Sea View 12 Barry 3rd XV 5

Tries: Davies

WITH no points in the league all season, Barry 3rd XV were hoping for better things when they travelled the short distance to Sea View for a local derby.

Selector Ken Chow and manager Frank Greig handed prop Andrew Fortt and Liam Kirsch their first senior games of their careers, whilst there were also first starts for Nath Davies, Leighton Jones and Andy Betts. Dave Williams made his return from injury for his first game in 2015.

The disrupted nature of the selection was clear as the early exchanges saw Barry fall foul of some basic errors, all the while suffering from the referee’s whistle. The away side’s misery was compounded when Betts was sent to the sin bin after less than five minutes.

Sea View took full advantage of their superior numbers and raced into a 12-0 lead before Barry returned to 15 men.

Despite still being penalised heavily by the official, especially in the contact area, Barry finally put together some phases with Dave Williams, Rhidian Mepham and Liam Ring to the fore.

A period of Barry pressure saw make-shift fly half Joel Williams break the line, before Davies finished off the move by scoring his second try in as many games. The conversion was missed.

Sensing a momentum shift, Barry poured forward to look for the equalising score, only to fall foul of the referee’s whistle again. This time the damage was much more severe as veteran Jason Evans saw red.

At half-time the management attempted to rally the 14 men on the field, and also sending on fresh legs in the shape of Dave Evans and Kyle Case.

Despite being one man short, Barry dominated both territory and possession in the second half, but there was a clear lack of cutting edge due to the rustiness of some of the players. Having not played since January, there were numerous handling errors and poor decision making, with players missing obvious overlaps which surely would have produced a score on another day.

There was still time for debutant Fortt to bulldoze his opposite number over in open play – an act that earned the loudest applause - but the home side held on for a victory.

Considering that the side has been forced to compete with 1st XV’s and 2nd XV’s from other clubs all season, the fact that Barry 3rd XV still exists is a testament to the spirit and effort of the players and staff.

The 3rd XV will host the Royal King’s Hussars on April 18, kick off 2pm.

Team: Bailey; Kirsch, D Williams, Davies, Chucas; J Williams, Mepham; Fortt, Leighton Jones, Ring; Deyes, Hall; Betts, Lloyd Jones (C) and J Evans

Replacements: D Evans, Thomas, Caseand M Jones

Man-of-the-match: Fortt