Barnsley 1st XV v Yarnbury 1st XV

Yarnbury travelled to second placed Barnsley hoping to maintain their top spot in the division for what looked a tough encounter against their nearest rivals.They welcomed back Centre and Captain Jason Avison to the side after injury.Alex Clark came in on the wing to add some pace alongwith Josh Bateson on the other wing.In the pack Martin Rainey and Tom Warriner started in the back row.The bench looked experienced with dependable veteran prop John Dodgson ,ex Captain Oliver Cashman and second row Ian Maycock settling for a replacement role.

The first quarter of this game was up the hill to a rampaging Barnsley pack and most of the ball in their hands which seems to be the norm in Yorkshire 2 with all teams concentrating on a big pack and pressure down the middle.This tactic is well defended by the Horsforth side but again were not helped by a succession of penalties given away for offside and killing the ball in the ruck or not rolling away n the tackle.Even so in this period Barnsley were impressive but were hauled down at every opportunity in the backs and forwards as the defence held firm.Something had to give and two penalties were slotted from close range by Barnsley Stand Off....... to open a six point lead for the home side.With an injury to their tight head prop after 20 minutes and the introduction of John Dodgson in the front row things changed as Yarnbury took control in the pack in what was a remarkable change round and with astute kicking from stand off Jarrod Huss and full back George Oldridge the home side were pegged back as Yarnbury began to stamp their authority on the game with smart runs down both flanks by Alex Clark and then Josh Bateson .The latter was put away nicely by George Oldridge and Jason Avison showing his experience and the nippy young winger rounded his opposite number to score in the corner for the first try.Huss made no mistake with the conversion from the touch line to give the away side the lead and silence the boisterous crowd who expected their home side to be still on top.

Jimmy Cyan again impressed along with Rainey and Reece Leighton in their tackling stints against the big Barnsley eight.Yarn bury turning round with the slope for the second half and seemingly in control.

Barnsley began keeping the ball tight in the forwards and strong running from their No8 Joe South saw the veteran making good ground before being grounded by the Yarnbury back row as the contest warmed up.Centre James White then scored an individual try when he fooled the Barnsley backs with a zig zag run to go clear near the posts for the second try .Huss converting to give Yarnbury some breathing space at 6 - 14.Yarnbury were giving away numerous penalties as the game became more frenetic and the Yarnbury backs tackled well when the Barnsley backs threatened.In the final quarter Yarnbury were down to 13 men at one stage as firstly,stand off Jarrod Huss then winger Alex Clark were binned for minor infringements before Barnsley were awarded a penalty try to make the game tight at 13-14.

Yarn bury were still in the ascendancy down the slight slope with only seven forwards in the scrum and worked ferociously hard to contain the home side forcing mistakes from the home side. Jarrod Huss converting two penalties and looked like closing out the game for a remarkable win with depleted numbers only for stand off Aaron Foye to get clear down the middle and convert his own score for a draw in an absorbing contest played with an excellent spirit to keep Yarnbury at the top of the league – just!