Captain and hooker Andrew Pritchard, full-back Lawrence Thomas, left wing Sam Jones and number eight Rhys Leonard were the Bony try scorers, with Thomas also successfully converting all four of them.
Emlyn’s try scorers were scrum-half Mike Jones, number eight Alex Williams and blindside flanker Calum Evans. Full-back Ellis Payne sent over two conversions and two penalties.
The victory for Bonymaen moves them up three places from 12th to ninth in the table while Emlyn, with a losing bonus point, are now eight points from safety after this – their fourth consecutive league defeat.
It also means Llangennech, who had their scheduled clash at Newbridge postponed due to a frozen pitch, drop into the bottom two.
Frozen pitches also meant leaders Pontypridd’s trip to Bargoed, Cross Keys against Merthyr and the game between Ystrad Rhondda and Cardiff Met were all postponed.
However, it was game on at The Gnoll where Neath and Brecon shared two points apiece after playing out a 21-21 draw.
In what was the first competitive outing of 2025 for both sides, scrum-half Rhodri Cole’s first half try for the Welsh All Blacks, converted by outside half Steff Williams, was cancelled out by Tomos Davies’ score for Brecon. James Dixon added the extras to level matters at the break.
Second half tries from prop Owen Ford and right-wing Sam Jones, that were both improved by Dixon, then put the visitors 21-7 to the good.
But Neath hit back with two more tries of their own through Nathan Orrells and Ellis Lewis, both converted by Williams, to seal a draw. The result moves second placed Neath three points behind Pontypridd albeit having now played a game more.
Premiership clubs will now hope for better weather this weekend, with Ponty scheduled to host Llangennech at Sardis Road. The reverse fixture in September narrowly went the way of the Valley Commandos 14-13.
“We’ve had some real tough encounters and new tests like Llangennech and Bargoed away in the cup where we had to find a way to win, coming out on the right side of the scoreboard by one point,” said Ponty skipper Cally James.
“We are starting to mature as a group and we have made winning a habit, as well as having the maturity and pride to keep sides out where we didn’t concede a point to Newbridge and Newcastle Emlyn.
“This is testament to the work that the boys are putting in throughout the training weeks, as well as the coaches driving standards both in the training week and on a Saturday afternoon.
“From a personal point of view, I hope we can continue with the form we showed in the back end of 2024; we showed some real character, whilst playing some exciting attacking rugby and a hard-edge defensive system.”
