Games - and wins - come thick and fast for Barry RFC 1sts (From Barry And District News)

Games - and wins - come thick and fast for Barry RFC 1sts

8:10am Thursday 22nd April 2010

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CANTON RFC 8 BARRY RFC 37

WITH THE end of the season looming, games are coming thick and fast for Barry and they travelled to this tricky looking away tie at Canton on Wednesday last week.

Barry signalled their intention from the off, with some good tactical kicking from captain Chris Cummings putting pressure on the Canton defence. From a home infringement, Cummings punished them with his boot to put Barry in the lead.

The away side continued to probe into the Canton half. Quick recycling from a ruck allowed the ball to be spread out wide, and good hands from James Hadfield and Daniel Ryan put Ashley Adams through to score in the corner.

Canton were struggling to have any foothold in the game and it was no surprise when Barry increased their lead, this time scoring in the other corner through Luke Bounds, with him being put through by Ashley Brown.

The home side finally got into the Barry half from a break by their backs, only to be stopped by a crunching tackle by Ryan. Their territory eventually told as they clawed back 3 points via a penalty.

Their reprieve was short-lived, however. The home side were reduced to 14 men just before half time as the referee produced a red card, and Cummings added insult to injury with another well struck penalty. Despite their numerical advantage, the away side struggled to rack up the points early on in the second half as Canton defended stoutly.

Eventually Bounds broke away on the wing to set up a chance of a pushover try, only to be held up on the line. From the resultant scrum, Barry did score, however, with Matthew George touching down.

Cummings’ conversion was a formality, and by now Barry were looking for their fourth try for that vital bonus point. It duly came just minutes later when a clever chip-and-chase from Tomos Lee saw him rewarded with a try.

Ryan visited the sin-bin late on for some cynical play close to his own touch line, and with Canton regaining parity in numbers they scored a consolation try after exerting a period of pressure.

It was, however, Barry who had the last word as Bounds sprinted half the length of the pitch to score his second try. Cummings’ conversion meant that Barry came out 37-8 winners.

Team: Ryan; Bounds, Provis, Evans, Adams; Lee, Cummings (c); Brown, Gee, Haskell; King, Gill; H. Jones, Hadfield, George.

Subs: P. O’Sullivan, R. O’Sullivan, G. Jones, Hollister.

BARRY RFC 48 CILFYNYDD RFC 0

AFTER three matches on the road, it was a welcome return to the sunny uplands of the Reservoir Field last Saturday.

The home team had the slope in their favour during the first half and wasted no time in taking advantage when Gee crossed for a try after only two minutes, converted by Cummings.

Hardy was playing an outstanding role in setting up field position for the forwards to exploit. From such pressure Cilfynydd conceded a penalty that was converted by the Barry captain.

There followed a period of unexciting play, during which the visitors sought to draw some sting from the Barry forwards by keeping the ball close to the ruck and lineout. Here they had some useful performers.

During the second quarter Barry re-asserted forward control and paved the way for tries by Evans, Lee and Ryan, two of which were converted by Cummings. The last of these scores gave the home side the precious bonus point.

The second half opened on a worrying note for Barry with Hardy having to leave the field with a hand/arm injury. However, there was a ready-made solution to the problem with Cummings moving from full-back to outside-half.

The home side started to put together a string of crunching tackles that opened up the field for good handling to put Provis over in the corner. After a good break by Cummings and further good work by A Brown, Adams was sent over for the sixth try of the game.

After that score a general lack of concentration caused the game to lose intensity. Not surprisingly, the scene was changed by some serious “handbags” leading to yellow cards for Hadfield and a Cilfynydd player.

The visitors now had their best period of play with continuous pressure being applied inside the Barry 22. With the referee spotting several home team infringements, it was necessary for their defence to be strong and well organised, which it was.

Aided by one superb 90 metre relieving touchline kick, the danger was overcome. The reward for these efforts was another good try by Adams, which owed everything to a very well timed pass from A Brown.

This was the end of the action for the day. The crowd were left pondering, “Who chose the colour for the attire of the coach?”

This Saturday Barry are home to top-of-the-table Blackwood Stars. It should be a fascinating encounter!

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