Treorchy 41 Barry RFC Youth 28
FOUR tries in a spirited second half fightback earned Barry’s makeshift side a bonus point on Saturday, which could prove crucial as they challenge for end of season honours in this eight-team competition.
The Bombers, hit by injuries and unavailability, were short of six regular players for this rearranged fixture, four of them key members of the pack. Unfamiliarity resulting from those changes, plus players playing out of position, inevitably meant a loss of continuity and then some costly errors. Treorchy made the most of them with four tries as Barry trailed 31-0 at the interval.
“We were right up against it, and I thought it would be a battering,” said head coach John Dimond. “But we just rallied. I told them we had to find a way out of it and stick to the process.”
Barry gradually reduced the gap, but then Treorchy responded, taking advantage of an error to move away again. “It took us 20 minutes to get into the game, but we came back well in the second half,” said Dimond.
“If we had been 19-0 or 20-0 down at half-time we might have won. But really it was lost in the first half, and by the time we got into the game it was too late.”
His man of the match was prop Jack Huggins, in his first season of youth rugby. “He was outstanding, scored two tries and might have had a third. He’s starting to stand out for us.”
Dimond should have a full-strength squad available for Saturday’s visit to St Peter’s, who he expects to field a much stronger side than when the teams met in the Cardiff South Cup competition in September, with Barry winning 27-25 there on their way to the title.
“We are playing against better sides than before Christmas,” said Dimond. “They test you. We are getting tested, and that’s what you want. But from now on we can’t afford too many slip-ups. We’re still in the hunt. We’ve lost a game, but it hasn’t done too much damage. It will go down to the wire.”
Barry: tries – Jack Huggins (two), Jay Forsyth, Morgan Prosser; conv – Braydon Griffiths (four).
KW
Photos by Judith Dutton.
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