Late collapse hits Barry RFC’s hopes

BARRY were once again left reflecting on missed opportunities as their battle against relegation was dealt a massive blow by Caerphilly’s second half four-try burst.

The Bombers travel to Rhydyfelin on Saturday for their final league fixture knowing, whatever the result, their destiny is out of their hands.

Having defended well in the first half and hit back strongly after conceding two tries to lead 14-12 at the interval, Barry took command early in the second half. But despite pinning Caerphilly back in their 22 for most of the first 20 minutes some poor decision making and errors meant that lead was not extended.

And the visitors responded by ruthlessly punishing that failure with four scores between the 60th and 70th minutes, Barry only replying in the last minute.

“It was all about league points today,” said head coach Mike Morgan, “You start with five and work your way back. At half-time it looked like we had four. But in the second half it went down to zero unfortunately.

“It’s the story of our season. There were a number of decisions, defensively and offensively, not part of our game plan. What happens then is we fracture. And a team like Caerphilly are good enough to then find the gaps.

“It’s disappointing all round that it’s arguably our mistakes which put us in a losing position. If only we had kept our composure when we were 14-12 up, when they were running out of ideas and we had the momentum. But the main difference, even when Caerphilly were under pressure, was that they didn’t change their game plan. We did.”

Barry had defended well against Caerphilly’s early pressure, conceding just two tries. But the Bombers battled back, Rhys Forse going over after 36 minutes as Barry’s powerful scrum drove for the line. Four minutes later, following a lineout and quick hands, Josh Edwards outpaced the defence to score. Morgan Prosser converted both.

But Barry’s failure to turn their almost constant pressure in the first 20 minutes of the second half to points was brutally punished as Caerphilly, moving the ball quickly, capitalised on some poor defending. Barry briefly sparked late on, Lewis Bumford, on the overlap, rounding off a swift handling move. But it was no consolation.

Barry, with one game to play, have 32 points. Cambrian Welfare, with five to play, are on 23. Rhydyfelin are bottom on 13 points with four matches left. Two teams go down, so even a five-point win at Rhydyfelin may not be enough to save Barry.

The defeat, said Morgan, “has put us under massive pressure. No doubt we are up against it, and a lot of what happens next is not in our hands. But we are not giving up yet.”

Ken Watkins

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