Barnes RFC was back in the swing last weekend with our Minis and Juniors back with a bang on the training pitch, and our Men’s and Women’s 1st XV’s back in league action, so too our Women’s 2nd XV.

Before looking at their games, I want to turn the clock all the way back to 2023, to 21st December in fact, when our Under 22’s hosted Richmond and Old Reedonians on Chiswick’s 4g pitch in a triangular tournament, each game lasting 40 minutes.

Barnes took on Richmond first, it was nip and tuck throughout, Barnes scoring the first try, but Richmond fighting back to take a 7-10 lead before we scored twice before the final whistle to take the game 17-10.

Our second game was against Old Reedonians, they looked much bigger than our lads, but our skill levels were higher, and we controlled the game from start to finish, winning comfortably in the end 24-10. Victory of the tournament was ours, and it should not be underestimated how good this achievement was, bearing in mind that the lads had only one training session two days before. With a squad of 25 the future of Barnes rugby is in very safe hands, hats off to Jason Betteley for his passion and leadership of this band of brothers and for Jack Heald and his coaching team for putting in shift to coach the lads and run the teams on the night.

A special thank you to each of the lads for embracing the evening with so much enthusiasm and brilliant rugby.

Last weekend our Men’s 1st XV was in action first, travelling to Sevenoaks to play their rearranged fixture.

We knew this would be a tricky encounter with so many of our squad both injured and unavailable for this originally unplanned trip. It is worrying to see the level of long-term serious injuries that our squad has currently, and it is a stark contrast to last year, when we had almost no injuries for the whole season. I guess it is cyclical and just a matter of luck - good or bad - if you have or don’t have injuries. I certainly don’t want to take anything away from Sevenoaks, they thoroughly deserved the win, they never gave up, and even when we entered the last couple of minutes with Barnes leading 24-27, they kept on coming and scored right at the death to win 31-24. In truth, we were lucky not to suffer a similar fate in our last game when we pulled the rabbit out of the hat against Wimbledon to win with the last kick of the match.

This weekend we take on Worthing at Barn Elms and I know the lads will be incredibly keen to get the show back on the road. We played the Raiders right at the start of the season and came away with a comfortable win in the end, after Worthing imploded in the 2nd half and had two red cards and a yellow to boot, losing 28-51 but we expect a much more robust encounter this time, their recent form being much more encouraging, ours less so! We will see, it’s a 2pm kick off at Barn Elms this Saturday.

On Sunday, our women roared back into rugby last Sunday with two resounding victories, the 1st XV winning on the road at Medway 15 - 43, whilst the 2nd XV played at Streatham and Croydon, beating their 2nd XV 0 - 29, a brilliant start to 2024. You can read both match reports below.

This weekend we have 4 adult teams in action.

On Saturday, our Men’s 1st and 2nd XVs are both playing at Barn Elms, the 1’s take on Worthing and the Raiders take on Richmond Vikings, both kick off at 2pm, whilst the Occies are also at home where they take on Lightwater, also at 2pm.

On Sunday our Women’s 1st XV take on Hove on the BEST pitches opposite the clubhouse, also with a 2pm kick off.

With the festive season just a distant memory of tinsel, plum pudding and Santa, you have no excuse not to get down and support your green and gold players in their quests for immortality! Please do try and get down, they absolutely love your support!

Have a great week, what’s left of it, and see you at the weekend!

Onwards and Upwards Barnow!

Rhino x

Streatham and Croydon 2nd XV 0-29 Barnes Women’s 2nd XV - words by Captain Rosie Price
This weekend saw the women’s 2nd XV take on Streatham and Croydon 2nd XV. After a pre-Christmas clash that saw a close scoreline, we headed into the match knowing that they would be gunning for revenge.

The match started with a good kick off from S&C putting us deep into our own half. A spell of poor discipline saw Barnes have minimal possession and having to work hard defensively to dissipate the mounting pressure the Streatham attack were putting on.

10 minutes in saw Barnes successfully holding up a try and we headed out from the goal line drop out with renewed energy to get the job done. A great move off a set piece saw Olivia Grane heading over the try line and with a successful conversion from Izzy it saw Barnes chalk up a well earned 7 points.

As Streatham became desperate to keep us out, their discipline slipped and saw Barnes able to capitalise on either a kick chase or tap and go options from the penalties to make vital yards. A further two tries from Olivia G saw Barnes head into half time with our heads held high.

The second half saw the team hit the ground running and keep up the momentum from the first half. Our forwards worked tirelessly at the breakdowns, with Livia and Rosie securing a number of turnovers to keep the possession firmly in our hands.

The backs had a great game under the high ball, with Streatham’s fly half insistent on kicking away possession which gave our backs great space to run into with the Streatham defensive line struggling to reorganise.

With well earned tries from Alex and Izzy saw the final score reach 29-0 to Barnes.
With no subs on a freezing January afternoon, the team put in a massive shift, with debuts for Barnes from Manako and Fiona stepping out in the gold and green for the first time.
Another great win brings the Women’s 2nd XV up to first place in the league, what a way to start 2024!

Players Player as Alex W, who had the most incredible game and worked tirelessly to help Barnes secure the win!

Forward of the match was Beth, who not only shone in her personal performance but who was a leader on the pitch to the newer players helping them to learn throughout the game.
Back of the match was Tess, it was her first start for Barnes and first time at outside centre, but it didn’t show. She played with incredible intuition and contributed to the team immensely in both attack and defence.

Tries: Olivia Grane x 3, Alex Walker x 1, Izzy Jackson x 1
Conversions: Izzy Jackson x 2

Medway 1st XV 15 - 43 Barnes Women’s 1st XV - words by Captain Ruth Mottershead

Our first game of 2024 was away at Medway away. For the first half we played against a very strong wind, which Medway used well with huge kicks keeping us pinned in our half. Despite strong carries from our forwards, a run half the length of the pitch by Amanda for Medway got the first points on the board.

We came back well, and held them in their 22 but struggled to finish, and play went back and forth. Eventually some quick thinking by scrum half Ash off a penalty saw Joss crash over for our first score. A late penalty from Medway in the final play of the half saw us go into half time 7-10 down.

The second half we had the wind, and what a difference it made! An early mistake allowed Medway the space to score putting them 7-15 up, however, despite the score we were feeling confident, and everyone knew points were coming. The remaining 30 minutes of the game were all Barnes. Our structure took us up the pitch, and a sneaky run from Taz cut through the defensive line to score. 14-15.

The tries kept coming. An outstanding run from winger Liv left 3 Medway players on the floor and she scored in the corner. Strong carries from our forwards made space for the backs to get it through the hands to Rachel to score. Our chaos play by the forwards was hugely successful, drawing in defence and Joss spotted a hole and went through.
Medway were looking tired, and the pitch opened up even more in the final 5 minutes. Our subs came on full of energy, and carved through the Medway defence, making a huge impact.

Morv crashed through, and had a huge run from the 22, scoring under the posts with defenders hanging off her. Amanda continued her fantastic game with a beautiful finish.
The final score was 43 - 15 to Barnes. An excellent performance against a tough side on their own turf.

Forward of the match was Taz for her brilliant attacking play and sneaky runs.

Back of the match was Ash for excellent distribution and smart play.

Players player was Joss for another massive performance.

Tries: Joss, Rachel, Taz, Kitty, Liv, Morv, Amanda

Conversions: Ruth x 3, El x 1

This Sunday we play Hove, 2pm kick off at BEST pitches. Please do come and support us, we love it!