Morriston Alekhine continue to struggle in their efforts to get out of the bottom half of the table. This week it was the turn of White Knights B to subdue their efforts. Overall the teams were evenly matched so perhaps the draw that resulted was to be expected. Two wins apiece plus a single draw gave each team a point and although the Morriston team remain in fifth place it did take them a bit closer to overtaking White Knights C in fourth. On Tuesday White Knights A took on Castell Nedd Emperors at the Bryncoch Rugby Club, a venue that the Knights are known to be very unhappy going to. In a clash between teams at the top and bottom of the table the result was unlikely to be too much of a surprise even if the Knights were not at full strength. However, the Emperors did manage to obtain draws on the top three boards and only their losses on the bottom two gave the Knights the win 3½-1½.

Nidum kept up the pressure on White Knights A with a victory at home to De la Beche A. Vlad Stejeroiu (De la Beche) maintained his unbeaten record since joining the League by winning against Adam Musson in what has been described by one spectator as the game of the season. Ian Jones lost to Francisco J Marin Marin after an inaccuracy but the other three games went the way of the Neath team. The 3-2 win ensures that Nidum stay just one point behind White Knights A but with a match in hand.

There were two matches in Division 2 with the results making the title race as close as it could possibly be. Both matches featured Morriston teams. Morriston E were the unfortunate victims of a dominant De la Beche B side. The 5-0 whitewash is the second in a row for the Morriston team with the result taking De La Beche B back on top. There is now just 1 point separating the top four teams. It could have been the top five teams but Morriston C were held to a draw by the Merlins even though the Merlins turned up a player short. With four or perhaps five teams all evenly matched there is still no way of knowing which one will eventually triumph.

It is a different situation in Division 3. Leaders Brunel were at home to De la Beche D and although the Sketty team put up a stiff resistance they eventually went down 4-1 . Marc Asensio completely outplayed Albert Easton on board 3 to save the whitewash but the team win almost certainly means that Brunel will have their name engraved on the Tom Hughes Cup for the third time. Only three catastrophic losses or defaults, coupled with three outstanding wins from Morriston French, will deprive them.

28/02/2020