This Wednesday saw Barnet and Southgate College Rugby Academy take the field against their northern counterparts Carmel College from St Helens in the 1st round of the RFL National Cup.
The game was a real arm-wrestle throughout, with both teams seemingly evenly-matched. Barnet and Southgate had some real power and pace in their line-up, whilst Carmel had some big bodies who the boys from North London would do well to stop. The first 20 minutes saw both teams test each others defenses, with some great runs out wide and a few high intensity carries in the middle. However it was the college from St Helens that struck first with Barnet and Southgate’s inability to deal with a 5th tackle high bomb, being pounced upon by the opposing winger and touching down under the posts for a 6 point try.
This try seemed to give Carmel the boost that they needed and from the kick off they charged down the field again, making easy yards as the Barnet and Southgate forwards struggled to match the intensity shown by the big forwards from the North. Again a high bomb wasn’t dealt with by the Barnet and Southgate boys and Carmel touched down, this try was unconverted, taking the score to 12-0 in favour of Carmel. Then came the best move of the game, another great set from the kick off saw a clear bust from Carmel’s loose forward leaving him in acres of space and he produced a fantastic pass out to his supporting winger who raced away to score and take the scoreline to 16-0 as half-time approached.
The momentum was fully with Carmel, and it would take a big effort from Barnet and Southgate to change it, from the next kick off the forwards chased hard and did well to get off their line and force an error close to Carmel’s goal-line. This was the break that the Barnet and Southgate boys needed, and from the resulting set prop forward Ben Duncan crashed over the try line to bring the score to 16-6.
Barnet and Southgate were by far the more dangerous looking side, and the try seemed to spring them into life, quick footwork by centre Donovan Noble and winger Deeshawn Elliot saw them get on the front foot, and big ball carrying half-back Conrad Edgar raced into space and carried 3 defenders over the line to touchdown. A conversion and another long range try by rangy centre Jerome Yates saw the scores tied at 16 all at half-time.
The second half followed much the same pattern as the first with both sides having periods of real momentum. It became clear that Carmel forwards were happy to trundle up the middle, whilst Barnet and Southgate played a bit wider using their powerful edges, where Dillon Adabie and Sonny Leader came to the fore. Barnet and Southgate went ahead through Jerome Yates who used his powerful hand off to palm away two defenders before crossing under the posts for a potentially game winning try. With the score at 24-20 and Carmel seemingly out on their feet, it took an incredible effort from their dangerous full-back Sheldon Truman who stepped back inside a tired Barnet and Southgate covering defense to draw the game right on the final whistle.
With golden point extra time looming – both coaches gathered their troops for one final effort. Carmel kicked out straight from kick off and that gave Barnet and Southgate a really good position to launch an attack from, making good yards up to the Carmel line, a loss of concentration saw the ball knocked on and gave Carmel the possession they needed. They followed up their set with a good long kick which again Barnet and Southgate struggled to deal with, outstanding full back Ben Turner knocked on and then centre Donovan Noble unluckily reacted to pick the ball up from an offside position to give Carmel and easily kick-able penalty which their half-back converted to give them a 26-24 golden point win.
Both sides were out on their feet by the end and it was a fantastic advert for the College game. Barnet and Southgate are now recruiting for their Rugby Academy for September 2015 and will be hosting trials here at London Skolars on Wednesday April 1st at 10am. Anyone requiring information is urged to contact James Edgerely at the college via email –
James.Edgerley@barnetsouthgate.ac.uk