Sun 29 Sep 2019, 11:00
Cup day
Sunday found the 16’s at home to our local rivals Earlsdon in the first round of pool matches
The coaches were asking for a quick start as expectation was Earlsdon would start like a house on fire and they’re enthusiasm needed quelling
This, however , wasn’t to be the case and for the first quarter Earlsdon throw everything at Barkers except the kitchen sink!!
The first 16 minutes belonged to the Earlsdon attack , going close a number of times but dogged defence and the willingness to not let the line be crossed stood out
Then came the backlash, breaking out of defence Barkers went up the pitch , the forwards broken free of defensive duties hit rucks and gave excellent ball for the backs to take the team close to the line and it was fitting after pressure on the Earlsdon line that Josh Knight went over for the first score of the day duly converted by Luke Linton
7-0
This physically lifted the team and the rest of the game belonged to a rampant free scoring 16’s team
The second belonged to Sam Mikhael, his first of the day, the ball going thru the hands before Thomas Dyson put in a kick pass recovered by Ollie Hurst who then offloaded to Sam who ran it in from the halfway line beating numerous defenders along the way
12-0
Then came Sam’s second try, a line out steal by Sam Hines , quick passing out to Sam who again from just outside the Earlsdon 22 ran in again to score,
17-0
Pressure led to the next try , under excellent pressing from the back row , the Earlsdon kicker got his kick away , unfortunately it landed in George Parnell’s hands who ran it back and he passed it out to debutant Callum Lloyd who showed what pace he had to scoot in and score
HT 22-0
The chat at the break was to maintain the intensity and keep up the good work of the first half
However, best laid plans ...
A poor kick off led to a scrum to Earlsdon but again the back row showed their worth by recovering the ball and quick hands to Charlie Gaut led to him rampaging into the Earlsdon 22, a quick ruck and hands saw the ball find Byron Brown, now on at fullback, who took the ball at pace to race thru to score
Freddie Painter converting
29-0
Earlsdon were now under a lot of pressure.
Resulting in a penalty award close to the line , a tap and pass to Ethan Spandley saw him race over with Luke converting
36-0
Again the back row were prominent in the next score
A poor scrum was rescued by a Josh Knight recovery, a ruck and hands saw the ball in Thomas Dyson’s safe hands and a swallow dive saw him over the line for his first try of his Barkers career
41-0
Earlsdon were still battling but we’re finding it hard to get any decent ball and from a scrum under pressure from Freddie and Jake Toal causing the turnover , passing out to Tom Canning who put in a chip kick which took a slight deflection which took the ball into Sam Mikhael’s hands who gleefully ran in his hat trick score
46-0
With the game coming to an end came the final score
Again from a pressurised scrum Freddie charged down a kick, Ethan picked up the loose ball and set off towards the line setting up the ruck, a few attempts were made to hit over the line before Rory Gallagher finally breeched the Earlsdon defences with Freddie adding the extras
FT 53-0
A game where the final score probably don’t reflect Earlsdon’s efforts but reflects the dogged determination of this group not to let Earlsdon get anything out of this game
Excellent defence in the opening period to ruthlessness in attack
A back line which was full of pace guile and skill
A forward pack who supplied ample ball and a steely grit to back up the performance
Thanks to all today
MOM. Sam Mikhael, Josh Knight & Ethan Spandley
