John Horwood marked his landmark 200th appearance for the Llanelli Warriors with a Man Of The Match performance that helped the Warriors secure a win over Tumble.

Despite the heavy conditions both teams were determined to enjoy the game and move the ball and so the tries flowed throughout. The Warriors welcomed Ben Kitson to the side and he played well on the wing whilst veteran Meredith Pugh completed his comeback with a fine game at prop.
Tumble used the opportunity to experiment, Richard Evans led a team showing a mixture of 1st, 2nds and Youth team players with many experimenting with positions.

Not surprisingly then, the Warriors looked more cohesive and James Jefferies got them off to the perfect start with a run from deep to under the posts with Simon Jenkins neatly improved. Live wire Captain Andrew Davies tore loose to follow and the Warriors already had a healthy lead.

Tumble began to settle with half back Steff Owens and James Stephens determined to move the ball they began to look dangerous Edwards doing well from full back. The next score though was another Warriors effort as Nathan Lawson scampered over and then prop Mark Lewis went over from a line out move. Sion Williams opened the Magpies account as he finished off a flowing move and Ifan Davies followed shortly after in the home teams best period. Richard Evans improved both scores to keep Tumble within sight. The Warriors had the last word when Gwilym Lewis just made the line, Rhydian Williams unlucky not to notch the conversion

With both sides having dominated a quarter each of the 1st half, the 2nd was a much more even affair. The Warriors showed plenty of grunt up front with Dai Carpenter, Darren Pollitt and Davies rucking well. Tumble continued to look to go wide and were unlucky on several occasions as Steve Rees, Dafydd Humphries and Carl Hardy all did well.

Jamie Evans sieved through for a neat try whilst Liam Tobias strong running initiated a great Warriors sweep that saw Tony Whittaker cross with his second involvement. Despite some good defence from Horwood and Day Tumble matched the Warriors in the second half. Kieran Morgan, who had looked a potent threat all game flew over in the corner and the last word went to Tumble skipper Richard Evans, the home side's best player he crashed over for the final score of an exciting match.

The game will be remembered though for John Horwood becoming the 1st Warrior to make 200 appearances. Despite being autistic and not playing until the Warriors were formed in 1995, by which time he was already in his 30s, John has been an ever present fixture and a mainstay of their lineout. Despite being 53 he shows no signs of slowing down and will be one of the first names on the team sheet next week when the club run out at Cardiff Arms Park for a prestigious match before Wales face New Zealand (Kick Off 12:00)

Llanelli Warriors: James Jefferies (Ivan Albrightson), Ben Kitson (Dylan Harris), Ben Winstanley, Alun Stephens, Ryan Morgan (Simon Day/Tony Whittaker), Jamie Evans, Gwilym Lewis, Meredith Pugh (David Carpenter), Steve Rees, Mark Lewis, John Horwood (Darren Pollitt), Andrew Davies (Cpt), Nathan Lawson (Rhydian Williams), Simon Jenkins, Liam Tobias

Tumble: Jack Edwards, Scan Williams, Steven Rees, Daf Humphries, Kieran Morgan, James Stephens, Steff Owens, Gareth Armstrong, Richard Evans (Cpt), Ifan Davies, Kiran Richards, Nathan Williams, Sean Farmer, Dion Gealy, Carl Hardy (Chris Davies, Emlyn Phillips).