MINEHEAD Barbarians find themselves with a free weekend for both their first and second teams.

The Babas lost 38-14 to Old Reds in Counties Two Somerset last weekend but Minehead's head coach Jack Claydon said he was pleased with this side's performance. "We had a couple of players drop out otherwise I think we could have run them closer," he said. "But we were pleased to have Richard Holness (prop) and Ollie Parfitt (centre) back in the side.

"Reds are a very good side. But our ball retention in the match was the best of the season. We certainly frustrated the Reds. Our focus in our last six matches has been on strong defending and it has proved to be beneficial. We have only conceded 38 points in our last three matches."

With no game today (Sat), Claydon says he will be targeting next weekend's match at Weston as one they 'must win.' "We need to pull away from where we are in the table and make sure we retain our status in the division," he added.