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Barnes stumble away at TJ's whilst our Women's and Men's 2nd XV's both win

Barnes stumble away at TJ's whilst our Women's and Men's 2nd XV's both win

Michael Whitfield2 Nov 2022 - 17:42

A frustrating performance from Barnes Men's 1st saw them lose 35-22 to Tonbridge Juddians - but a losing bonus point gives small slice of joy

Our defence against TJ's was not up to the high standard we set for ourselves - it will be very interesting to see how the lads react this weekend against Canterbury
- Michael "Rhino" Whitfield

I must firstly apologise for the brevity of update this week (which I am sure some of you will be delighted about of course!) but I am away in Kenya visiting some of the charities the Atlas Foundation support there in Kibera, as well as taking part in an incredibly tough trek which I somehow survived, so I am writing this from Nairobi, with limited Wi-Fi!

There is a separate tab on the website that tells you a little about the kids who play rugby in Nairobi to escape the slum they live for a few hours every week, I gave them some Barnes RFC hoodies from an old youngsters tour to Laon, and some small people’s boots too, which had kindly been donated by the Minis, and the beaming faces of these kids wearing Barnes stash tells you everything you need to know about what makes these kids tick

A mixed weekend last time out, our Men’s 1st XV spluttered and coughed their way through a game dominated by the excellent fly-half Tom White of Tonbridge Juddians, who scored 15 points in his sides 35-22 victory. TJs zoomed into to 13-0 lead after only 15 minutes, but then Barnes launched their comeback with tries from Elliott Powell and Cameron Roberts. With George Makepeace-Cubitt converting one of the two scores, we were right back in the game at 13-12 at halftime, but then conceded two further tries in the first 15 minutes of the second half!

The overall score looks as though there was a high margin of victory but, in reality, we were still in contention at 23-17 down, following Giles Bromley-Martin’s try, and with 10 minutes to go, we conceded a try from a chip and chase by the irritatingly good White, and another try from our own kick out of defence, which bounced kindly for the home team to gather on the charge and extend their lead to 35-17. The last points of the game went to Barnes, and gave us a losing bonus point, Cam Roberts getting his 2nd try of the game, and we know from previous seasons that those points in defeat often prove vital at the end of the season.

There will be a great deal of self-examination this week as the squad prepare for their two games at Barn Elms on Saturday.

This weekend, the Men’s 1st XV takes on Canterbury, too often in the past we have let the Kent side take advantage of our inconsistencies, last season one of our 5 draws was against them 20-20 at our place, and we lost 21-12 at their place earlier this year. And they will be confident after beating Rochford Hundred 31-12 last Saturday. The 1st XV kicks off at 2:30pm at Barn Elms, whilst our Men’s Raiders XV take on Esher 2nd XV, also at Barn Elms, but with an early kick off at 1pm, in time so their vocal support will be heard cheering on out 1st XV in their game.

Talking of the side formerly known as our 2’s, they too will be feeling confident after an excellent away win 17-47 against Chinnor 2nd XV, we are fortunate to have such a talented 1st XV squad and no doubt, as the season goes on, more and more of the Raider’s players will be knocking on the 1st XV door and being ushered inside!

Barnes Occies went down at home 7 - 47 and will be seeking redemption when they travel away to play Old Ruts on Saturday.

Last Sunday, our Women’s 2nd XV continued their excellent progress with a 17 - 5 win over old rivals Belsize Park, this side is going from strength to strength, and have a rest weekend this weekend, whilst the 1st XV have an away fixture against Chobham Ladies this Sunday.

Also, last weekend, our Under 10’s showed Saracens how to play on their own ground, you can read a match report from Boris Pomroy below this summary.

Here’s to a wonderful weekend of Barnow Rugby, all played in the original spirt that we play by and embrace at Barnes RFC.

Onwards and Upwards Barnow!

Michael “Rhino” Whitfield – Chairman Barnes RFC

Mighty Under 10’s show Sarries the way - words from Boris Pomroy
Last weekend, a squad of 12 of our mighty Under 10’s headed North to StoneX stadium for an amazing festival and match-day experience.

The team performed in true Barnes style, showing a combination of flair and physical process to come away undefeated against competition from Letchworth, Barnet, Westcliff and Saffron Walden, conceding only three tries along the way.

Coaches from the other teams came over to congratulate our Under 10’s both on the quality of the rugby, and the attitude of our players. The team stayed on to watch Saracens beat Sale on the same ground where our Under 10’s had also swept all before them.

This weekend we are delighted to welcome Canterbury Under 11’s to Barn Elms, where they'll joining Bank of England, and our own superstar players, in a mini-Minis-festival, before feasting on hot dogs and cheering on the Barnes and Canterbury Men’s 1st XVs in their National 2 East clash.

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