Aberaeron secured a bonus point victory during their first game of 2024 in a competitive match against a good St Davids side.

St Davids 10 Aberaeron 35, Admiral National League 3 West A

Things started positively for the visitors, with a penalty try awarded mid-way through the half following an illegal collapse of a rolling maul.

St Davids hit back shortly afterwards with a fine individual effort from their openside flanker, who evaded several defenders.

Aberaeron then took a stranglehold on the game using a mixture of solid forward carries through Ceri Davies, Geth Dafis and man of the match, Will James and also making use of the pace out wide in Matthew Harries and Dyfri Dafis.

This led to two tries before the end of the half, firstly for Hefin Williams who collected a short pass and forced himself over the whitewash.

This was followed by Morgan Llewelyn, who used his speed to outpace the cover defence and touch down following a hack through, providing a two-score lead at the break.

Following the oranges, St Davids once again rallied, and reduced the deficit through a debatable try, with five points awarded amongst protestations by defenders of the ball being held up.

From then on in though, Aberaeron began to put their stamp on proceedings, with some structured play, Steff Rees controlling things from 10, and replacements, Kavi Black, Bledd Thomas and Osian Davies injecting some fresh legs into the match.

The bonus point was secured around half way through the second period, after a series of phases near the try line, with hooker, Sion Evans crashing over near the posts.

Things were comfortable for Aeron from then on, and a shine was placed on the performance late on with the try of the match coming the way of young flanker Bruce Gaskell.

Following another mazy run by Llewelyn, Gaskell was on hand to take the offload and finish well. The try was converted by Rhodri Jenkins, whom again was faultless of the tee with a 100 per cent success.

The victory ensured that Aberaeron ended the day top of the table, though the teams around them have games in hand.

Seasiders 44

Seagulls 21

The Seagulls put in a spirited performance away in Tenby, with the 12 players whom made the journey making the club proud of their efforts. Despite the loss, there were tries for captain Geth Hughes, Bobby Jones and Jac Parry. Steff Bwtch Jones kicked the extras.

Another positive day for the club, with two senior fixtures played, and they look forward to another two next week.