Old E's very good in attack after being held in 1st 1/2

- as a contest. For the next 20 minutes Barnes' defence performed strongly until a bit of bad luck in the last minutes gave Old Elthamians their 6th try. Elthamians scored 3 very good tries; 2 others came from quickly pouncing on opposition errors. Barnes fought well but the visitors 6 tries to 1 reflected their attacking ability.

The kick-off didn't go 10 metres giving the visitors the first scrum back; soon after they were penalised for not releasing at the breakdown. The kick didn't go far then after their line-out Barnes were penalised for the same offence. Elthamian's kick to the south-west went further but this line-out was thrown not-straight. At the second scrum, with Barnes' put-in outside of their own 22, Old E's were awarded a free-kick before it settled. They opted for another scrum and from this they kept ball tight before chipping towards the corner and Barnes had to run the ball into touch 5 metres out. After keeping the ball mostly tight from the line-out Elthamians were penalised as previously. Barnes got further up field after their line-out when the opposition dropped an up-and-under. At the following scrum Barnes were penalised when their pack was under pressure. A very good kick took the visitors to their line-out 7 metres out. The defence held the forward drive then the ball was recycled 3 times, the last wider to fullback White who got over at the posts just before 10 minutes. He converted.

The visitors secured the restart and advanced well through several phases before losing possession at the opposition 22. Advantage was played and Barnes kicked long for territory; Old E's kicked out on the full giving their opponents a first attacking opportunity. The line-out was stolen then the visitors recycled several times before having a kick charged down. They recovered and cleared well to touch just inside the other half. One of their forwards went through the line-out to grab the tapped ball; this was soon released to centre then wider sending scrumhalf Judd clear to come in near the posts after 15 minutes. White added. Elthamians tried an up-and-under soon after the restart. Barnes dealt with this set up their first attack; flanker Smyth made a very good break after an offload to him. Barnes went further to get a penalty just outside the 22 after 18 minutes. The kick hit a post and stayed out; Old E's cleared to halfway. An error after the line-out gave the visitors a scrum just inside the other half then soon after that they were penalised for not releasing. The kick took Barnes just inside the opposition 22 then the line-out was thrown not-straight. After the scrum the ball was cleared to touch 8 metres inside the half. From this line-out Barnes went wide and advanced a bit to another line-out for them at the other side. Again they released to their three-quarters and broke into the 22. Quick recycled ball was taken on by centre Hersey nearly to the line then hooker Crossley took it over to touch down at 25 minutes. The conversion missed.

The visitors regained their restart; this was followed by a variety of errors from both teams before penalties got Barnes' three-quarters attacking again. Old E's defence was good and after several minutes pressure Barnes decided to get at least get 3 points, which McIntyre kicked after 34 minutes. The restart resulted in a put-in for Barnes at which Elthamians got a free-kick. Their forwards ran it and recycled well before chipping to the line; Barnes dealt with this and kicked their 22 drop-out long. The visitors ran it back before kicking ahead; this was marked in the 22 and cleared to touch for the early half-time whistle.

The second half restart resulted in a Barnes' put-in; after it, kicks were exchanged then the home team broke through before passing forward just inside the opposition 22. Old E's cleared to touch from the scrum and from the line-out, inside the opposition half, Barnes released to their backs. Fullback Wilde broke through and the defence conceded a penalty 15 metres into the half in centre field at 3 minutes; McIntyre kicked the points. Elthamians regained their restart and recycled close 3 times before being turned over. The ball was kicked over the opposition line with the result being a Barnes' put-in near halfway. The opposition disrupted this to get their own scrum and from this they released wide for wing Edwards to run to the corner after 8 minutes. An excellent conversion from White followed. Within 4 minutes of that Old E's got their 4th try; they had secured the restart then 3 kicks followed before another put-in near halfway for the visitors. Barnes got the ball away from the scrum but it was dropped in midfield with the opposition backs up quickly. Elthamians snapped up the ball and raced to the line with centre Hamilton touching down; White added.

E's secured the restart, got ball wide then kicked into the other half and soon forced a turnover before being awarded a penalty 30 metres from the opposition line. They kicked for a line-out 14 metres out and from that tried wide ball when their drive went down. The defence held and got a line-out 5 metres out. Barnes lost their line-out then got a penalty for their opponents not releasing. Their clearing kick didn't find touch; Elthamians ran and kept ball in hand, varying their recycling to get another penalty, this time 17 metres out. This time the penalty was run and Judd was quickly over the line after 18 minutes; again White converted.

The visitors kicked back the restart; Barnes ran the ball recycling and making ground. They kicked into the opposition 22; Elthamians cleared to touch. Barnes took a quick throw-in and launched an up-and-under; the visitors dealt with this and broke away well into the other half with very good recycling and passing to get a penalty just inside the other 22. They kicked for a 5 metre line-out; another penalty followed after a drive and release wider. This time they chose a scrum but got no advantage from that; they chipped through and Barnes cleared to touch but not far. The line-out resulted in a Barnes' scrum; the ball was kept in to get a penalty which they ran. After some recycling they too were penalised on halfway. The kick took the visitors to their line-out 17 metres out and from that their pack started a good drive which went down 3 metres out and brought them another penalty. They ran this one to get another and a man advantage for 10 minutes. They chose a scrum that Barnes held to get their own put-in. From this scrum they kicked for territory and Elthamians were soon penalised for not releasing. The kick took Barnes into the other half for a while before an error set Old E's attacking again. The visitors kicked in the other 22 and got a put-in 5 metres out. The defence was again good and got the next scrum at the same place. At this one the ball seemed to come out at the side and Judd pounced upon it to get his hat trick at the corner with 3 minutes to go; another excellent conversion from White followed. The visitors kicked back the restart and Barnes ran the ball, recycling 3 times before being penalised for crossing at the whistle.

Overcast, dry, cold with wind from the north blowing across the pitch; this weakened towards the end.