Barry welcomed St Albans to the Reservoir Field on Saturday.
Isaac Thomas came on for the second half of this fiercely contested game, getting a longer run from the bench, and it paid off in style as he scored his first try in senior rugby, swiftly taking advantage of a defensive error when St Albans fumbled Barry’s clearance kick.
Thomas was quickly onto the ball, kicking ahead and outpacing the defence to gather and score under the posts in the 62nd minute. Owen Rees converted to level the scores.
For head coach Mike Morgan, it was another clear indication of the pathway system working, developing young players of quality. “Isaac has previously played about 20 minutes of senior rugby, and he scores a try like that.”
Barry then looked to be heading for at least a draw and two valuable points, but a controversial late penalty handed victory to the visitors. A losing bonus point was scant reward for Barry’s efforts. The pressure remains on the Bombers, who have three matches left before a difficult season ends.
St Albans secured a league double, although this was a vastly improved Barry performance from November’s 57-28 defeat. On Saturday, the outcome of this hard-fought match remained in the balance, Barry just falling short with the clock deep in the red.
A second half, punctuated by a series of injuries, lasted just short of an hour, and the last few minutes, after Barry had fallen behind to that late and contentious penalty, saw them drive the Buns back into their own 22. The pressure only ground to a halt on the last play when the mightily relieved visitors forced a penalty.
Morgan, bitterly disappointed by the defeat, still took plenty of positives from the performance, praising man-of-the-match Jack Reid’s second-half showing off the bench which snuffed out the threat of danger man Luke Fish. He also praised the backs for what he felt was their “most consistent performance. Every time they had the ball they looked a threat.”
But he was disappointed in Barry’s first-half performance. “We were a little bit passive at the breakdown. We had a huge shake-up at half-time, a wakeup call from all the coaches, and in the second half we managed the breakdown area better.”
Unfortunately, the breakdown area, and the whole match, was punctuated by some puzzling decisions, not least the 78th-minute penalty that clinched the match for the Buns. Fish scored from an easy angle instead of facing a challenging kick from close to the touchline.
The visitors took the lead through Jake Donovan after six minutes, quick recycling paying off, and Fish converting. Alyn Evans rounded off Barry’s catch and drive in the 12th minute, Morgan Prosser converting. Fish was again on target following Daniel Millward’s try after 50 minutes, before Owen Rees added the extras following Thomas’ sparkling score.
Upcoming Events:
*Barry visit Caerphilly on February 28, and have rearranged fixtures at home to Caerphilly on March 21 and away to Rhydyfelin on March 28.
*Barry RFC is inviting local residents and community members to attend a public drop-in consultation at the clubhouse on Wednesday, February 25, between 4-8pm, regarding the proposed 3G all-weather pitch at the club.
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