3rd win 0f 2017: the 2nd in 2 weeks

Clifton scored early, breaking through the line after the first penalty got them into the opposition 22. After 15 minutes Barnes held out a sustained 2nd attack from Clifton and cleared then an intercept levelled the scores. Clifton came right back with their second try before Barnes completed the 1st 1/2 with 2 more tries, a chip through close to the line and a drive from a line-out after a penalty.

A yellow card early in the 2nd 1/2 led to Barnes 4th try, similar to the previous one. At the end of the 3rd quarter they held out an extended attack. Two tries early in the final quarter contributed to a 28 point lead. Just before 70 minutes Clifton got a man advantage for 10 minutes then a penalty try. An excellent try from wing Martey fed by fullback O'Toole was the final score.

Full Report:

After the home team's kick-off and little retention by either there were four kicks resulting in a line-out for the visitors just inside their 22. That was followed by an up-and-under that Barnes dealt with and went wide. After half a dozen phases they were turned over and Clifton kicked into the other 22. Barnes cleared to touch 4 metres past halfway. From the second line-out Clifton advanced a dozen metres in midfield to get the first penalty that they kicked to touch 14 metres from Barnes' line. Their pack's drive was held then they released to centre and after 2 recycles blind they sent flanker Woodward through to the posts shrugging of tacklers at 6 minutes. Fly-half Bradley Barnes added.

They secured the restart and kept the ball for 5 phases before an error gave Barnes the first scrum put-in 16 metres into the visitors' half. From that they went wide and passed wide; they advanced then after one recycle they dropped the ball near the 22. Clifton got it and soon kicked diagonally for territory; Barnes secured the ball and launched an up-and-under. This resulted in the second scrum for the visitors at halfway. From that their scrumhalf broke blind and kicked long to the try line. Barnes cleared to touch at the 22 then stole the line-out. Soon after another up-and-under they were penalised for a high tackle back at halfway and Clifton ran the ball wide until forced into touch at the opposition 22. From the line-out Barnes established a more secure platform and launched another up-and-under. The visitors dealt with that and ran advancing well deep into the 22 then recycled 4 times to get a penalty 9 metres out. They kicked for a line-out 5 metres out; after it there drive went down but they got another penalty that was followed by another 5 metre line-out. This time their pack was forced back and they went wide then recycled wide again. After one more phase the ball was dropped and Barnes kicked ahead for territory. Clifton soon kicked back to touch 18 metres out; the line-out was not-straight. The visitors went wide from their scrum and advanced before being penalised at the second breakdown 9 metres out. Barnes kicked to touch 11 metres from halfway then had their line-out stolen. After 2 close recycles Clifton went wide and Barnes' outside centre Holmes intercepted a pass. Doubting his own pace he kicked and 3 Barnes' backs chased the ball; wing Carlisle got it and touched down at the posts at 19 minutes. Full back O'Toole converted.

Barnes returned the restart with an up-and-under and an error gave them a scrum near halfway. After that they broke blind and the fullback broke through to the 22. They kept possession for 8 more phases but not advancing then were penalised 16 metres into the opposition half (it was said for saying something disagreeable to the Ref.). A good kick took Clifton to the other 22 and from their line-out they went wide and a pass from inside centre Wells to outside centre Harrison sent the latter over wide out after 23 minutes, with Barnes, perhaps, having tried for another intercept. The 45o angle conversion missed.

Clifton ran the ball from the restart; after 4 wide phases without much advance they lost the ball and the opposition got it. Four mixed phases from Barnes got them a penalty 17 metres from the visitors' line. Their kick took them to almost 5 metres out and from the line-out their pack set for a drive. Clifton held that but the attack was continued with 2 close recycles to get another penalty and another line-out 5 metres out. This was thrown not-straight; from their under-pressure scrum the visitors cleared to touch 16 metres out. After this line-out Barnes' pack recycled close twice then released to the inside centre who made ground. The ball was recycled to Holmes who made more then after 2 more phases the fly-half chipped through to the line for Butler to claim after the half hour. The conversion was wide.

Barnes soon returned the restart with an up-and-under; Clifton kept the ball for 6 phases before being turned over. Barnes kicked into the 22 and the visitors cleared to touch 2 metres outside it. From the line-out Barnes went wide and after one recycle a poor pass gave possession back to their opponents. A Clifton error then allowed Barnes to hack a loose ball into the 22 again. This time Clifton tried going wide before being penalised at their 22. The kick took Barnes to 6 metres out and a drive from the line-out got over wide out with hooker Armitage on the ball at 38 minutes. A very good conversion by the fullback followed. An error from each team preceded the whistle with the score 19 - 12.

Immediately after the second half restart the visitors lost a forward for 10 minutes for a dangerous tackle. Barnes kicked to touch, still in their own half, then from the line-out made ground in midfield before recycling close twice then kicking into the opposition 22. This resulted in their line-out 12 metres out, from which their pack drove to the line with prop Packham on the ball after 3 minutes. O'Toole added.

The visitors regained their restart and soon got a penalty just outside the 22. Their kick took them to 13 metres out where the line-out was thrown not-straight. After the scrum Barnes cleared to touch almost to their 22; Clifton kept the ball in from the line-out before being turned over when they released to centre. Another clearing kick by Barnes took them nearly to halfway where they stole the line-out. They soon kicked over to touch 9 metres from the visitors' line. Clifton cleared from the line-out to 10 metres from halfway; from this line-out Barnes advanced with 4 phases to an opposition scrum inside the 22. After that kicks were exchanged leading to a 22 drop-out. Clifton forced an error to get another put-in 6 metres from halfway. They released to centre then were turned over after recycling twice. Barnes soon chipped to touch; the visitors took a quick throw-in and kicked ahead. After an error they hacked a loose ball on to near their opponents' line and got a scrum 5 metres out. This resulted in a penalty 5 metres out and they chose another scrum. After it they recycled close for 6 phases before being turned over. Barnes recovered from an error and launched an up-and-under that resulted in their line-out 18 metres from halfway. Following that they soon kicked to touch inside the other 22; Clifton were turned over again after 3 phases. Barnes kept the ball for 7 phases to send lock Cazalet on a short unopposed run to the line at 23 minutes. Another good conversion followed.

Kicks were exchanged after the restart before the visitors kept the ball for 4 phases before losing possession. Barnes recycled the ball wide then Holmes fed Martey who fed Carlisle who went to the corner at 26 minutes. An excellent conversion followed to reach 40 points.

Barnes dealt with the high restart and soon cleared to touch 9 metres from halfway then stole the line-out and kicked again to the other 22. Clifton ran the ball back to get a penalty at their 10 metre line which they ran to get another 16 metres ahead. They kicked this one to touch inside the other 22. From their line-out they put together their best set of phases of the game, 16 in total. This got them a penalty 5 metres out that they kicked for a line-out; it also got them a man advantage for 10 minutes. From the line-out, their pack drove for the line comfortably, yet were awarded a penalty try just before the half-hour.

The visitors dealt with the high restart and went wide breaking through at centre. After 2 recycles they chipped over and regained then got a scrum 8 metres into the other half. From that they put together 10 good phases and advanced another 8 metres to an opposition put-in. From this scrum Barnes kicked to touch to the other 22; they forced a turnover after 2 phases from their opponents. Next they kicked ahead almost to the visitors' 22. A very long kick from Clifton, after running the ball, went dead at the other end giving Barnes a scrum back in the opposition half. From the scrum at Clifton's 10 metre line, Barnes went blind and O'Toole sent Martey off running; he beat several to go to the posts at 36 minutes. The fullback added the final score. Barnes dealt with the restart and the fullback broke through and chipped ahead to the line. The visitors got a scrum 5 metres from their line then two kicks preceded the whistle.

Played on a different pitch at the Putney riverside end of Barn Elms in good conditions.