Wells 5 Minehead Barbarians 29

Counties Two Somerset

AN ugly win can still be a bonus point win! The Barbarians travelled to Wells with a number of changes to the side again, mostly amongst the forwards, writes Bryan Stevens.

Minehead played up the slope in the first half and both teams struggled to build any cohesive play, or to put phases together.

For Minehead, Cox lead from the front, and it was great to see Greg Richards back in a Barbarian shirt after some time away.

The first score came when Swann threw to Cox in the lineout, the drive came on and carried the ball to the home line where Richards claimed the try which was converted by Gower.

When they were able to get clean possession, Minehead showed the prowess of the backs with Senior and Hole breaking through the middle, while Day and Chinn were dangerous in the wide areas.

This was shown when the team broke out from their own line, moving the ball well and moving up close to the Wells line.

It was Chinn who extended the lead, when a loose ball in mid-pitch was moved to the backs, Hole drove forward, and when Chinn sped away he scored with ease. Gower again adding the extra points.

Senior almost crossed after a powerful carry by Richards, then the backs combined to threaten again before Wells held out till the break.

From the restart Cox charged forward to make room for Gower to clear downfield.

However, both teams were struggling to make headway with many small mistakes meaning the game did not flow.

Tim Sondgen-Brown had come onto the wing for his 1stXV debut and he delivered the final pass which allowed Day to dive into the corner for a try following some quick ball moved by Hawker and Gower.

Wells had not given up, and mounted siege to the Minehead line, with the Barbarians defending hard. Eventually a gap appeared and the Wells No8 crossed to give the home side a try.

The Barbarians finally gained the vital bonus point try when Sondgen-Brown scored, taking a pass from Day to cross wide out. Just before the whistle Day scored once more to end what had been a difficult afternoon for Minehead.

Luke Senior stood out for his calm and effective play in midfield, but the Man of the Match award went to Greg Richards whose dogged forward play, after so long out, was impressive.

Next week the Barbarians face high-flying Clevedon at home.

Clevedon are currently in second place in the table after four wins and a defeat in their five league outings to date, two points ahead of the Barbarians in fourth spot.