Division Two West

Tycroes 18 Haverfordwest 17

Playing a rearranged fixture, Haverfordwest took an early lead when outside-half Steve Williams slotted over a penalty – and things appeared to be going from bad to worse for the homesters when a Dean Bromham clearance kick was charged down his opposite number who scampered over in the corner, and then converted his own score.

Tycroes hit back on 26 minutes when on-loan Number 8 Craig Radcliffe powered his way through after a scintillating break by scrum-half Matthew James.

James was brought down short of the line, but the ball was played wide for Radcliffe to steam over. Carwyn Richards added the extras.

The hosts drew level before the break with a well-taken Richards penalty after a dominant home scrum – the Tycroes pack rejuvenated by the return of Richie Williams and skipper Dylan Cooper.

The Pembrokeshire side recaptured the lead just after the interval when Darren Salmon crossed and Williams converted.

The remainder of the match was controlled by the home pack, who pounded the visitors line without success.

Despite the visitors conceding penalty after penalty, the referee deemed a yellow card unnecessary, and the decisions of the man in the middle only served to further frustrate the hosts.

Richards finally slotted over a penalty with 15 minutes remaining to reduce the deficit as further infringements from the visitors saw the hosts playing all the rugby – the final ten minutes spent almost exclusively inside the Haverfordwest 22 as the hosts opted for repeated scrums in a bid to power their way through.

With time running out, yet another Tycroes scrum on five-metres was steered towards the try-line when a stray visiting foot was spotted by the official who wasted no time in awarding the penalty try.

Richards missed the extras, but the hosts had enough in the bag to claim the win.

Tycroes travel to Llanybydder next week.