BARRY RFC 3rd XV rounded off their season with an appearance in the Ron Locock Cup final at the Cardiff Arms Park facing Llanishen.

Managers Frank Greig and Andy Moffat were afforded the luxury of selecting from a large squad, unexpectedly for such an occasion, but they chose to keep faith mostly with the side that won the dramatic semi-final against Caerau four weeks before.

There were welcome returns for Mike Hamonda on the wing and veteran Andrew Prosser on the bench, whilst Ken Chow was a last minute replacement after the usual late withdrawal.

With their opponents looking slick and clearly above 3rd XV level, Barry struggled in the opening exchanges to keep up with the speed of play. Instead, the green and whites utilised their forward power to keep possession, but a lack of ruthlessness saw them come away from the Llanishen 22 empty handed.

Instead Barry's indiscipline allowed Llanishen to take the lead with a simple penalty.

Barry tried to get back in the game but were forced on the defensive, with Luke O’Sullivan, Marc Devine and Jon Bryant marshalling the line superbly.

However, Llanishen doubled their lead with another penalty, before a chip and chase caught Barry off guard to score a converted try.

Worse was to come, as after some intense Llanishen pressure, O’Sullivan pounced from the line to intercept a wayward pass, and surely would have raced through to score under the posts, only for the referee to bring him back for an earlier infringement. From the penalty Llanishen pushed forward and scored yet another try.

Just when all hope seemed lost the Barry juggernaut returned to the fore and the sheer determination and power, with no shortage of skill, saw the green and whites bear down on the Llanishen line. This time there was no let up as Devine crashed over for his first try for the club. Ashley Forrester added the extras.

Barry brought on fresh legs at half-time to try to seize the momentum, and the introduction of Tom Hunt and Rob Williams to the pitch brought almost instant success, as both made hard yards for the team.

The Barry scrum was now completely dominant and following yet another set piece Gerwyn Pugh looked to have scored only for the official to fail to spot his touch down.

Against the run of play Llanishen scored again as the Barry defence tired to put the game beyond doubt.

With one last throw of the dice Barry emptied their bench, and had the last chance as a cross-kick by Joe McCann was chased down by Adam Lee and Chow, only for the touch-line to defeat them.

Despite the defeat this was a tremendous effort by the 3rd XV players who have endured a hard season. This is ample reward for the industry and dedication shown by the squad of players.

Everyone at the club will hope the momentum will be carried onto pre-season which starts in July.

Team: Pugh; Forrester (C), O’Sullivan, Evans, Hamonda; McCann, Dimond; Fortt, Brown, Taylor; Rolfe, Giddings; Chucas, Devine, Bryant

Replacements: Prosser, Hunt, Williams, Lee, Corrigan, Bailey, Chow

Man-of-the-match: Giddings

The Barry RFC lottery's winning numbers were 4, 11, 12 and 17 which failed to produce a winner.

Next week's prize will increase to £2,100.