Huw S Thomas reports:

In front of the S4C cameras, Llandovery came very close to causing the upset of the season in this Premiership semi-final play-off at the Gnoll but in the end had to be satisfied in giving hot favourites Neath quite a scare.

Neath have already won the Championship and are on course to add the play-off title but the Drovers matched them in all departments in a game that was a credit to all concerned.

Neath coach Patrick Horgan was full of praise for the Drovers. "We have seldom at the Gnoll been challenged as much in determination, commitment and ambition and we were mightily relieved to get through a very tough challenge." said Horgan. "We had just the edge in physicality when it was needed but it was awfully close and I thought the game great entertainment for both sets of spectators and the TV audience."

For departing Drovers coach Rob Appleyard it was vindication of all the good work he has put in at Church Bank over the last two years.

"That was a great effort by the boys – all 22 of them – and I go back to the Scarlets knowing that there is tremendous potential at Llandovery to continue their great progress over the last 24 months" said Appleyard. "I thought we played the more entertaining rugby but could not quite finish off the chances we had."

"The Drovers must continue to be ambitious on and off the field and with a place in next year’s British and Irish Cup assured, there are exciting times ahead. Lyndon (Lewis) and new coach Euros (Evans) will be up to the challenge. I am sure."

Outstanding defence and a great try from Llandovery College wing George North had the Drovers 10-6 up at the break.

The Llandovery pack never yielded an inch in the ferociously fought contact area and also tackled like dervishes in the loose to frustrate Neath ambition.

Prop Peter Edwards, lock and skipper Josh Turnbull and the back-row of Nio Aiono, Dean Fitzgerald and Lloyd Phillips were everywhere and had huge support from a back division which in the image of feisty scrum-half Gareth James mowed down anyone in an Welsh All Black shirt.

Fly-half Cerith Rees kicked a penalty in answer to two from home pivot Gareth McCarthy and pinpointed a cross kick for the classy North to step inside the cover and sprint home for a converted try and a 10-6 interval lead.

A third McCarthy penalty and one from wing Alec Jenkins plus a converted try by Wales wing Nathan Brew looked to have put Neath in the driving seat but a Rees penalty and a grand opportunist try by wing Matthew Jacobs silenced the home crowd.

Trailing by a point, the Drovers sensed victory but the idiosyncratic refereeing of James Jones hardly helped their cause and there was some dispute as to whether McCarthy had grounded the ball under the Llandovery posts for the vital converted try that made it 26-18.

The Drovers ran and handled without stop in ten minutes of added time to force themselves into promising positions only to see Neath hang on by their laces to the hardest of hard fought victories.