Taunton 37 - Barnes 12 (Match Report)

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Taunton claimed a vital and convincing 37-12 win against Barnes at Hyde Park on Saturday.

It was billed as a crucial must win game for Taunton, and they went into it with many changes to the line up from the previous weeks disappointing loss away to Richmond. With their hand forced they turned to a new midfield pairing containing Tom Popham alongside regular back row player Dean Taylor-Menzies due to the late withdrawal of Christian Gervais. The pack was also shuffled with a return for Sam Prior and Ross Ward following injuries.

The match was played with near gale force winds at Taunton’s backs in the first half, and they knew they would have to start well and build a points advantage with the conditions behind them before the break. It was not long before they opened the scoring. Ryan Edwards chipped over the advancing Barnes defence before re-gathering and offloading to Popham. The talented young centre made a break deep into the Barnes half and had Edwards in support when he was dragged down short. Edwards sauntered in, finishing the move with a cheeky swallow dive. Tony Yapp converted to give the home side a 7-0 lead after three minutes.

Taunton pressed the visiting Barnes side back deep into their own half for long periods through the boot. Popham and Taylor-Menzies made ground in offence whilst providing a tough barrier to breach when their guests had possession. When it did look like Barnes were going to equal affairs the ball was turned over and full back Gary Kingdom put in a monster clearing kick from his own line which found touch in the Barnes half. With throwing conditions not ideal Taunton kept the lineout simple and the resultant play saw Barnes penalised for not rolling away. Yapp stepped up to kick the penalty from forty-five metres out to give his side a 10-0 lead after 20 minutes.

The perfect start continued when Edwards then bagged his second of the afternoon. Greg Charlton and Ollie Marriott both carried well, causing the defence problems and Popham was once again involved before the ball was shipped to Rob Beddard in midfield. The young hooker presented an outrageous show and go to slip between the advancing defenders before a neat little offload to Edwards on the right wing and the finish was a formality. Yapp’s conversion was blown off course, but Taunton now had a 15-0 lead after twenty-four minutes.

For the remainder of the half Barnes showed little in the way of a threat to the Taunton line with the defence looking assured and in control. They would frustrate Taunton through their continual offside which often went unpunished by the match official but would shut down move after move before the home side could capitalise further on the conditions, although the ever-impressive Liam Wilkinson did go close to driving over the line. Eventually the penalty came and Yapp was able to add another three points on the stroke of half time to make the score 18-0.

Any doubts that the eighteen-point advantage was not enough were cast aside early in the second half when Taunton scored their third try of the afternoon. A change at half time saw Alex Hemsley replace Ross Ward as a precaution following a knock late in the first half. The hard working flanker was immediately amongst the action in support of another scintillating break by Popham to canter in from fifteen metres. Yapp’s conversion kick into the wind was good to extend the lead to 25-0 after forty-five minutes.

Again the Barnes backline and fringes crept further and further forward beyond the offside line as they struggled to contain Taunton attacks. The back line played beautifully off Yapp and the front row of Alec Chase and Beddard made a nuisance of themselves with Sam Prior showing a return to the ball carrying form he was in before suffering injury. The bonus point score came when Edwards added another try to complete his hat trick. Yapp again had a tricky kick into the wind and the mercurial fly half made no mistake with the boot to further increase the lead to 32-0 after fifty-two minutes.

Barnes seemed unable to use the wind to their advantage like their hosts had in the first half but they did manage to provide a scare. A promising attack ran straight into the brick wall defence of Taylor-Menzies, and the hard-hitting player was shown a yellow card for a technical infringement on the hour. The visitors capitalised with a soft score through the middle allowing centre Fergus Jones to cross the line relatively unopposed. Full back Warren Gower added the conversion to pull the score back to 32-7 after sixty-four minutes.

Taunton then lost Edwards after he received lengthy treatment following a heavy collision. They were effectively down to thirteen men for a short period and Barnes again split the defence to create space for their unmarked wing Anthony Wilde to gather a smartly executed cross field kick and score wide out on the right. Gower’s conversion was unsuccessful, and the score was now 32-12 after sixty-seven minutes.

Hopes of a recovery for the visitors ended when Taunton returned to full complement, although they still had to defend well to keep their line intact. Barnes pressed into the Taunton twenty-two but a loose pass was picked off by Kingdom and the skipper raced away the length of the pitch into the wind to fall over the line and get the fifth try of the afternoon. Yapp was unable to add the extras but Taunton had a 37-12 lead after seventy-six minutes.

The game was in the bag but the closing five minutes provided entertainment aplenty with Reuben Haile making another break deep into Barnes territory. Replacement scrum half Joe Bartlett fed Yapp from the breakdown and he in turn fed his midfield only to be foiled once again by an overly eager Barnes defence. Eventually the match official decided enough was enough and the game ended with the home side running out deserved winners and the final score 37-12.

It was the perfect tonic following the recent results, albeit against two of the best sides in this league, to get things back on track for Taunton. It was good to see the positive effects of the continued improvements to the skills and abilities as well as the confidence of this young side despite the changes. The mood will be buoyed and spirits lifted ready for another tough but very winnable encounter away to Hertford this Saturday.

The County Stores sponsored Taunton player of the match was awarded to Greg Charlton.

All photos in this article are courtesy of Sportography LLP. To view more, or to purchase prints, please visit their website at http://www.sportography.co.uk/. 20% of photo sales revenue goes to Taunton RFC.