MINEHEAD Barbarians made it back-to-back victories on Saturday with a hard-fought and well-deserved 17-12 away win over newly promoted Castle Cary in Counties Two Somerset.

In challenging conditions, the visitors showed grit, structure, and flashes of real attacking quality to secure the result in a game played in high winds brought by ‘Storm Amy’.

Captain Buckingham won the toss and chose to play with the wind at their backs. But it turned out the Barbarians didn’t need much help from the elements early on, as they began the match with real intensity. The early dominance was built on the back of strong carries from Edwards and Hurley, which created the platform for winger Chinn to open the scoring, muscling his way over for the game’s first try.

For the next 20 minutes, Minehead produced arguably their best rugby of the season. Their attacking fluency—absent in earlier performances—was on full display, supported by a dominant set piece. The experienced Dave Swann and impressive Hollingsworth wreaked havoc at scrum time and were equally effective in open play.

A barnstorming break from young second-row Sam How set the tone for a spell of pressure, and though Castle Cary managed to clear their lines, they kicked straight into the hands of fullback Waterman. Showing superb footwork, he beat two defenders before releasing Chinn once more, who powered through and around three tacklers to finish a stunning team try. Hawker added the extras for a 0–12 lead.

As pressure mounted, the Barbarians' powerful centre pairing of Hole and Nunn continued to punch holes in the defence. Their hard running forced a yellow card for the hosts, and Minehead capitalised on the numerical advantage. Despite swirling winds, the lineout functioned flawlessly with hooker Beaver linking up well with Bullard, who dominated in the air throughout. The set-piece superiority paid off as another monstrous scrum led to turnover ball. Hawker, who had a fine afternoon in the 9 shirt, found Hole on the charge, who smashed through the defensive line to extend the lead to 0–17.

The second half began in similar fashion, with the Barbarians on the front foot. A moment of individual brilliance saw Edwards sell a dummy deep in his own 22 before releasing Hurley on a galloping run. However, execution and discipline began to falter, allowing Castle Cary to build pressure and gain territory with the wind now at their backs. Despite relentless defensive efforts from Buckingham and Bullard, Castle Cary eventually powered over from a lineout maul to make it 5–17. With the hosts now gaining momentum, and the Barbarians struggling to retain possession, the match tightened considerably. A spell of sustained pressure led to another Castle Cary try, this time under the posts from their hard-running centre. With the conversion added, the gap narrowed to just five points at 12–17.

The final 10 minutes were tense, with the home side laying siege to the Minehead line. Defensively, the Barbarians were immense. Chin continued to return kicks with interest, and massive tackles from Edwards, Nunn, and vice-captain Senior kept the hosts at bay. With seconds remaining, Castle Cary looked certain to score in the corner with an overlap – but Chinn capped off a fine performance, with a try-saving tackle that wrapped up both man and ball.