Barnes 2nd team beaten in the first half ...

Short:

Barnes held out the visitors' first attack that started from an early penalty. They scored first with 3 points. Stortford soon replied with an unconverted try breaking through 3 times and scoring from 7 phases. Another try followed 3 minutes later with Barnes not touching the ball except for the restart. Turnovers and a penalty led to Barnes first try at a score of 10-all at the half hour.

The visitors broke through easily for a 7-pointer after the restart. They went 12 points not long before halftime after stealing a Barnes' defensive line-out thrown too long.

During the third quarter Barnes stayed in the opposition half but very good defence kept them out. A stolen line-out and good kicking for territory led to the first 7-pointer of the second half for Stortford after getting out of their half. Three penalties and a drive from a line-out got the last one for Barnes 6 minutes before the end.

Full:

The visitors' kick-off was high and not long; it resulted in their scrum 30 metres out. Good retention soon got them a penalty that was kicked to touch 12 metres out. A drive from the line-out took them to 3 metres out then more good close recycling got them to the line, not over, but another penalty. They chose a scrum 5 metres out and from it they got over but held-up. From the second 5 metre scrum they used wider ball for 2 out of 3 phases before being forced into touch not far from the line. Barnes used an up-and-under from their line-out; Stortford got the ball and ran wide. Barnes forced an error to get a scrum put-in 30 metres out. From it they went blind before a loose ball was hacked on by the visitors and the defence cleared to touch 15 metres from halfway. An error soon after the line-out gave Barnes a penalty that they kicked for another just past halfway. An error at that gave the opposition a scrum; from it they released to centre then advanced well into the other half with two more phases until turned over. After one recycle Barnes' no.8 broke through in midfield and after 3 recycles and a further advance they were awarded a penalty 26 metres out near centre field after 12 minutes. Fly-half Coles kicked the points.

Barnes replied to the restart with an up-and-under; Stortford got the ball and quickly ran to the line with one pass and no recycling. The outcome was a 22 drop-out from which they broke through again. After 5 recycles they were turned over; Barnes kicked for territory and the visitors ran wide and with 7 varied phases got over not far from the posts after 17 minutes. The conversion hit a post and the bar and bounced out.

Stortford secured the restart and soon chipped over the defence and regained possession; they advanced well, recycled wide then kicked towards the corner. This resulted in their line-out 5 metres out. Their forwards kept the ball close then went wide to send their left wing over at the far side 3 minutes after the previous try. The conversion missed.

They secured the restart and put together 7 phases that include two significant advances before being turned over not far from the try line. After one close recycle Barnes were awarded a penalty that they kicked to 25 metres out. Their line-out resulted in a scrum for Stortford; from that they soon went wide then recovered from an error that sent then backwards. Their penalty at halfway was kicked for line-out but didn't find touch; Barnes kicked for territory then forced another turnover. They went wide and advanced with better retention to get a penalty 13 metres into the opposition half. The kick took them to 17 metres out and from the line-out their pack drove over wide out at the half hour with flanker Malaney on the ball. A very good conversion from Coles followed.

Stortford regained their high restart and with 5 recycles broke through to the posts; the try-scorer brushing off the tackle of the last defender. This less than 3 minutes after the previous try and the conversion restored their 7 point lead.

Stortford cleared the longer restart to touch 14 metres from halfway. They stole the line-out that was thrown too long and advanced a bit; after two recycles the opposition were penalised and the kick took them to 12 metres past halfway. They went wider from their line-out to get a penalty a couple of metres ahead and kicked for another line-out 5 metres out. From that they kept the ball close but were penalised setting up a driving maul. Barnes kicked for a line-out 24 metres out and soon got another penalty after it. This kick didn't find touch and Stortford kicked back to touch 21 metres from Barnes' line. Again the line-out was thrown too long and the opposition got the ball and made good ground. Two recycles sent an attacker over at the far corner after 37 minutes. The conversion missed.

The restart resulted in a penalty for Barnes and they kicked to touch 18 metres from the visitors' line. An error at the line-out preceded the halftime whistle.

Two kicks followed Barnes' second half restart; Stortford kept the ball and got the first scrum 13 metres into their opponents' half. From that they released to centre and were penalised 11 metres back; Barnes' kick gained them 16 metres then from the line-out they put together their best set of phases thus far in the game, 9 mostly close, to get a penalty 29 metres out near centre field after 4 minutes. The kick for the points missed.

The 22 drop-out went into touch at halfway; following the line-out Barnes advanced 11 metres with a couple of recycles before the defence forced an error to get a put-in. Barnes got a free kick at the scrum and ran the ball with 3 phases to the 22 where Stortford got another put-in. From that they were forced backwards but got a penalty 15 metres out. Their kick didn't find touch and Barnes ran back then kicked to the line for another 22 drop-out. The visitors regained from that then kicked out on the full. Barnes kept the ball in from the line-out at first then broke blind and recycled close twice. The defence forced an error to get a scrum 13 metres out; in that they pushed Barnes backwards but were then penalised 4 metres ahead. Barnes kicked for a line-out 10 metres out then a drive. The defence held then the ball was recycled close 4 times to advance to the line. There the defence was penalised and Barnes had a 5 metre line-out; they forced back but only to another penalty against the defence. The next line-out was 6 metres out; again the drive was held then Barnes recycled close 3 more times before being forced into touch. The line-out was stolen and Barnes kept the ball close for 8 phases before passing forward. From their 5 metre scrum the visitors soon cleared well to touch 12 metres from halfway. From this line-out Barnes kept the ball close at first then released to centre and made ground. Following 3 more recycles and one advance they got a penalty that was kicked to 12 metres out. This time no drive; the ball was recycled 3 times then Stortford won a turnover and cleared to touch 29 metres out. Next they stole the line-out and soon kicked for territory. Two more kicks followed to the visitors' advantage, taking them into the other half for the first time since just after the second restart more than 20 minutes ago. Three more kicks followed then Stortford ran the ball but passed forward 17 metres into the opposition half. After the scrum the visitors charged down a kick and got the ball; they recycled twice then chipped through to the 22. A defender was able to recycle the ball which was kicked ahead. Stortford ran back wide and one pass sent an attacker to the posts at 27 minutes for a 19 point lead when converted.

Stortford secured the restart and had the ball for 3 close phases before being penalised 12 metres inside their half. Barnes kicked for a line-out 18 metres out; the defence forced an error after 3 close phases. The visitors dispossessed soon after their scrum. After recycling once close and once wider Barnes got a penalty 26 metres out and kicked to 5 metres out. Soon after the line-out they got another penalty and opted for the same line-out. From that the pack drove over with hooker Moncur on the ball wide out at 34 minutes. A good conversion from replacement fly-half Milner followed.

Barnes soon kicked back the restart; Stortford ran back, recovered from an error then were intercepted in Barnes' 22. After one recycle Barnes kicked and regained but were penalised 5 metres from halfway. The visitors kicked to the 22 and kept the ball after the line-out for 4 phases before kicking to touch 7 metres out. Barnes had the ball for a couple of phases before the last error and the whistle.

Dry and cold, overcast, little wind and the pitch good but not hard.