Pembroke RFC must have feared they’d have problems breaking down the Llangennech defence when they looked at the team-sheet and spotted that a certain Shaun Edwards featured in the opposition ranks.
But it turned out that it was Llan’s attacking game that needed to be watched as they ran in 16 tries in a 106-10 victory.
The Shaun Edwards in question turned out to be Llan’s openside flanker and captain rather than the famed defence coach of the same name.
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And the impressive No. 7 started the ball rolling with the first touchdown before Jordan Saunders got in on the act in the home fixture, the No. 8 finishing with four tries, while scrum-half Tom Morgan and fly-half Luke Davies chipped in with two five pointers apiece with Davies also slotting 13 conversions for a personal haul of 36 points.
For Pembroke, these are challenging times.
The club sit at the bottom of Division 1 West in the Admiral National League with eight defeats from as many games. They have leaked more than 60 points and nine tries a match on average while scoring just 15 touchdowns themselves over the campaign.
But Llangennech had nothing but praise for them after Saturday’s game.
“I have to give them a lot of thanks,” said Llan president Richie Phillips.
“They have been struggling this year but they honoured the fixture, travelling up in cars, and came back to the club, which a lot of teams don’t do any more. They had their food and chatted with our boys. While they couldn’t drink because a lot of them were driving, we have total respect for them for making what’s a 100-mile round trip.
“They deserve a big pat on the back for having the balls to come up and play the match.
“The referee seemed to blow up eight minutes or so before full time, but so what?
“The main thing was the match took place.”
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Hundred point wins are still a rarity, but Phillips said the game at community level wasn’t in great shape in Wales: “Maybe we should be asking what’s happening to a lot of clubs? We’ve had a number of games postponed this season and we are not alone. People on the Welsh Rugby Union might think grassroots rugby is excellent, but it’s not. The stop-start season hasn’t done anything for players.
“When I first got involved with Llangennech 30 years ago there were 40 or 50 boys training. Now, good training for a lot of clubs is 20.
“That said, we have a great atmosphere in our club. It was great to see on Saturday with the boys back there, led by our captain.
“To score hundred points against any sort of opposition shows that we are doing plenty right.
“But, like I say, Pembroke deserve credit.”
Llangennech were playing their first home game since October 8. They led 59-0 at half time. Centre Luke Alderwick crossed for a coast-to-coast try for Pembroke and supplied the rest of their points with the boot, with their squad of only 17 players doing what they could in serious adversity.
But the tries kept coming. ”It’s proving a difficult season,” said Pembroke secretary Ian Martin.
“But all is never lost.”
It's an admirable attitude to take.
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