A brilliant last playing weekend of the season, which saw 300 minis on tour in Norfolk and fabulous wins for our Men’s and Women’s 1st XV to put the seal on their excellent seasons. The Men won an astonishing game away at Canterbury, winning in the last play of the game 29-31 having been behind 26-5 at one stage, whilst the Women travelled to Westcliff and secured 3rd place in their league with a gutsy win 24-36.

Match reports and, reports on all of the Minis tours are below.

The Men also held their end of season dinner recently and the awards were as follows:

• 1st XV Player of the Season 2025/26 - Angus Farquhar
• 2nd XV Player of the Season 2025/26 - Malcolm Nimmo
• Outriders Player of the Season 2025/26 - Jake Shaw
• Coaches Player of the Season 2025/26 - Caelan Stanton
• Supporters Player of the Season 2025/26 - Angus Farquhar
• Occies Players of the Season 2025/26 - Luke Mussert
• Clubman of the year - Outstanding Contribution to Barnes RFC 2025/26 - Lizzie, Tom, Archie & Wilf Dehlson.

All of the recipients were brilliant, but I want to mention the Dehlson family who picked up the Clubman of the year award for their overall contribution to the club. There is a separate piece on them on the website here: Dehlson family win Clubman of the Year!

Although there are more tours this coming weekend, the season is all but finished and I would like to thank everyone in making this club as successful and brilliant as it is, we are part of a remarkable tribe and it makes me incredibly proud to see the way we continue to achieve so much on and off the pitch.

Thank you for making an old rhino so happy.

Have a great Summer – see you next season.

Onwards and Upwards!

For Rugby! For Friendship! For Life!

Michael Whitfield - President Barnes Rugby Club

Canterbury Men’s 1st XV 29 – 31 Barnes Men’s 1st XV - words by Rhino
A pulsating game saw us score in the final play of the game snatching victory from a Canterbury team which lost its way in the second half.

The defeat also confirmed that Barnes will finish 4th in National 2 East, our fourth consecutive top four finish in this tough league.

The city side which dominated the first half, scoring three outstanding tries, with a penalty try thrown in for good measure, and Canterbury were fourteen points ahead at the break.
Barnes made a quick reply to an early Canterbury try with a try from fly half Will Nicholson, but Canterbury’s attacking mindset was strong, and we sat off tackles and mad too many errors.

We suffered two quick yellow cards to further disrupt our tempo as well as losing Ewen Murphy to a facial cut courtesy of our second row Pat Walton’s elbow!

A penalty try and a further try from classy handing by the home side’s backs put Canterbury in a potentially winning position as they led 26-5 heading to half time. But 3 minutes before the break Barnes showed that we were up for the fight as pack power rewarded us with a penalty try of our own, making the HT score 26-12.

This score was crucial in maintaining our momentum going in the second half as Canterbury’s fluency deserted them.

An Elliot Haydon try and Nicholson’s conversion narrowed the gap to seven points at 26-19 as the city side dropped passes and struggled to hold on to possession.

All they mustered points wise was a penalty as Barnes continued to turn the screw and in the last quarter Barnes tightened their grip and a catch and drive try from Adam Musa, converted by Nicholson, put the game on a knife edge, the score now 29-26.

There were two yellow cards against Canterbury as they defended strongly, but too many penalties were conceded and with the clock nearly in the red, we mounted wave after wave of assaults on the Canterbury line and eventually, last year’s Captain Rory Kassapian was driven over by the pack to break the hearts of the 800 strong crowd and send the Barnes massif into absolute rapture.

One of our best comebacks ever and certainly the best 2nd half performance of the season – a fantastic end to the season.

Westcliff Women’s 1st XV 24 - 38 Barnes Women’s 1st XV - words by Co-Captain Kitty Robinson
On Sunday, Barnes Women 1XV steered clear of the marathon disruption to make the trip to Westcliff. Playing our final game four weeks after our previous fixture wasn’t the ideal finish (great scheduling by the RFU!). Barnes won narrowly when Westcliff came to Barnes Elms in September, which was their first game in NC1, and we have seen them improving throughout the season so we knew this would be a close fought game.

Westcliff had a nervy start, hesitant to tackle and making multiple unforced errors which Barnes capitalised on. Playing the phases and building well, it was a matter of minutes before Liv Ponsford had her hands on the ball, unleashing her speed out wide and running in our first try. Barnes continued to win the physical battle, making good ground and soon our superstar Norwegian Jeanette ran in untouched.

Westcliff started building into the game, speeding up their play and increasing their physicality. Despite valiant defensive efforts on our try line, Westcliff snuck over on a pick and go that was successfully converted. A series of penalties put Barnes on the back foot, and the quick-thinking Westcliff 13 ran in another.

Barnes regrouped and continued to play our structure. Dominance in the scrums helped to put us back on the front foot and Cam went over for a classic forward try just before the half, which Liv Ponsford successfully converted.

12-17 at half time.

The game continued to be very to and fro in the second half, Ruth ran in a great try converted by Liv Ponsford. Westcliff 13 had a great boot and scored off an impressive chip and chase, catching out the Barnes back line, their 9 outwitted us soon after and ran another making the score 24-24.

The game remained very close for the next 20 minutes, Barnes were giving away too many penalties and Andy Pickering getting us marched back an additional 10 metres for backchat to the ref from the sideline certainly didn’t help! The penalties meant that an even greater defensive effort was required but we managed to withstand their pressure.

Ruth kicked through a great grubber which was picked up by the Westcliff full back, but she fumbled it and Liv Branga was on hand to dot it down over the line. Liv Ponsford added the extras.

For the last play of the game Meg Kelly ran around the tiring Westcliff defensive line for 50 metre try which had the Barnes supporters in full cry! Liv added the final 2 points for a final score of 24-38.

Coaches awarded their player of the match to Jenn Pawley who was standout in both attack and defensive.

Forward of the match went to Liv Branga who made a huge impact when she came on and whose quick reactions resulted in a fantastic try.

Back of the match went to Ruth Mottershead who controlled the game really well.
We end the season 3rd in the league and on an 8-game winning streak! Thank you to everyone who has supported us throughout this season, it’s been a cracker!

Barnes Women’s 2nd XV was due to play Kilburn away on Saturday. Unfortunately, due to an extensive injury list and university players in the thick of exams, we were not able to field a team and had to award Kilburn the walkover.

This is a hugely disappointing way to end what has been a tricky season for our 2nd XV team. I want to give a massive shout out to our coaches, captains and team manager, Bethan McGarva for their persistent efforts.

The 2nd XV has played some fantastic games this season and have built up a lot of players' confidence.

Have a great Summer and onwards to next season!

Minis tour to Norfolk – words by Juniors Supremo Boris Pomroy
On Friday, 300 Minis, parents and carers headed to Norfolk for the highlight of the season. Tour.

Base camp was a caravan site in Caister. We got there the traditional way. Five hours on coaches on a Friday night. Plenty of singing. Some of it in tune.

Saturday started early. A few brave souls went for a dip in the North Sea. Most chose to drink coffee and carb-load. From there it was on to Wymondham Rugby Club. A beautiful club with values that felt very close to our own.

There was rugby everywhere. Games throughout the day, hot dogs delivered straight to the pitches, and a real sense of community. We stayed on to watch their men’s first team take on local rivals, and the Red Roses smash Wales on TV. A lovely moment seeing Barnes legend Jess back at her childhood club, coaching the next generation of players.

Back to Caister for a quick refuel, and then court was in session. A number of serious offences were brought forward. Evidence was heard. Judgements were made. Unfortunately, the judge has ruled that proceedings remain confidential. What happened in court will stay in court.

Sunday brought a change of location but more of the same feeling. This year’s festival at North Walsham was organised by Barnes, bringing together teams from across Norfolk. Another full day of rugby, camaraderie and joy.

A special moment for the Under 8s, who ceremoniously threw away their tags for the final time. Next stop, contact rugby in September. And then it was time to head home. Back on the coaches. Still singing. Still smiling.

Old friendships strengthened. New ones made.
A huge thank you to Jonathan Turner and his team for pulling it all together. A proper feat of organisation. And to Sam Billett for being brave enough to take hundreds of Southwest London tourists to his childhood club. We can only hope he’s invited back.

Meanwhile, the Under 14 boys enjoyed their own tour down to Bognor. As we’ve come to expect from this group, it was a loud, boisterous and thoroughly joyful affair. Enjoyed as much by the parents and coaches as the players themselves. The rugby was strong too, with both teams acquitting themselves well across a number of highly physical matches. As one coach put it, “Giant, bearded 13-year-olds seem to be a common phenomenon outside the M25.”

And while others were away, our Under 12 girls were in Surrey Cup action, narrowly losing out in the Plate Final to a very good Old Reigatians side. A tough result, but a brilliant effort, and we look forward to seeing them back in action as Under 14s next season.

Next up, our Under 11s head off on their rugby pilgrimage to Laon, our Under12, Under14 and Under 16 girls all travel to the Worthing International Girls Festival and our U15 boys head to Italy.

Good luck to you all. We look forward to hearing the stories next week.