BARNSLEY 12 KNOTTINGLEY 12

Barnsley concluded their home season with a mid-table contest against Knottingley, and both sides gave good entertainment despite the absence of several regular players on both sides. For Barnsley, yet another changed team, with several positional changes- Will Smith at 10, Tom Swann back at centre- and Alex Edge came in for the absent skipper, Dave Reed. Andy Appleyard was managing things off field, and a windy day brought a decent crowd.

After early pressure from both sides, Knottingley took the lead with a good try from wide out, and as the home side went on the attack, the visitors defended strongly. From the word ‘go’ Tasker dominated the line, and made several powerful runs forward, but a lack of support meant that the initiative was lost. A line out close to the Knottingley line was well taken by Davis, who fed Jeff Watt a scoring pass to bring the scores to 5-7. Barnsley should have drawn away with chances to kick goals, but they were missed, and similarly, good breaks from several players including Gaunt, Will Smith, Thomas and Tasker again went begging when possession was lost through a failure to consolidate possession after the initial breakthrough.

Knottingley were a constant threat when in possession, but they were out-scrummaged at times, with Todd Cheetham and Luke Hatfield showing well. A good break by Will Grey again turned to nothing with poor continuity, but the best move of the game saw Smith, Gaunt and Watt combine to get within 5 yards of the visitors line. A further advantage came when a Knottingley player was yellow carded, with a penalty to Barnsley close to the try line. The frustrated roar of the home crowd could be heard across the pitch as at the ensuing scrum Barnsley themselves gave away a penalty! The referee, who managed the match calmly and competently, blew for half time with home supporters wanting a few more minutes to take the lead.

The second half saw both sides seeking the win, and there was good attacking play on show. Both teams had poor continuity, and it seemed that whichever put a few minutes of controlled rugby together would be victorious. It was Barnsley who did just that, with a superb spell of sustained pressure ending with a great pass from gaunt to Will Smith who went over for a try which he converted to give Barnsley a 12-7 lead. Both sides found the wind a nuisance and there were plenty of forward passes to generate even more scrums, and Knottingley broke out after a Barnsley mistake, only for their potential scoring pass to go astray! Josh Smith mark 2 entered the fray, with Joe Perry at scrum half. Both sides continued to defend well, but Knottingley were in the home 22 for several minutes before a terrific break by Tasker took the ball into midfield. Again, Barnsley lost possession at this point, with too many watching the ball and too few securing it!

Luke Hatfield was again in the wars, though Tyler Smith and hard-working Liam Roebuck kept up the forward pressure. Chris Peel, who had caught everything in a tricky wind, let a ball fall, and soon the errors began to outweigh the skills on both sides. Swann made strong progress, but Barnsley could not find the continuity to secure the win. Some astute kicking by Will Smith gave them territory, but just when home supporters were checking their watches, and counting the four points, a determined Knottingley side forced a good try in the bottom corner to level the scores at 12 all. A really good attempt to make the conversion fell short and the referee blew for no side leaving both teams a little happy but a lot dissatisfied!