This was a desperately needed win for Barry in their final game, but with fellow relegation-threatened Cambrian Welfare also winning, the issue of who goes down with Rhydyfelin is still far from settled.
Admiral National League Division 1 East Central
Rhydyfelin 17 Barry RFC 22
Barry ended the season on 36 points. Cambrian Welfare are on 27, but they have four games to play, three away from home, so the tension will last until deep into April.
The Bombers got the result they wanted at a windswept Rec. “Today was about league points. It was four very, very needed points,” said head coach Mike Morgan, “but we know we are not out of the woods yet, and Cambrian can still stay up.
“Tactically we got it right. The kicking game was massively important to us today. We came into the game knowing there would not be too much rugby. The idea was keep them pinned back. In their half we either score or pick up some penalties.”
And for long spells in the game, particularly with the strong wind in the second half, Barry did just that. “We stuck to the game plan, credit to everyone involved today, and everything was spot on - tactics, how we wanted to play, where we wanted to play. We’d done the analysis on how Rhydyfelin play. And the players focused for 95 per cent of the time.”
Morgan felt Barry lost focus twice, “trying to play champagne rugby out of our half. And twice we were scored against.” But some choice words under the posts early in the second half switched the focus back on.
Rhydyfelin took an early lead, but Barry levelled after 18 minutes, quickly recycling the host’s restart following a penalty miss, Cam Williams making strong progress before the ball was worked out to Will Lewis, who scored in the corner.
Josh Edwards, racing down the sideline, had what appeared to be a perfectly good try ruled out after 35 minutes. The referee initially awarded it, but then changed his decision to a lineout on the advice of the home touch judge, who had been some distance behind the move.
Barry kept up the pressure on the Rhydyfelin line, Owen Rees putting the Bombers ahead in the last minute, Morgan Prosser converting for a 12-5 interval lead.
Rhydyfelin struck again two minutes into the second half to tie the scores, Prosser restoring Barry’s lead with a penalty five minutes later. A turnover let Rhydyfelin in again after 50 minutes, but Josh Trewartha rounded off a scrum drive and pressure, Prosser converting, for the winning score after 62 minutes.
It made for a tense finish, but Barry held on strongly for a victory their performance in a tough, physical battle merited.
Rhydyfelin: tries – Dylan John (3 min), Lewis Jones (42), Kurtis Channon (50); conv – Kian Harris (42 min).
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