Brython Thunder went down to a 36-17 defeat to Glasgow Warriors in their Celtic Challenge opener at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday afternoon.
The Welsh side crossed for three tries and were well worth the 12-12 scoreline at half-time, but Glasgow pulled away in the second half.
Centre Ellie Tromans, fly-half Hanna Marshall and skipper Jess Rogers all crossed for tries for the home side.
Ffion Lewis brought all her Welsh experience to the fore and pulled the strings at scrum-half, while Wales wing Amelia Tutt, drafted in from Saracens, put in a big defensive shift.
It was Thunder who opened the score after dominating the opening exchanges when centre Tromans crossed and fly-half Marshall landed the conversion to make it 7-0.
Warriors had their opportunities, but Wales wing Tutt pulled off the first of a batch of try saving tackles on her opposite number Hannah Smyth.
Thunder’s defence held firm until wing Sky Phimister crashed over in the corner to make it 7-5 to the home side midway through the first half.
Warriors enjoyed a purple patch of pressure and territory and wing Phimister crossed for her second try to give the visitors the lead. Scrum-half Rianna Darroch added the extras to make it 12-7 after half an hour.
Scrum-half Lewis launched a superb kick from the breakdown and the pressure saw Thunder win the penalty before Marshall crossed for the try to make it 12-12 at half-time.
After the break, the home side’s attitude was personified by hooker Shanelle Williams chasing down a Lewis kick to win Thunder possession.
Warriors took the lead with wing Hannah Smyth crossing in the corner for the try to make it 17-12 to the visitors, then the Scots extended their lead through a superb solo try by Smyth who raced in from halfway to score her second try.
Brython replied with a try by skipper Rogers from a driving lineout to make it 22-17 to Glasgow midway through the second half.
But full-back Poppy Mellanby and lock Holland Bogan crossed for further Glasgow tries to seal the win.
Brython will travel to the Welsh capital to face Gwalia Lightning in the Festive Welsh derby at Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday, December 27 (KO: 2pm).