King’s Royal Hussars 29 Barry 3rd XV 5

Try: Pirso

BARRY 3rd XV entertained the visit of touring side King’s Royal Hussars on a fine, dry Saturday afternoon at Reservoir Fields.

After a long hard season it was fitting for manager Frank Greig and Ken Chow be afforded some luxury in team selection as numerous players made themselves available.

Will King made his first appearance for the club in 18 months, whilst there were also debuts for Nick Hillman on the wing and Connor Woodfin from the bench.

Barry knew they were up against the odds early on when the Hussars demonstrated their superior fitness and intensity with some good strong runs. They were however repelled by some brilliant scramble defence, most notably from Rhidian Mepham and flanker Morgan Fogg.

The Hussars utilised their giant number eight at the base of the scrum to cause havoc in the Barry defence, but often their lack of match practice showed as the ball was knocked on.

The home side fed off scraps but eventually pieced together some phases. The line-out began to function with King a colossal figure, and the half back partnership of Mepham and Chris Bailey began to move things forward.

Following some indiscretion by the visiting side, Barry found themselves in opposition territory for the first time. Playing with tremendous patience and composure, they were rewarded with the first try when Glyn Pirso crashed over from close range. Hillman failed to add the extras.

Roused from their slumber, the away side responded with a superb break by the back row, which put Barry under enormous pressure. The result was a try from out wide, despite the best efforts of Kirsch, which went unconverted to level the scores.

With the wind in their sails, both metaphorically and literally speaking, the Hussars came forward again before the break and were rewarded with another close-range try, although there was some doubt as to whether the ball was grounded. The conversion gave them a 12-5 lead at half-time.

Looking to utilise the boot in the second half with the elements in their favour, Barry started well, especially after Ring, Howells-Davies and Morris were sent on for some fresh impetus.

However, it was the visitors who once again showed the greater fitness and also a larger bench, and despite the efforts of Jones, Mepham, Poole and ultimately King, it was another 40 minutes of rearguard action by the green-and-whites.

Barry would hold out for long periods in their own half in the second period but finally succumbed in the last quarter, when the Hussars added three tries near the end to reward their territorial superiority. The final score was 29-5.

The management would like to thank the superb effort by all the players for the game and also the King’s Royal Hussars for being superb tourists. They sincerely hope to welcome them again next season.

Barry 3rd XV will finish their season with a home game against touring side Mold next weekend.

Team: Poole; Kirsch, D Evans, Davies, Hillman; Bailey, Mepham; Pirso, Leighton Jones, Fortt; Deyes, Betts; Fogg, Lloyd Jones (C) and King

Replacements: Ring, Howells-Davies, Woodfin, Morris, E Evans, Rees and Adams

Man-of-the-match: Fogg