Barry RFC 2nds beat Llandaff, but Barrians fall to Old Penarthians (From Barry And District News)

Barry RFC 2nds beat Llandaff, but Barrians fall to Old Penarthians

8:20am Thursday 27th September 2012 in Sport

BARRY RFC 2nd XV 31 LLANDAFF RFC 2nd XV 22

BARRY RFC 2nds continued their league campaign on a crisp autumnal afternoon, hoping to avenge their heavy defeat away to the same opponents last season in the cup.

The home side carried the momentum created by last weekend’s victory, and were the more spirited side right from the off, with Tom Griffiths and Callum Scott working hard in the boiler room.

Joe McCann once again conducted matters at outside half, and his attacking flair saw the ball spread to Ryan Case to score his first try for the club. Dave Williams crossed for his fourth try of the season, whilst Andy Corne continued his try-scoring form from last Saturday to wrest control of the game from Llandaff.

Cieran Thomas, returning to second team action after a long lay-off, made an instant impact off the bench and was the scourge of the Llandaff fly-half, leading an aggressive defensive line which was characteristic of his game.

Adam Lee added 16 points with his boot to seal the victory.

Team: Lee; Taylor, Gooderham, D Williams, Case; J Williams, McCann; Heard, Elsworth, Corne; Griffiths, Scott; Rolfe (c), L Jones, McTavish.

Subs used: J Thomas, C Thomas, Westall, M Jones.

Man-of-the-match: Corne.

OLD PENARTHIANS 44 BARRIANS 7

THE Barrians finally returned to action with an away trip to familiar foes Old Penarthians.

Player-manager Ken Chow resumed the captaincy after a leave from his interim manager role with the 2nd XV, and he led a team out with a mixture of youth, experience, and raw eagerness to play rugby.

The game began in scrappy fashion as neither side managed to create any flowing moves due to numerous handling errors, not helped by the strong wind.

Old Penarthians however dominated the set pieces and they began to use this as their major weapon against a new look Barrians pack. They duly took the lead after a period of pressure in the Barry 22.

Rallied by their captain, the Barrians responded with a period of pressure of their own, orchestrated by some fantastic tactical kicking from fly-half Ryan Corrigan, and good-forward drives from the pack, most notably from Glyn Pirso, Sion Vidal and Neil Fulton.

Their industry was rewarded when veteran Graham Matthews released debutant Glenn Griffiths to break through the Old Pens defensive line, grounding between the posts. Corrigan converted the extras.

The away side were looking threatening when they had ball in hand, especially when they released their backs, but the experienced Old Penarthians slowed the ball down with their know-how and countered with their forward dominance.

After two near-scores the home side finally got back ahead, capitalising on some strong carrying from their strike runners.

The Barrians were struggling to get off their own try-line as the pressure was piled on, and attempts to hang on until half time were thwarted as the Old Penarthians added two more tries before the break.

The introduction of Andy and David Moffat into the fold did stem the tide early in the second half, as the away side threatened to mount a monumental, if unlikely, comeback. Debutant Dave Moffat in particular showed some direct, powerful running, twice creating chances to break away to score only to trip over his own feet both times to butcher the opportunity.

Instead it was the home side who ran away with it in the last quarter, capitalising on tired legs to score more unanswered tries.

There was still time for the Chow to replace make-shift scrum-half Elliot Evans, who battled manfully throughout the game, at half back, but even this unusual tactical move could not bring the Barrians one final score.

Whilst the result ultimately was disappointing, it was a credit to all the players who grafted for 80 minutes, and to allow the club to field three sides on one weekend. With such endeavour and spirit, surely there will be more success on the horizon.

Team: N Jenkins; T Jenkins, Matthews, Griffiths, Chow (c); Evans, Corrigan; Pirso, Houldey, Jones; Fulton, Hall; Adams, Betts, Vidal.

Subs used: Dyer, A Moffat, D Moffat, Boffy.

Man-of-the-match: Corrigan.