Maesteg Celtic 29 Builth Wells 24

BUILTH Wells staged a thrilling second-half fightback only to fall short at division leaders Maesteg Celtic.

The match looked all over at half-time but the hosts had burnt out and it was the inform Bulls who dominated the remainder of the clash.

The Bulls made the trip in fine fettle following five successive wins but were caught out early as wing Sam Mines darted over for an early try, converted by Matt Harris, to give the Celts the lead.

A fine passing move led to a second try on 20 minutes with centre Lee Arthur crossing for Harris to convert and leave the Bulls facing an uphill struggle.

It looked all over by half-time when another slick passing move culminated in an unconverted try for second row Mark Hillier Rees.

The Bulls reacted to an interval rollicking from coaches Ben Duggan and Gethin Davies and dominated the second-half.

Tom Samuel drove over for a try before back row Lewis Bowen powered over from close range following good work in the loose by Wayne Morris.

Maesteg responded with a try from Kristian Jenkins after good work by Harris to seal a bonus point.

However Builth soon regained their dominance with a try from centre Gethin Lewis to ensure the visitors regained the impetus.

With Builth growing in confidence another powerful maul saw Ben Pugh go over to set up a thrilling finale but despite laying siege to the home try line the hosts dug in to hold out for a hard-fought victory.

BUILTH: Luxton, Pugh, Jerman, G Jones, Oakley, Morris, Bowen, Mills R Davies, G Jones, Bagget, Samuel, G Lewis, A Jones, Jenkinson. Reps - T Davies, R Jones, J Davies, D Davies, G Davies.