Swansea booked a place in the second round of the WRU Cup with a comfortable 27-10 win over Narberth in a fiery affair at St Helen’s.
It started well for the home side when centre Jedd Evans charged down a kick on the Narberth twenty-two, but he surrendered possession, bringing a premature end to a Whites attack.
A horrendous handling error by fly half Ianto Griffiths on his own twenty-two gave the home side a surprise attacking platform. An infringement at the scrum by the visitors gifted Swansea a penalty and full back Luke Griffiths kicked his side into the lead.
Griffiths made a break through the middle and found flanker Andrew Cooke in support, but a handling error saw the move break down.
A clever chip through by fly half Foard Cooksley caused panic in the Narberth defence and a kind bounce favoured winger Andrew Claypole, who raced clear to score. Griffiths converted.
Griffiths found touch deep inside the visitors’ twenty-two with a penalty and lock Matt Dodd rose high to collect the lineout. The Whites tried to get the ball out wide, but Cooke intercepted and cleared.
Scrum half Rhys Lane made a break on the wing to set up a rare Narberth attack, but he threw a pass forward and the move came to an end.
Whites scrum half Chris Morgans was caught napping at the base of a scrum and Lane stole possession. Centre Kieran Jones was dangerously tackled by winger Gareth Rees, who was promptly yellow carded. Griffiths chipped to the corner, but the resulting maul was successfully held up by the Whites’ pack.
The Whites’ grabbed a second try against the run of play when Morgans took a quick tap penalty and sent impressive centre Mike Evans through for a well taken try. Griffiths converted.
Half-time:- Swansea 17 Narberth 0
Shortly after the interval Jedd Evans cut through the Narberth defence to set up an attack, but the supporting lock Sam Kiley lost possession forward.
A clever grubber kick into the Swansea twenty-two forced Griffiths to run the ball out of play in the face of the advancing winger Jack Price. However, a mistake at the lineout gave Swansea some respite.
Replacement lock Tom Powell raced down the wing and earned a penalty when the Swansea defence killed the ball. Lane took a quick tap penalty and the forwards inched towards the line. Centre Jake Jenkins was held up on the line, but Swansea hooker Ifan Phillips was sent to the sin bin for deliberate offside.
Narberth opted for a scrum five and Lane tried to go alone, but was stopped in his tracks by Morgans, and a mistake by Griffiths brought an end to the move.
A well weighted box kick by Morgans almost resulted in a try for Rees, but full back Nick Gale tracked back to defend.
In a moment of madness prop Greg Cunniffe was shown a red card for a punch on opposite number Tom Kaijaks, leaving Swansea with 14 men for the remaining quarter.
The visitors took full advantage with a rolling maul that resulted in a try for flanker Rich Rees. Griffiths missed the conversion.
Swansea were soon back on track and grabbed a third try when Phillips broke clear of a ruck to score. Griffiths converted.
The visitors looked to hit back immediately and a chip through by replacement scrum half Matthew Morgan was well collected by his advancing backs. Narberth stayed patient and got quick ball out for Price to score in the corner. Griffiths missed the conversion.
Phillips made a superb break through the middle and chipped ahead for the chasing number eight Charlie Davies, but replacement full back Jonathan Morgan managed to take the ball over his own line.
Narberth were penalised for an off the ball tackle and Griffiths made sure of victory with a late penalty goal.
Next up for Swansea is a home match against Bridgend, while Narberth travel to Bedlinog.
Full-time:- Swansea 27 Narberth 10
Swansea:
Tries:- Andrew Claypole (14), Mike Evans (40), Ifan Phillips (67)
Cons:- Luke Griffiths (15, 40+1, 68)
Pens:- Luke Griffiths (6, 80+3)
Yellow cards:- Gareth Rees (30), Ifan Phillips (49)
Red cards:- Greg Cunniffe (61)
Narberth:
Tries:- Rich Rees (62), Jack Price (73)
Match facts:
Venue:- St Helen’s, Swansea
Weather:- Partly cloudy, 7C
Man of the match:- Mike Evans
Attendance:- 350
Swansea team:
15 Luke Griffiths
14 Andrew Claypole (rep: Paul John 49-63)
13 Mike Evans (rep: Jake Randall 80+4)
12 Jedd Evans (rep: Nathan Trowbridge 64)
11 Gareth Rees
10 Foard Cooksley (rep: Mitchell Walsh 70)
9 Chris Morgans (rep: Tom Ham 62)
1 Jack Powell
2 Ifan Phillips
3 Richard Murphy (rep: Greg Cunniffe 49)
4 Sam Kiley ©
5 Matt Dodd (rep: Jay Williams 52)
6 Jon Vaughan (rep: Duane Eager 62)
7 Ben Davies
8 Charlie Davies
Replacements:
16 Paul John
17 Mitchell Walsh
18 Greg Cunniffe
19 Jay Williams
20 Duane Eager
21 Tom Ham
22 Jake Randall
23 Nathan Trowbridge
Narberth team:
15 Nick Gale (rep: Jonathan Morgan 57)
14 Jack Price
13 Kieran Jones
12 Jake Jenkins
11 Will Lewis
10 Ianto Griffiths
9 Rhys Lane (rep: Matthew Morgan 68)
1 Daniel Jacobs (rep: Bradley Davies 57)
2 Rhodri Owens
3 Tom Kaijaks (rep: Jake Simms 79)
4 Ryan Bean (rep: Tom Powell (10)
5 Alex Jenkins ©
6 Rich Rees
7 Andrew Cooke
8 Steffan Phillips
Replacements:
16 Bradley Davies
17 Tom Slater
18 Jake Simms
19 Tom Powell
20 Harry Phillips
21 Matthew Morgan
22 Jonathan Morgan
23 Jonathan Rogers