Match Report:

Third placed Loughor had the fright of their lives in this nine try extravaganza before finally edging out a committed Magpie side. The points went to Loughor but the Magpies earned the plaudits from a partisan crowd.

Loughor's strength was in their enormous pack which dominated the early phases and Tumble's front row of Matthew Jones, James Jones and Clive Morgan competed well against their bigger opponents. Tumble defended resolutely and some fine tackling by Paul Davies and second row Aled Lewis, held the line firm.

Loughor missed a simple penalty after six minutes play but made amends when their rampaging forwards were able to work the ball upfield and, despite some last ditch tacking by Hewitt and Matthew Lemon, a converted try by Smiriglia gave the home side a seven point lead.

The Magpies backs were sharp despite having little ball and winger Gareth Jones was a dynamo throughout the game. His tackling and workrate typified Tumble's spirited defence. A couple of mazy runs by Jones created problems for Loughor but they increased their lead after twenty minutes when centre Saunders danced through midfield to score a converted try under the posts.

With Hefin Dumbrill and Paul Davies winning lineout ball, Lemon used centres Jeremy Davies and the stocky Ben Matthews effectively and Loughor had to guard against some smart running angles. With five minutes remaining of the first half, scrum half Dwayne Evans linked with the awesome Derek Lewis who made ground into home territory. Dumbrill soared high to pinch the ball, and with flanker Rhys Jones on hand, up popped wing Cerith Humphries to stretch his legs. His cross kick beat the cover defence and Hewitt was on hand to get the try which he converted. He restart saw the ball not ten metres, Tumble opted for the scrum but were penalised and full back Davies kicked the resultant penalty from halfway.

The second half started explosively as Loughor's wing Howells took the ball at full speed and beat Tumble's defence. Weighing in at over 15 stone only the diminutive but stalwart Gareth Jones stood between him and the score. Jones floored his opponent and this spurred on the visitors as a minute later they won good ball. Taking play upfield Hewitt fed Rhys Jones who passed to Jones and his running was rewarded with a try in the corner which Hewitt converted via bouncing the ball off the crossbar.

Tumble grew in stature and again Gareth Jones made a break, linking with forward James Jones, he marshalled his support and the rangy Cerith Humphries got the score for Hewitt to add two points. Tumble were now playing an expansive game of rugby which Loughor had no answer to. Loughor's strength lay in the forwards with a pop up and drive tactic but tackles by Matthew Jones and his substitute Huw Jones meant that ground gained was hard.

The Magpies now had to defend as Loughor edged their way back into the game through some fierce mauling. Closer and closer they got to the line until the drive broke up and Steve Wake crashed over for a converted try. With Tumble restarting, the ball was gathered on Loughor's 22 and quickly sped wide, Tumble were committed and the overlap worked for Loughor's wing Hedges to run in from half way.

Jeremy Davies and Matthews worked hard in midfield and with Tumble able to compete at forward against some tired opponents, a bonus point if not a win was on the cards. On the hour however, Wake once again made a break and he gave the scoring pass for Smiriglia to get his second. To their credit, the Magpies fought back and flanker Aled Lewis and Derek Lewis disrupted and gained good ball which backs used. Rhys Jones and second rows Dumbrill and Aled Lewis combined to take play into Loughor territory where a penalty was won. Quickly taken by Dwayne Evans he found Hewitt who chipped the ball over the on rushing defence, for Humphries to score his second try.

With play well into injury time, another run from Gareth Jones was held up short, Derek Lewis and Hefin Dumbrill linked with Hewitt and Jones and a penalty 38 metres out was awarded to Tumble. Lewis asked about time, the referee said there was time for a lineout, but Lewis, mindful of a second bonus point , gave the ball to Hewitt who calmly converted the penalty.

Two points were in the bag but, as Tumble received the restart, the referee penalised the visitors for crossing in midfield and full back Davies kicked the 22 metre penalty to deny Tumble the extra bonus point.

Steve Lewis