Fixture

A break in the international fixtures list allowed Barry to entertain Llandaff North on a cold Saturday afternoon at Reservoir Fields.
With numerous players unavailable due to reasons ranging from skiing injuries to 80th birthday parties, the settled back-line of recent weeks had to be reshuffled in the last minute, with Busuttil and Gallivan coming into the starting line-up. There was also a welcome return to 1st XV for James Hadfield who was amongst the substitutes.
In conditions more suitable for rice cultivation than champagne rugby, the visitors took the game to Barry, utilising their heavy pack as they dictated the tempo in the early exchanges. Without ball in hand, Barry were forced on the defensive in the first quarter in their own half.
Luke O’Sullivan, fresh from returning from injury himself, disrupted North ball frequently in the line-out, but the away pressure finally told as their rolling maul caused Barry all sorts of problems, and the result was an unconverted try.
The home side’s attempts to play a wider game were thwarted by the difficult conditions and also some uncharacteristic handling errors, and instead only found joy when the pack carried tirelessly, with Hywel Jones and Alyn Evans in the fore.
The game was fiercely contested between both sides, and after they received a yellow card each, it was Llandaff North who coped better, and their efforts were rewarded with a successful penalty kick before the break.
Looking to the wind and slope for assistance, and with the coaches’ instructions still ringing loud in their ears, Barry finally awoke from their slumber and pieced together an attacking pattern. Within the first quarter they were rewarded as the green-and-whites turned the game on its head.
A slick backs move, this time free of handling errors, saw Danny Ryan cut through the Llandaff North defence, and his perfectly timed pass saw Ashley Adams scoring in the corner. Einan Scott failed to add the extras.
With the wind in their sails now, both literally and metaphorically speaking, Barry rammed home their momentum and took the lead. The forwards set the platform this time, and the ball found Brad White via Scott, who broke through midfield to score a fine try from half-way. Scott’s conversion made the score 12-8.
Llandaff North replied almost instantly with a successful penalty kick, but with James Sullivan on at half-time, the Barry scrum was now dominant and the home side attempted to use this advantage to increase their lead, turning down kickable penalty opportunities in front of the posts.
Somehow the try that looked certain did not materialise, and when Barry were awarded yet another kickable opportunities, Scott’s unerring boot was on hand to steady home nerves.
There was still time for both teams to exchange yellow cards, before Llandaff North pushed forward late on in search of a winning score. This time, however, the Barry defence held out against the dangerous driving maul in the dying embers, with the final score 15-11.
Barry travel to Canton next weekend with the Youth XV away at Cowbridge.

Team: Ryan; Adams, Perry, White, Busuttil; Scott, Gallivan; Evans, Vidal, Hollister; Tanner ©, Oaten; O’Sullivan, O Poole, Jones
Replacements: Sullivan, Giddings, Hadfield
Subs not used: Mepham, T Poole