Division One West: Whitland 34-0 Pembroke

The Pembrokeshire derby at Parc Llwyn Ty Gwyn turned out to be a one sided affair – with Whitland producing a dominant display to beat struggling Pembroke 34-0.

It was the home pack that laid the foundations for the win with some strong running off half backs Jac Howells and Nico Setaro, with skipper Marc Jones and No 8 Jack Mason in particular outstanding with their ball carrying. The second row pairing of Courtney Bowman and Raff Williams also stood out.

But despite this, five of the six tries came via the backline with centre Gino Setaro running in a sparkling hat trick, while wingers Ollie Hughes and Geraint Jones and prop Michael Ryan also crossed. Setaro added two conversions.

For Pembroke, who suffered the disruption of losing key No 10 Toby Smith an hour before the game, there were good displays from young back rower Harry Phillips and centre Lewis Davies while Andrew ‘Peewee’ Davies stepped out of retirement to solve their scrum half crisis.

But overall it was a harrowing 80 minutes for the Scarlets, who remain bottom of the table ahead of a massive home game with Penclawdd on Saturday.

“We started ok but leaked soft tries,” said forwards coach Kyle Davies.

“And overall we were out-muscled.”

Whitland head coach Gareth Bennett meanwhile, was delighted with his side’s display.

“The forwards were outstanding. I thought we were dominant from the first whistle.”

Whitland: Jonathan Thomas, Geraint Jones, Gino Setaro, James Stephenson, Courtney Bowman, Nico Setaro, Jac Howells, Aaron Mayne, Marc Jones, Michael Ryan, Courtney Bowman, Raff Williams, Ryan Morgan, Jamie Lewis, Jack Mason. Replacements: Tomos Evans, Dan Evans, Ifan Lewis, James Thomas, Ben Kirk. 

Pembroke: Luke Hartland, Shaun Dalling, Tom Harding-Jones, Lewis Davies, Geraint Powell, Kyren Grey, Andrew Davies, Lloyd Davies, Seamus Wiseman, Johnny Palmer, Dom Colman, Will Edwards, Alex Thomas, Jack Smythe, Harry Phillips. Replacements: Shane Gwyther, Scott Powell, Barry Alderman-John, Rhodri WaltersWhitland: Jonathan Thomas, Geraint Jones, Gino Setaro, James Stephenson, Ollie Hughes, Nico Setaro, Jac Howells, Aaron Mayne, Marc Jones, Michael Ryan, Courtney Bowman, Raff Williams, Ryan Morgan, Jamie Lewis, Jack Mason. Replacements: Tomos Evans, Dan Evans, Ifan Lewis, James Thomas, Ben Kirk.