Fixture

Tries:  Miles, Williams

Cons:  Russell

Barry 2^nd XV returned to league action on a wet Saturday afternoon with the difficult task of taming the reigning champions Rhiwbina.

The task for coach Rhidian Scott and manager Ken Chow was made all the harder when several players withdrew yet again before kick-off.  The reshuffle saw Ashley Forrester move to scrum-half after twelve months’ absence, whilst there were welcome returns from injuries for Ben Such and Luke O’Sullivan.

The disruption in preparation clearly showed as early as the second minute as Rhiwbina cut through a disorganised Barry defence to score under the posts.

The visitors sensed that could be the floodgates opening, and utilised their superiority in the tight, especially at scrum time, to pile the pressure on Barry.

The home side, however, cranked up a few gears and began to negate the scrums, opting to keep ball in hand.  Marshalled by stalwart Dave Provis, there were some excellent carries by O’Sullivan, Clarke and Westall.

When a probing penalty kick by make-shift fly half Matt Russell found the corner, Barry sensed an opportunity for an equalising score.

The throw-in from Such found its man, and from then on it was all hands to the pump for the Barry forwards, with John Miles at the base to score his first try of the season.  Russell’s conversion made it 7-7.

Barry’s defence put in some huge hits, most notably from Dave Evans, but their illustrious opponents demonstrated why they would be challenging for silverware again this season, utilising their handling skills to wrestle the lead back off the hosts with an unconverted try.

Barry had chances to come back, most notably when Josh Westall was held just short of the line, but the visitors would take control for the remainder of the half, and their superiority in territory and possession was rewarded with two more tries.

The second half saw Barry having to play against the elements and the slope, and expectations of a come-back was not high, even after the introduction of scrum-half Joel Williams into the fray.

Barely able to get out of their own twenty-two, Barry defended for long periods, with some of the tackling heroic, especially when they were down to fourteen men following a yellow card.

Rhiwbina would score two tries utilising their numerical advantage, but the green-and-whites never gave up and breaks from substitute Chris Deyes and ultimately O’Sullivan gave the home supporters hope.

After substitute Williams had been caught by the opposition prop forward as he bore down on the line, Barry had one last chance for a consolation score.  Williams linked up beautifully with Deyes, and despite having support from out wide, opted to go back inside after throwing a dummy, and his dive for the line was successful.  Russell was unable to add the extras.

The final score would reveal that Barry were well beaten by a superior side, but the effort by the home players were outstanding and this was perhaps the most impressive performance by the 2^nd XV this season so far.

The 2^nd XV will travel to St Josephs next weekend whilst the 3^rd XV are visitors to Pentyrch.

Team:  Clarke; Evans, Provis ©, Peake, Adams; Russell, Forrester; Westall, Such, Fortt; Dutton, Jones; Scott, Miles, O’Sullivan

Replacements:  Turnbull, Jones, Deyes, Williams

Man-of-the-match:  O’Sullivan