A third tight win in a row

A third successive close game for the Barnet 2nd XV ended up with the same result – a hard fought win. A much changed side with no less than 6 players playing their first game for the 2s managed to carry on where the previous teams have left off to put the side in a strong position in the league.

The Barnet gameplan was always going to be quite simple given the number of changes and the obvious strength in the forwards. The stall was set out early for aggressive hard running by the forwards hoping to grind down the opposition defence for gaps to appear. The tactic had almost immediate rewards with several powerful runs opening up Fullerians before the ball was spread wide where TIM WILCOX had the power to beat the remaining defenders to touch down in the corner. This was followed by a magnificent conversion from the touchline by the impressive JONNY RAGGETT. From the restart the same approach saw Barnet again make progress deep into the Fullerians half where they were forced to concede a penalty in front of the posts that was converted by JONNY RAGGETT to give the visitors an impressive early 10-0 lead. However, complacency soon set in and when this was combined with a growing lack of discipline Barnet found themselves under pressure. This was made worse when Jonno Wilkins was shown a yellow card for a professional foul close to the try line. Fullerians made the most of their man advantage and were able to power over close to the posts to get 7 points on the board. There were further problems for the seconds as Jonny Raggett was forced from the field with a foot injury to be replaced by Shaun Harris at fly-half.

Barnet bounced back quickly from this setback when, still with fourteen men on the field, TIM WILCOX broke through the defence near the halfway line and went the rest of the way to score a fantastic solo effort to put Barnet 15-7 ahead. This was how things remained at half time thanks to some superb Barnet defence right on their own line at the close of the half. In the second half, with the visiting back line losing effectiveness against a strong Fullerians defence, the ball was kept increasingly tight where the opposition were able to get to breakdowns quickly and start winning turnovers to release the pressure. Despite numerous half-breaks and periods of pressure Barnet were unable to add to their tally while Fullerians did manage to score one try in the corner which they could not convert to set up a tight final 7 minutes. However, further fantastic defence and power up front meant that Barnet were able to hold on for the win relatively comfortably.

There were a number of fine performances, especially in the pack where Jack Rowe, Mark Morton and Jonno Wilkins all impressed with numerous line breaks and ferocious defence. The man of the match, for his two tries was Tim Wilcox.

The post-game dinner was the second curry of the season – this time a beef and potato effort that delivered a slight kick with a very fragrant sauce. The stand-out element however was a delicious dhal that was well seasoned and a very welcome rarity on the post-game dinner circuit that will hopefully make many more appearances.