At half time with the scores on another bitterly cold day tied at 11-11 there was certainly the sniff of a possible upset in the air. But at the end of the day no one could seriously argue that second placed Barnes did not deserve this victory although gifting your opposition three tries certainly makes it easier for them and goes a long way to bearing out the old adage that games are more often than not won by the side making the fewer mistakes.

If you are operating with a more often than not slowly retreating set scrum and also giving line-out ball away on a fairly regular basis there is even more reason one might think to look after the ball when you have it. Those issues were still on the horizon, however, when Barnes made an impressive start winning the ball from their own kick-off and then recycling menacingly, only eventually to be turned over : the best ball of course if you can move it wide quickly against a disorganised defence, not quite so good if you throw a flat pass that is intercepted for a simple score in the corner. This then was the first gift and Barnes were 5-0 up.

The home side then piled pressure on themselves by misfielding the kick-off and a succession of penalty awards against them followed but the defence held firm until a further penalty award under the posts was punished by not just the three points but also by a sin binning.That particular storm was weathered and indeed the Stags won the sin bin period with a Scott Hadden penalty reducing the arrears after fifteen minutes.

Barnes extended their lead again with another penalty around the half hour mark but it was the Stags who finished the half on a high with some sustained attacks culminating in a Barnes infringement, a quickly taken penalty by scrum half Dawes and wing Ross Yiend being put in for a try in the corner. The conversion failed but at the right moment psychologically just on the stroke of half time it was the visitors turn to lose a man to the bin as Scott Hadden levelled the scores with his second penalty.

This sin bin period was to be comprehensively won by Barnes and indeed the whole complexion of the game was soon to change. First after some really good work CS wasted a 5 metre line out by delaying the throw and then after further sustained attacking by the home side a loose pass was snapped up by Barnes full back Wehbe who ran the length of the field to score under the posts. Four minutes later the Barnes fly-half Williams-Davis had scored another following some rather ineffectual tackling on the part of the home defenders still not quite believing, no doubt, what had just happened to them. Barnes were soon attacking again and now once more with even numbers and the wind in their sails they succeeded in driving over from a line-out and with less than quarter of an hour of the second half played the game was effectively over : 11-11 had become 11-28 seemingly in the blink of an eye.

The visitors kicked a further penalty before the Stags regained some of their chutzpah, a good break from James Houstoun putting Paul Olima in under the sticks. There was still more pantomime season entertainment to come as first CS in a reasonable attacking position spilled the ball around the half way line allowing the Barnes winger to hack through, get a good bounce and score, and then the Stags registered two further late tries of their own through Brendan Ward and Scott Hadden, the second bringing with it the rather hollow consolation of a bonus point. So Duke's Meadows had seen another try fest but, partly due to the home side's profligacy particularly in that critical period just after half time and, partly due to Barnes' set play ascendancy, those dreams of what might have been were now just empty ones.

CS Rugby 1863 scorers:

Tries

Yiend
Olima
Ward
Hadden

Conversions

Hadden ( 2)

Penalties

Hadden (2)