ARMED with plenty of supporters Barry travelled to meet Old Illtydians in their final League game of the season, knowing a win would see them promoted to Division Two next season.

The crowd were not to be disappointed as despite a mad 10 minutes they came away with a victory by 36-19.

Captained by fit again Martin Tanner and boosted by the return of those who had been on a warm weather training exercise to Thailand they needed to be at their best as they faced a team desperate to spoil the party, and who they had beaten two weeks ago in a close encounter.

Playing against the stiff breeze Barry started brightly varying their game between backs and forwards, but early warning signs were there as they quickly lost two scrums against the head to a heavier pack.

Despite this the Barry defence was quick to halt any momentum from the home side threequarters.

Hadfield was causing the Illts major problems with some mazy runs which unsettled the home defence and from one, he scored the opening try following a lineout helped by some good work by Gallivan and Vidal. With Scott adding the extras Barry had a seven point lead.

As expected the home side came back strongly and it was Barry's turn to defend their line as a succession of penalties were conceded to scrum pressure, finally ending with a try for the Illts as Barry ran out of defenders. With the try converted the game was all square.

Barry were forced to make a change as Ryan came on to replace the injured Jones.

With the Illts running the ball at every opportunity making good use of their advantage up front, Barry were having to fight for decent possession and were successful in disrupting the attacks with determined first up defence which enabled them to gain territory from the resulting loose ball.

From one such situation, O'Sullivan launched a counter attack and when held, found Hadfield in support to cross for his second try which Scott was unable to convert.

Barry were growing in confidence and the Illts were finding it difficult to match the aggression and as they were penalised Scott was on hand to convert to make the score, as half-time approached, 15-7 to the visitors.

After making a mess of the restart Barry had to defend their line as the Illts launched one last attack which was thwarted as the whistle went for half-time, with Barry deservedly in front thanks to lots of good defensive work by the whole team and their ability to conjure tries when the chances came.

With their tails up Barry began the second period pressurising the home side into errors and had it not been for an unlucky bounce could have gone further ahead early in the half.

Now getting some good lineout ball they applied pressure on the home eight with powerful driving which took them just short of the line only to lose possession and 70 yards of territory, but again good defence saved the day.

As well as an improved lineout the Barry scrum was beginning to function, and with those two elements in place they enjoyed plenty of possession to keep the Illts on the back foot.

The injured O'Sullivan was replaced by Oaten as Barry continued to use their driving lineout which produced the next try when after a 50 yard drive the recycled ball found Taylor to score wide out with Scott adding the extras to make the score 22-7.

As in the home encounter two weeks ago, Barry found themselves in a match winning position, but were in danger of throwing it away as they conceded two tries in the space of a few minutes and with still some 20 minutes to go found their lead cut to three points.

It was no surprise that buoyed by their success the Illts threw everything at the visitors in their attempt to take the lead.

Previous reports this season have highlighted the character in the squad and this was again the case as Barry defended well to a man and when the chance came to attack were not found lacking.

They chased and harried the home defence into errors and were rewarded when from a scrum the ball was fed to Scott who battled and wriggled his way over the line to score a try which he converted to put Barry 10 points clear with still time remaining.

Following the try Barry were awarded a penalty on half-way and kept the pressure on the home side, who from the resulting move, saw their clearance charged down, with White on hand to cross for a try, converted by Scott to stretch the lead to 36-19 with minutes left.

There was just time for a last attack by the home side, but once again the visitors refused to yield and Barry were awarded a penalty, which was aptly taken by captain Tanner and signalled the end of match and the beginning of deserved celebrations both on and off the field at the clubhouse later.

Whilst quite rightly the squad of players take the plaudits, there is a huge vote of thanks necessary to the coaching team of John Bryant, Liam Scott and Rhyddian Scott together with the tireless Stuart Lock and Ray Gallivan who have all nurtured the players and developed them into a team to be proud of.

This season has not been one of just first team success. It is also pleasing to record that each Senior side, Youth XV and the Ladies team all reached the semi final of their respective Cup Competitions, some record to be proud of.

In probably any other season to lose only one League game would be enough to win it, but this year, Dinas Powys are crowned champions with both sides having identical playing records with Barry earning fewer bonus points being the difference. The Club congratulate them on their success and look forward to meeting again next season.