Title race set to go to wire

Apr 14 2008 by Our Correspondent, Western Mail

THE Division One West title race looks set to go to the wire after runaway leaders Tonmawr and Carmarthen Athletic each collected maximum points against Dunvant and Waunarlwydd respectively.

Tonmawr managed five tries in their keenly-fought 37-23 win. Scrum-half James Donovan led the way with a brace for the home side, while Adrian Phillips, Gareth Morris and Hywel Davies also went over in the win that maintains Ton’s one-point and one-match advantage at the summit.

Jim Morgan was the main beneficiary of Carmarthen Athletic’s dominance over lowly Waunarlwydd as he raced over for a hat-trick of tries in a 63-10 hammering.

The two Dans, Rogers and Gravell, were also on hand to claim a try double each, while there were also scores for Alan Mason, Matt Skipson and Anthony Rees. The defeat was Waunarlwydd’s 10th on the bounce and looks to have rubber stamped their relegation fate.

Third-placed Narberth made light work of what looked like a tricky away day at Cwmlynfell, coming through with a comfortable 40-20 victory. Prolific winger Tom Bonnell added another two tries to his season’s tally, while Andrew Jones, his namesake Nick and Steve Martin added further touchdowns.

Elsewhere, in a thrilling encounter at Llangennech, Bonymaen’s Richard Cunniffe agonisingly missed a penalty attempt with the last kick of the match as his side were pipped 20-19, while Whitland also edged a tight affair with Corus, prevailing in the end 15-11.

In the East, Caerphilly remain in pole position after triumphing 28-27 in an epic encounter with Newbridge at Virginia Park.

Wide man Steffan Sankala scored two vital tries for the Cheesemen, while Chris Thomas and Nathan Gittings also got in on the act, while for Newbridge, Thomas Edwards grabbed a brace.

Pontypool remain on Caerphilly’s heels after a resounding 39-3 victory at Llanharan. Pooler’s six tries were shared around with Gary Wilkes, Dan Robinson and Dan Phillips all going over in the first half, while Nicky Coughlin, Dai Brake and Nathan Preece followed suit after the break.

The result means Pooler are still a point behind their rivals, but they do have two games in hand going into the business end of the campaign.

There were wins too for Llantrisant, 16-7 over Rumney, Newport Saracens, who defeated Blackwood 19-12, and Bargoed, who came through 24-22 in a cracker at Beddau.