BARRY YOUTH 17

LLANRUMNEY YOUTH 15

FOLLOWING restructuring and the arrival of a new coach - former Gwent Dragons centre Johnny Bryant - the Barry Youth rugby side were back in the fray with a too close for comfort victory.

After a lengthy lay-off because of the weather, Barry were slightly rusty in tactics and defence and Llanrumney used the strong wind to score two unconverted tries.

With the green and whites missing a number of players due to work commitments and thus having individuals playing out of position, it took some time before they settled.

Getting down to business and putting pressure on the visitors, the Barry pack made ground through drives by Hunt, Goodfellow and Miles, while Nathan Harris, returning to the squad, deputised in the front row and made it his own, and Legg, shifting from No 10 to second row, added weight to an already impressive unit. Despite having chances, Barry failed to score before the break.

Playing with the wind in the second half and using fresh legs off the bench, Barry were soon on the scoreboard with a seven-pointer, and the touchline conversion from Flynn was superb. Now playing with confidence, the home side punished the opposition again when scrum-half Emyr Byrne picked up from a scrum and sniped from10 metres to score. Flynn once again converted.

Ahead for the first time, Barry soon found themselves behind again when Llanrumney pounced on loose defence to score wide out and edge into a one-point lead.

Undeterred, the home side used the wind to pin the visitors in their own half and, when the ref deemed they had transgressed, a penalty was then moved 10 metres closer after the ball was deliberately kicked away. Flynn landed the kick to put Barry back in the lead again.

With a morale-boosting win clearly in sight, Barry played in the right areas before before a turnover and kick downfield led to desperate defending in the home 22. With home forwards going off their feet, Llanrumney were gifted a match-clinching penalty in front of the posts, but nerves got to the kicker and his effort sailed wide to the relief of Barry management and spectators.

This Saturday, April 5, the side is away to Tondu; bus leaves the the club at 1pm.