Fixture

After a two week break without a game because of the Six Nations International matches, it was back to business for the Barry 1^st XV last Saturday when they travelled to Central Park Church Village to play against fellow promotion contenders Llantwit Fadre RFC in a SWALEC East Central Division 2 league match. With the home side being only one place above them in the league a tough game was envisaged by the visitors and this proved to be the case with Barry losing a very close game in the dying minutes to what can only be described as a questionable penalty try.

In weather conditions which were perfect for an open running game of rugby Llantwit Fadre kicked off and were immediately put under pressure by Barry. After some fine forward play, the ball was fed to the Barry backs who took play well into the Llantwit Fadre’s half before being pulled up for a minor infringement. Winning the resulting scrum, it was the home side’s turn to attack and they did so with gusto pushing Barry well back into their half of the field and it was only the sterling defence of the Barry side which kept them from scoring. Due to some very fine forward play, Barry were able to turn the ball over and scrum half Tom Lee passed it to full back Kyle Barros who put in a very long kick to just inside the home side’s half to relieve the pressure.

After 10 minutes or so of play which was shared equally, Barry gained possession in their own half after some sterling play by their forwards and the ball was fed to their backs who set up an attack on the Llantwit Fadre line only to be denied a try by a deliberate knock on by their left winger who received a yellow card for his transgression. The resulting penalty was duly converted by full back Kyle Barros to give Barry a 3-0 lead. However, this lead was to be short lived because two minutes or so later, Barry were deemed to be offside in their own 25 and the resulting penalty was duly converted by Llantwit Fadre’s full back Mark Tyler to level the scores.

After 20 minutes of play with the game locked at 3-3, Barry were awarded a penalty and Barros kicked for touch with the ball landing within 10 metres or so of the Llantwit Fadre line. From the resulting lineout, a take and drive by the Barry pack showed good ball control which enabled loose head prop Alyn Evans to crash over the line for the first try of the day which Barros duly converted to give Barry a 10-3 lead.

The score line did not change for the remainder of the first half with the home side pressing strongly in the final 5 minutes or so as they tried time and time again to break Barry’s defensive line but were unable to do so. However, during this period of play Barry’s John Miles received a yellow card for obstructing the Llantwit Fadre scrum half and Captain James Hadfield received one for no apparent reason other than the fact that the very vocal local supporters had insisted that he had one and the referee seemed to agree to the dismay of the Barry’s travelling supporters.

Barry kicked off the second half with only 13 men on the field so it was in their interest to try and keep the game tight until they were back up to 15. During the next 15 minutes or so with play going from end to end and no increase in the score, Barry seemed to have the edge in the scrummaging with the front row of James Hollister, Lucas Davies and Alyn Evans continually frustrating the home sides front row. In spite of this and against the run of play, it was Llantwit Fadre who scored next after 18 minutes of the half when their left winger Dan Rees went over for a try in the corner after a spate of missed tackles by Barry. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful making the score 10-8 in Barry’s favour.

With the home side now breathing down their necks Barry had to do something very quickly if they wanted to improve their lead or at least maintain the narrow one they had. They did not have to wait long. On the stroke of 25 minutes one of Llantwit Fadre’s prop forwards literally dived over the top of a maul and collided head to head with Barry’s captain James Hadfield. It was a moment of clear stupidity which could have resulted in a very serious injury and the referee was absolutely correct in removing him from the game by showing him a red card and awarding Barry a penalty. The incident itself occurred about 5 metres inside the Barry half and to the dismay and jeers of the home supporters Kyle Barros decided to kick for goal. Two steps back and the ball sailed the 55 metres between the posts to give Barry a lead of 5 points at 13-8.

With 15 minutes to go Barry had to consolidate their position or try to improve it. Einan Scott and Kyle Barros kept Llantwit Fadre at bay with some long defensive kicks and came close to scoring when Barros picked up a loose ball and ran for the line. Unfortunately, the pass to winger Wayne Jones was mishandled and the chance lost. As the minutes ticked by It was Llantwit Fadre who ended the game in attacking mode as they had done so in the first half. In the dying minutes of the game Barry were penalised for a high tackle. After talking to the player involved and deliberating for a further ten seconds or more he decided after hearing the chants of ‘penalty try’, penalty try’ by the home supporters to award it. A minute or so later he blew the final whistle. Final score Llantwit Fadre 15, Barry 13.

From a spectator’s view this was not a spectacular game to watch by any stretch of the imagination because both teams were very strong defensively and the game could have gone either way. Having said that, we are all aware that rugby is not a game for softies but bulk and aggression can lead to serious injury and must be controlled by the official in charge. Over the last couple of weeks Barry have struggled with injuries to players and those to James Hollister and Jacob Brooke in this match have not helped the situation. Hopefully they will both recover in time for the next match on March 2^nd.

Team: Alyn Evans, Lucas Davies, James Hollister, Glyn Jones, John Miles, James Hadfield, Hywel Jones, Harry Moyle, Tom Lee, Einan Scott, Wayne Jones, Dave Provis, Tom Perry, Dylan Robertson and Kyle Barros.

Replacements: Sion Vidal, Danny Ryan, Jacob Brooke, Chris Deyes and Liam Scott.

Next Match: League fixture on Sat. March 2^nd versus Heol y Cyw at the Reservoir Field K.O 2.30 pm.

Barry RFC Mega4 Lottery Numbers for Saturday 16^th February: 4, 15, 18 and 19. 2 tickets matched three numbers. Prize increases to £3,750 for next week.       

Next weekend’s important Six Nations match against England will be shown on the big screen at the Club, so make sure you come along to support Wales and the Club. All are welcome and a free curry will be available during the afternoon.