Brecon took the long journey west to Narberth for the latest of their relegation battles.

Following their first home defeat of 2026 at the hands of Newbridge the previous week, Brecon desperately needed a positive improvement if they were to stand any chance of registering a first-ever win at the home of the Otters. For both teams, this was an important game. Brecon, rooted at the foot of the Premiership with 16 points, were a further 16 points behind Narberth, but with eight games to play the home side were still not safely out of the relegation zone.

The game started poorly for Brecon, who played down the slope in the first half. After five minutes, a missed tackle led to a home converted try, which was quickly followed by a well-taken penalty. To Brecon’s credit, they hit back, and as half-time approached, they deservedly led by 14 points to 10. That leading margin could have been greater had it not been for line-outs which failed at critical times, handling mistakes, and a failure to take opportunities. Then, with the last play of the half, Brecon conceded a soft try to hand Narberth a lead.

The second half was fairly evenly contested, but again the line-out, while better than the previous week, still failed to deliver consistently good ball when attacking positions had been created. Narberth made Brecon pay for their failings with two clinical tries created by the clever and accurate boot of their outside half, Jonathan Rogers. Brecon’s only reply was a penalty before their scrum started to get the upper hand. Off that phase, they scored a final try to earn a losing bonus point, with the final score favouring the home side by 27 points to 22.

The opening exchanges of the match were fairly even, with both sides favouring an expansive game on a dry, sunny afternoon but with a cold, gusting wind. Brecon’s line-out started well, with Ben Pritchard winning good ball at the front. The scrums were evenly balanced, but Narberth took the lead off a Brecon mistake and some clinical finishing. The play started with a Brecon kick towards the home 22. Full-back Ashley Sutton, on his 100th appearance for the Otters, immediately counter-attacked. He broke past the first tackle and then stepped past the next defender before feeding wing Dean James, who passed back inside when covered. Sutton’s pace did the rest, and he made the conversion easy for outside half Jonathan Rogers.

Within minutes, Rogers increased Narberth’s lead with a penalty following a number of Brecon errors, where they lost a line-out, kicked out on the full, and conceded a penalty. Things looked ominous, but Brecon responded brilliantly. In the gusty wind, Narberth kicked an attempted clearance straight out, and off good line-out possession on the Narberth ten-metre line, Brecon attacked. Outside centre Tom Richards broke clear of the first line of defence and, as the cover closed, he delivered the inside scoring pass to scrum-half Geraint Workman. Jake Newman converted, and Brecon were back in the game.

Within minutes, they took the lead. Narberth tried to go wide near the halfway line, and inside centre Joel Price read the play perfectly. He picked off the flat pass and raced through to score under the posts. Again, Newman converted.

For the greater part of the remaining twenty minutes of the half, Brecon created the best chances. After a brilliant break in midfield by left wing Llewelyn Bowen, busy flanker Matthew Williams was held up over the try line. Brecon then missed a penalty and an attempted drop goal sailed wide, before tight-head prop Henry Hibbs made a great run down the right flank. He was halted just short, and Brecon conceded a penalty at the ruck just two metres short of the try line.

With the half drawing to a close, it looked as if Brecon would go into half-time with a slender lead, but they failed to close the half out. An aimless kick ahead was dropped when under no pressure, and Narberth were given a platform to launch an attack. Rogers put in an accurate wide kick/pass. Both wingers challenged for the ball but failed to gather. Brecon were first to the loose ball, but in panic they failed to claim it cleanly, and burly wing Dean James picked up the scraps and scored to give Narberth a one-point lead at the interval.

Once again, Brecon conceded an early score. A Joel Price run created a promising position; however, an overthrown line-out gifted the ball to Narberth. They then won a penalty and kicked for a line-out on Brecon’s 22. Their long line-out and peel worked perfectly, and off quick ruck ball they went blind, with Rogers putting wing Dean James in for his second try, which Rogers converted.

Brecon responded and earned two penalties, thanks to some great work by flanker Ioan Edwards, who had an outstanding game in both offence and defence. The first attempt at goal was missed, but Rhys Davies landed the second. The game then entered a loose period, and at one point tempers flared. As things settled, Brecon’s midfield of Rhys Davies, Tom Richards, and Joel Price created chances but just could not open up the stubborn home defence. By contrast, Narberth were clinical. With ball on halfway, Rogers put in a lovely chip and regathered. Tom Richards pulled off a great tackle to stop a try initially, but the damage was done. Off quick ruck, Dean James received the ball in space and scored to open up a ten-point gap.

With time running out, Brecon weren’t finished. They put Narberth under severe pressure. Brecon earned a penalty and a line-out on five metres. They knocked on at the line-out to lose that opportunity, but at the five-metre scrum they won a penalty. With the scrum now having the upper hand, they opted for a scrum on five metres. As Narberth were committed to hold the scrum, Brecon released, with Sean Horobin feeding Rhys Davies going blind, and he put wing Ben Griffin in for a try.

With the last play, Brecon claimed the kick-off and initially carried well but then decided to kick ahead. The ball was gathered without a challenge and kicked to touch, leaving Narberth with the victory and Brecon a losing bonus point.

The good news which accompanied the final whistle was that Brecon Athletic won their Division 5 Cup semi-final by defeating Tondu Athletic in a closely fought match, winning 20 points to 15. They will now face rivals Bargoed Athletic in the Cup final at the Principality Stadium on April 19, kick-off 11am.