A SECOND half rally was not enough to prevent First Division Cross Keys suffering an emphatic Principality Cup fifth round 39-23 points defeat by Second Division leaders Narberth at Pandy Park on Saturday.

Keys, starved of possession and attacking positions throughout by superbly-knit opponents, pulled back from a 45th-minute 27-6 deficit to trail only 27-23 after 67 minutes.

And had they not been pulled back by the referee for a previous knock-on when wing Gareth Davies was in full flight for the line after an interception, they would have been ahead.

But that proved the end of their fightback and two late tries secured Narberth a more realistic scoreline and a thoroughly deserved success.

Cross Keys were virtually outplayed throughout. Their lineout was a shambles with countless throw-ins missing their target.

They were in disarray in the scrums until the introduction of Darren Crimmins and particularly the switching of Matthew Veater from No 8 into the second row changed matters late on.

They suffered numerous turnovers, even though their visitors got away with illegalities on the ground before being penalised more regularly in the second half. And with the communication at half back poor and first half kicking weak, they could never break the stanglehold Narberth put them in.

An early Gethin Worgan penalty was cancelled out by tries by left wing Andrew Jones, full back Wayne Jones, a constant threat with his incursions into the line, and outside half Simon Daniels.

Had not Daniels suffered an off day with his kicking, it would have been much worse. Within minutes of the restart a superb 20m rolling maul and swift release sent centre Andrew Bowen over for Daniels to convert and an embarrasing outcome for Keys seemed certain.

But Worgan's third penalty was followed by a quick tap penalty by flanker Andrew Gibbs, a superb burst by scrum half James Pizey to the 22 and a pass to put Gareth Davies over. Worgan converted and as Keys won a little possession and managed to up the tempo for the first time, he also converted a Veater try after another quick tap.

But still Keys made too many unforced errors (twice they kicked penalties for position close to the line only to lose the line-outs) and Narberth regrouped.

After eighty minutes No 8 Gareth Bennette broke from a scrum to dash 20m to score and in injury time centre Aled Davies grabbed his second try to seal matters. Back row men Veater and Gibbs were about the only Keys men to do themsleves justice and on this showing the team will do well to escape a relegation fight in the new year.

*PICTURED: Cross Keys fullback Gethin Worgan (right) tackles his Narberth counterpart Wayne Jones.