Division Three West A:  St Davids 5-55 Milford Haven

IT’s three from three for Milford Haven in Division Three West A as they ran in nine tries to seal their expected bonus point win at St Davids.

As expected in the pouring rain, the contest was often scrappy but the superior finishing power of The Mariners was evident as they ran in nine tries.

The Saints failed to raise a side to go to Nantgaredig in the National Bowl last week but started like they were keen to make amends, with their pack dominating possession in the early going.

But it ultimately came to nothing and from their first real chance to attack, Milford struck as centre and skipper Jamie Lewis sauntered over from long range – and No 10 James Trueman converted.

The remainder of the half followed a similar pattern and Dan Jenkins cut over for Milford’s second try, Trueman again adding the extras, before The Saints repelled a heavy spell of pressure on their home line.

But despite winning a scrum against the head they failed to clear their lines, and eventually it told when from a driving lineout, hooker Luke Ryan touched down to make it 0-19.

The visitors promptly added two more tries before the break, full back Lee Riley going over from a slick run around move in midfield, Trueman converting, before winger Garin Gardner touched down out wide.

It was The Saints who crossed first in the second half though, as centre Gavin Smith pounced on a loose ball 25 metres out and showed a good turn of pace to reach the line.

But despite having prop Adam Rees yellow carded, Milford continued to attack from deep and it resulted in further tries for winger Craig Thomas and replacement Leigh Devonald – and Joe Kiff marked his return to action by rounding off a length of the field team move by cutting under the posts.

The home side pushed hard for another consolation score late on and prop Ben Evans was denied in the corner – but again Milford broke out from defence and Gardner finished off their last attack with a neat dummy to score.

Trueman added two more second half conversions as The Mariners maintained their unbeaten league start.

Man of the match: Ben Groves.

While he didn’t get on the scoresheet, it was flanker Groves who constantly got Milford on the front by running powerfully at the home defence, tying up defenders in the process.

He plays with real aggression and while there is little complicated about his play, he keeps going for 80 minutes and will again be a big asset to The Mariners this season.

Post-match reaction:

Anthony Davies (St Davids head coach)

“There were plenty of positives and we actually controlled possession well at times.

“We missed chances for more tries but they were way more clinical than us and punished any missed tackles.

“But there was nothing wrong with the effort and we aren’t that far away.”

Nathan Williams (Milford Haven head coach)

“It was scrappy today but we also scored some superb tries.

“There is plenty to work on as always but ultimately we’ve come away with five points – which was what we wanted.

“So it’s job done.”

Fraser’s final word:

Inevitably there were going to be mistakes out there today given the difficult conditions.

For Milford, it was far from the complete display but I don’t think that will overly concern them. Nathan Williams took the chance to give game time to squad players and with injuries and suspensions currently plaguing them, getting through with a bonus point win sufficed.

What would have pleased Williams though was the way his side counter attacked – they were happy to concede possession for long spells at times but when turnovers came, they were clinical.

St Davids however, will still come away with some encouragement.

The home pack worked hard and often had the edge at the scrum – but they currently lack a clinical edge and game management cost them dearly today. Five of Milford’s nine tries came from unforced errors and you can ill afford that against the league’s better sides.

The final stages summed up the contest. The Saints hammered away at the Milford line to no avail before eventually coughing up possession – The Mariners responded by going the length of the field as Garin Gardner rounded off the try scoring.

St Davids:  Luke Brooks, Mark Wilson, Gavin Smith, Dafydd Williams, Tanapon Phunkonsan, Matty McLeod, Harvey Godkin, Ben Evans, Noel Lyons, Dan Murhpy, Chris Jenkins, Gethin Bateman, Andrew Groves, Ryan Foot, Anthony Davies. Replacements: Carl Evans, Fraser Watson,

Milford Haven: Lee Riley, Craig Thomas, Jamie Lewis, Dan Jenkins, Garin Gardner, James Trueman, Dan McClelland, Mike Cockburn, Luke Ryan, Tristan McSparron, Chris Hall, Brandon Cooper, Ben Groves, Ryan Mansell, Mark Wonnacott. Replacements: Adam Rees, Joe Kiff, Nathan Williams, Gareth Cheshire, Leigh Devonald.