts when impressive No 8 Dan Howells claimed his hat-trick from the final injury-time scrum, with Saunders converting to complete the scoring

This coming Saturday sees Betws entertaining Trebanos and they will be hoping to maintain their winning run of games and keep the pressure on the Div 5 SW leaders.