THERE was no pot of gold at the end of a dramatic pre-match rainbow for Ebbw Vale, but a second priceless draw on the road in west Wales took them further away from the Premiership drop zone.

The gap between themselves and basement boys Bridgend has now grown to five points and the Steelmen also have a game in hand. Bridgend were beaten at Cardiff to add to their woes.

The Quins gave their visitors first use of the strong wind, but the Steelmen failed to make best use of it.

Some poor early handling put them under pressure in their own half and it took two strong runs by flanker Dan Hill to get them on the front foot.

Home wing Jake Newman then conceded a penalty for a deliberate knock-on as Ebbw attacked on the 22 and Rhys Jones kicked to the corner.

That set-up two attempts at a driving lineout, but on both occasions the Quins pack were up to the challenge.

From the second attempt, Jones went for a cross-kick to left wing Aaron Grabham, but it missed the mark and the chance was lost.

Having ignored early kickable penalty opportunities, Jones eventually got the scoreboard moving when he landed a 42-metre, wind-assisted shot to put the Steelmen ahead.

No sooner had they hit the front than they found themselves having to defend deep in their own 22. Steff Marshall kicked for the corner and that gave the much-vaunted Quins pack the chance to show off their driving maul skills.

But Ashley Sweet’s gritty eight stuck tight and not only frustrated their drive, but also earned the turnover to give them the chance to clear. Not that the Quins were in any mood to be denied.

They picked up a free-kick at the scrum and sent Ed Siggery charging at the heart of the Ebbw defence.

Owen Young went in to try to turn the ball over and was adjudged to have gone off his feet by the referee. He went to the sin-bin as a result.

Up stepped Marshall to level the scores, but on the stroke of half-time, Jones kicked a second penalty for the Steelmen to give them a slender lead to take into the second half.

Ebbw had been here before at a windswept Llandovery earlier in the season when they shared the points, and they put in another monumental defensive effort.

You certainly wouldn’t have thought it was a game between a team one from the top of the table against another one off the bottom.

Sweet and fellow lock Corey Talbot wrecked the home lineout, the front row dominated in the scrum and everyone tackled their hearts out.

Dom Franchi carried hard in the midfield and Jones was the master tactician at 10.

The Quins looked dangerous with ball in hand, but simply couldn’t get on top up front.

Three times they lost the ball at close-range lineouts in the Ebbw 22 and it took them 20 minutes with the wind to get on level terms with a second penalty from Marshall.

Carmarthen Quins: L Randell; D Ford, N Reynolds, J Batcup, J Newman; S Marshall, A Hemmings; K Mathias, T Ball, B Leung, J Helps, H Pugh (capt), E Siggery, L Millin, L Reynolds. Reps: O Evans, J Newnian, C Allen, S Jones, G Davies, D Smith, J Davies, C Ford.

Scorers: Quins – Pens – S Marshall (2).

Ebbw Vale: D Haymond; M Powell, R Evans, D Franchi, A Grabham; R Jones, M Flanagan; L Garrett, J Franchi, D Whiting, C Talbot, A Sweet (capt), D Hill, O Young, L Young. Reps: J Harries, M Blake, R Sevenoaks, M Ayling, A Waite, D Jones, L Williams, E Phillips.

Scorers: Ebbw Vale – Pens – R Jones (2).

Argus star man: Dan Hill (Ebbw Vale)