The first of the two eagerly awaited holiday clashes between the two Tywi Valley clubs went the way of the Quins - and deservedly so, writes Huw S Thomas.

They showed the bigger appetite for the local fight, out-muscled the Llandovery pack and had the staying power to win the game with a penalty three minutes from time.

Both sides scored four tries and the difference at the end of the day was fly half Elis Price’s seven points with the boot – two conversions and a penalty – against Ioan Hughes’s three conversions.

Llandovery have to wait until Boxing Day to try and get their revenge but on this performance will find it difficult to impose their authority on the confident Quins.

Llandovery stay in second spot in the SRC table but with the Quins, Cardiff, Ebbw Vale and Newport all winning, the ambition of a top four finish is far from being realised.

There were a dozen or so promising young Scarlets in action on both sides but it was the old heads in the Quins side that stamped their authority on the game.

Former Scarlets favourites Steff Evans, and flanker Shaun Evans plus veteran lock Lee Taylor had outstanding games with 12 times capped full back Evans running elusively, kicking long distances and always popping up in the right place in defence.

Evans and Taylor were at the heart of a pack that blasted themselves into ruck and maul and although Drovers flanker Stuart Worrall managed a few turnovers, the Quins had a firm edge at the contact area.

The Drovers too often fell foul of the whistle of referee Keith David, looked shaky at the scrum, made some poor tactical choices and their all court, all dancing game was disrupted by a flying blitz defence.

They kept a close eye on the two Llandovery danger men – full back Jac Davies and scrum half Lee Rees - and were well drilled by former Drovers coach Lyndon Lewis in shutting down space.

There was little in it in the first half after two tries from home wing Callum Woolley had been trumped by one from flanker Dan Gemine - converted by Hughes - and another by wing Aaron Warren.

There was some controversy in the build up to the Warren try when Steff Evans was yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on before Warren crossed wide out.

The argument was made that Warren would have scored in a better position without Evans’s intervention and that referee David should have considered a penalty try worth seven points, two more than for a lone try.

12 -10 down, the Quins upped the tempo and the increasing forward pressure fashioned converted scores for centre Gabe McDonald and stand-in scrum half Jac Howells.

Stung into desperate action and throwing caution to the wind, the Llandovery backs got two converted tries from wing Corey Baldwin and centre Adam Warren to put the visitors surprisingly 26-24 ahead.

The Drovers even had a chance to sew up the game with a few minutes to go but an overthrow at a close range attacking line-out went astray and the Quins pack worked its way downfield.

With two minutes to go, Llandovery were offside in midfield and Price became the hero of Carmarthen with an angled penalty to earn a famous win for the Quins.

The better side on the day won.

A very big crowd is expected at Church Bank crowd on Friday when then Drovers try to wreak heir revenge on the Quins

Tries: C Woolley (2), G McDonald, J Howells

Cons: E Price (2)

Pen: E Price

Tries: D Gemine, Aaron Warren C Baldwin, Adam Warren

Cons: I Hughes (3)

Carmarthen Quins: S Evans; I Badham, I Davies, G McDonald, C Woolley; E Price, J Howells; R Fawcett, L Morgan, I James, I Bean. L Taylor, I Richards, L Millin, S Evans (capt)

Replacements: L Jones. G Williams, C Allen, I Wood, B Williams, O Williams, K Edwa\rds, T Williams

Llandovery: J Davies,; C Baldwin, Adam Warren R Jones, Aaron Warren; I Hughes, L Rees (capt); J Hughes, H Thomas G Hawley, W Evans, J Powell, D Gemine O Davies, S Worrall

Replacements: C Lewis, J Morse, B Watkins, H Holden, G Evans, E Sheldon, J Maynard, G Macdonald