BARRY RFC 1st XV 10pts

ABERCWMBOI RFC 22

THE Reservoir Field served up a complete range of seasons on Saturday, with the first half played in autumnal sunshine and a cool light wind and, in complete contrast, a second period when winter arrived with a vengeance. Heavy rain showers, borne on a strengthening westerly wind, enveloped the proceedings.

In the opening midfield exchanges, the sides shared possession and territory, but Barry were dealt a heavy blow within the first five minutes when flanker Parker suffered a serious shoulder injury, which required hospital treatment. Before the home side could readjust to this setback, Abercwmboi set up a rolling maul which successfully reached the Barry line.

From the halfway restart, Barry were harshly adjudged to have taken the ball catcher in the air, and the visitors took advantage of the situation to score another touchdown near the corner flag. Abercwmboi continued to play a very tight forward game and scored a third try, with the scorer having made contact with two of his colleagues in front of the ball carrier!

Barry opened the second half in more determined style, with the backs moving quickly up on their opponents when defending. This paid dividends with a charged down kick falling to Rhys O’Sullivan who opened Barry’s account. The conversion was a formality for Einon Scott. Vigorous play involving Evans, Tanner and Provis provided the pressure for a penalty chance for Scott who made no mistake to further cut the deficit.

Some indiscipline made the task of the home side more difficult, with ground lost by criticising the referee’s decisions and letting the loose ball bounce alarmingly. Despite the contributions of Poole and Hollister, Barry could not add to their tally and conceded a try in extra time of the second half. In retrospect, the disruption to their back row through injury was something that Barry could not quite overcome.

The final 22-10 score to the visitors was a fair reflection of the overall performance of the teams.

Barry: Ryan(c), Ashley Adams, Provis, Ritchie O’Sullivan, Tienan Scott, Einon Scott, Lee, Jake Adams, Poole, Parker, McTavish, Tanner, Hollister, Evans and Rhys O’Sullivan. Replacements: Pirso, Hamonda and White.

Barry’s final league match this calendar year is away against Glyncoch on Saturday, December 21.