Fixture

Mountain Ash RFC | 1st Team 20 - 30 Barry RFC | 1st Team
Luke O'sullivan
1 Try
Bradley White
1 Try
Kyle Barros
2 Conversion
2 Penalty
Lucas Davies
1 Try
Chris Lockyer
1 Try

Match Report
05 January 2020 / Team News

Poor Form Continues

It’s been a bleak Christmas and New Year for Mount with two defeats and not a League point gained. In the Division 1 East Central match against Barry at Duffryn Pennar Park, Mount made a promising start and finished strongly in the last 10 minutes, but the bit in between was as poor as most supporters can remember.

After leading 6-0 after 8 minutes play through two Declan Conway penalties, the Old Firm lost their way. As the Mount performance dipped, Barry gained in confidence. Two converted tries and a penalty before half time gave the visitors a deserved 17-6 lead as they took advantage of a disorganised Mount defence and some sloppy play.

The second half opened disastrously for the Old Firm with a break in midfield leading to another try after a minute which made it 22-6. A Mount attack took play to 10 metres out but it was a Barry player that came out of a maul with the ball and broke away down the field without a Mount defender in sight, forcing wing Rhys Davies to race back and make a tackle in the Mount half.

Centre Jamie Long provided some optimism for the home support with a midfield break in the Mount half, beating several tacklers, but lacking support to pass to. He was eventually hauled down near the Barry line.

Two powerful runs by centre Alex Hughes, the first of which was in the Mount 22, and the second on the Barry 22, looked to have prised open the visitors’ defence but Mount could not take advantage, losing the ball to a turnover metres out which resulted in the visitors running out of defence.

Another try to Barry made it 27 points conceded without any in reply and made the score 27-6 after 66 minutes, giving the visitors a bonus point and a comfortable lead.

Pressure from Mount in the visitors’ 22 saw the ball passed along the backline and a try scored near the posts, which was converted to make it 27-13 after 73 minutes. The comeback lasted less than a minute with a penalty conceded at the breakdown from the restart kicked by the visitors from the 22 line to settle the issue and make it 30-13.

Mount were not finished and played their best rugby in the last 10 minutes since their opening 6 points at the start of the game. Replacement Cameron Davies started taking some good lineout ball, and from one near halfway, a 25 metre driving maul by the Mount pack – the only one they put together in the whole game – took play into the Barry 22, where scrum half Morgan Cartwright scored Mount’s second try after pressure on the Barry line, converted by Jones, which completed the scoring.

Another attack from Mount from the restart saw flanker Dai Richards get away down the touchline and pass inside to wing Rhys Davies who left the Barry defence for dead, but with one man to beat he decided to pass rather than take him on or chip ahead, with the ball going to ground and the chance of a bonus point passed by.

The Old Firm have picked up just 2 points from a possible 15 over the last three League games. Division 1 East Central is once again the most competitive of the four 1st divisions, with just 6 points between the relegation zone and Mount who sit in 4th place. The Old Firm need to up their game if they are to avoid getting drawn into the relegation battle.

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