Sheffield Medics 46 vs Barnsley 17

For a change there was sunshine at Norton, but most of it fell onto the home side as they ran in four tries in the first half, without any response from the visitors. The pitch was remarkably dry bearing in mind that it was unplayable a week ago, and it suited the fast moving- and fast thinking students- who used the very strong wind effectively in the first half. Barnsley gave Joe South a run out in the centre, and had Jensen back among the subs. Cheetham returned from injury to the front row, and Wragg made his second appearance of the season.
Both opening tries followed kicks deep into the Barnsley 22, and it took Barnsley fifteen minutes to mount a serious attack. Their bigger forwards made headway, but the well organised students worked ferociously at the ruck and the maul to nullify Barnsley’s superior power. Only Bagnall seemed to understand the need to keep possession and drive forward. Every Barnsley mistake was scooped up and the students gave a master class of how to counter attack. With Appleyard kicking deep into the students home zone, they ran it out at every opportunity and had the pace and the wit to move the ball very quickly and so create space to score. They were lucky with their third try when a clearance kick was charged down and the bounce favoured Medics, who went under the posts. A fourth try and its accompanying bonus point came before half time, with Barnsley still trying to force their way into the game. Half time Medics 24 Barnsley 0.
The second half was much more evenly fought, with Barnsley finally realising that if they held onto the ball, and drove it forward they would make inroads into the home defence, and they were close to scoring several times before the very fast Medics backs ran through them to add a further try. Now, however, it was Barnsley’s turn for a little luck when a charge down gave Colbridge the chance to score, but the next Medics attack saw their hooker side step two tackles and dance over near the posts. After this we saw the best of a beaten side – Barnsley continued to play, relying on strong forward drives from Reed, Watt and Wragg particularly. Jack Iles continued to do well in the line out, and Josh Smith beat several students in a mazy run that took him well into Medics half. A fine break by Wragg gave Appleyard the chance to score a good try, and although Medics countered with an interception, the last word went to Marlon Wragg who beat several tackles to score under the posts and Appleyard converted to make the final score 46-17.
The gap in the score reflects the gap in speed of thought, as well as the ability to do the skills of rugby at pace. Barnsley provided Medics with far too many opportunities by losing possession and kicking far too deep – and even kicking at all on the attack. Full credit to Medics – and Barnsley should get back to their winning ways next week against more traditional opposition.