Sport – Barry’s 14 men produce ‘performance to be proud of’

BARRY RFC produced a performance to be proud of against a side eying a top three finish, quality scores earning them a well-deserved try bonus point, despite having to play the entire match with 14 men.

Injuries and unavailability meant passive scrums from the start because of a lack of front row specialists. Rhydyfelin scored out wide in the second minute, raising fears of a difficult and possibly demoralising day for the Bombers.

“At this level the one thing you have to do is never give up,” said head coach Mike Morgan. “You keep fighting, that’s what we did, and the game finishes 44-34 playing with 14 men. We were missing a lot of key players today, so we had to make adjustments. But nobody worried, nobody panicked, and we adjusted as a team.”

Rhydyfelin clinched a try bonus point midway through the first half, with Barry’s only response a 15th minute penalty from Jack Davies, but then the turnround started, the Bombers scoring twice in five minutes, the first a penalty try in the 30th minute after Alyn Evans and Aled Rees threatened the home line following a neat free kick move.

Five minutes later Flynn Baker who, together with Victor Corrihons, had a magnificent game as Rhydyfelin inevitably tested both by kicking at every opportunity, scored an interception try, Davies converting to close the gap to three points.

A converted try on the stroke of halftime gave Rhydyfelin a 10-point interval lead, and a disputed try one minute into the second half, after a foot in touch hadn’t been spotted, saw the hosts take a 17-point lead. But heads didn’t drop, and Barry responded with exciting quality rugby as the teams traded blows.

Davies scored a superb solo try after 44 minutes, Baker got his second in the 68th minute, when Barry were down to 13 men, after Corrihons had made the initial burst, Davies converting, and Aled Rees rounded things off in the corner as the clock ran down.

“We had a squad of players today who I asked to show courage,” said Morgan. “I want to see it out there, and they did. We saw today some exciting rugby. There’s disappointment at losing today, and the fans may be disappointed by another loss, but they cannot be disappointed at the commitment shown by the players.”

Ken Watkins

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