Burry Port 29, Glais 19
On a sunny afternoon at the Memorial Park, Burry Port hosted Swansea Valley side Glais in a great game of rugby in the first round of the SWALEC Bowl.
It was plain to see that Glais were happy to throw the ball wide and looked to counter attack at every opportunity. It was the Blacks however who dominated the contact area and created early chances with good running from the back line and if it wasn't for the last ditch defence from the visitors, it could have been game over at the 20 minute mark.
The Blacks crossed for 2 tries by but Glais held their nerve, elected for passive scrums and created good opportunities, hitting back with 2 of their own before half time.
The second half saw the Blacks take a stronghold on the game and exerted pressure on the visitors through direct running and good support play. In a fast and furious match, Burry Port tried to maintain the pace of the game and with Man of the Match and Captain Daniel Etteridge's excellent distribution at 10 it was always going to be an uphill struggle for the visitors as they tried.
Forwards man of the Match Richard Parker capped a fine display with a try, with Mathew Gower, Adam Rudall and Owen Thomas also crossing for tries, and with 9 points coming from the boot of Scrum Half Ben Williams, it ended 29 - 19 to Burry Port.
There were a number of good performances, but supporters were left a little disappointed that the Blacks didn't take all their chances in the game. If the Blacks are to become a serious threat in this competition they will need to be more clinical in finishing off their opportunities as they progress towards the latter stages and try to keep their Millennium dream alive.
Burry Port 41, Tumble 21
Playing in their brand new kit with near perfect conditions at the Memorial Park, The Blacks secured a bonus point home win against a much fancied Tumble team and climbed up to second place with a game in hand. Tumble, who have made a good start to their division 3 West B campaign, contributed to an exciting game, scoring 3 tries themselves but found it difficult to contain a back division who were determined to run the ball at every given opportunity. 4 first half tries secured a bonus point within 30 minutes and it was looking like the floodgates were about to open, until the visitors stepped up their defensive game.
Simon Bevan was a cornerstone of the pack and contributed at scrum and lineout while the game was played at a hectic pace. Stefan Powell, on debut, orchestrated the back division well from 10, while Duane Evans gave a direct option at centre. Player coach Gareth Gravell can be happy with the 6 tries from Oliver Dunleavy, Luke Rudall, Owen Thomas (two), Steffan Roberts (two), 2 conversions and 2 penalties from Stef Powell and 1 conversion from Ben Williams, making it a well deserved 41 - 21 victory.
The Blacks travel to Trimaran for their next league game and are expecting a tough match at their local rivals.
