MINEHEAD Barbarians scored seven tries in beating Castle Cary 39-7 at home in Counties Two Somerset, and in doing so they gave head coach Isaiah Graham-Hooper a good send-off in his final home game before he leaves to take up an appointment in Australia.

It was clear from the start that Minehead were looking to move the ball through the hands as much as possible, and it was soon rewarded when Chinn crossed for the first of his tries. The ball was moved up the slope and then came back to the centre where Willes carried hard, finally well-timed passes from Milton and How, gave Chinn a gap and he raced into the corner.

The Barbarians were playing with freedom, both forwards and backs handling well to set up another chance. A super break through midfield by How got his team onto the front foot, the forwards drove on and Gower took Milton’s pass at speed to score. Unfortunately, soon after Gower had to leave the field with an injury, but Senior came on with Day moving to the back.

Next Chinn grabbed a second try, as his team counter-attacked from deep, with the pack driving forward, then Day burst away to find Chinn who was unstoppable on the wing.

While the Barbarians were dominating possession, the visitors were showing some real attacking intent with the ball they did get, and it took determined Minehead defence to keep them out. The home pack was solid, as was the line-out, providing possession.

Next scorer was Sam How, who had one of his very best games in the Black and White. Hard work by Nunn and the “outstanding” Buckingham, created space for How who sprinted in for Milton to convert.

The Barbarians were not complacent, and it was no surprise that a strong revival came from the Castle Cary team in the second half. The visitors gained their reward with a well worked score. They built pressure in the Minehead 22, and a long pass found their centre with space and he crossed for a converted try.

The Barbarians struck back. Beaver threw long at the line-out, Buckingham took the catch, and the ball was moved to Claydon on the charge in mid-field. Nunn carried play on, and Senior sprinted into the bottom corner.

Once again Castle Cary raised their game, building more pressure on the home side, and they were particularly competitive at the breakdown. However, White, Lock, and Hurley knocked them back, while Willes carried forward at every opportunity.

Minehead made the match safe with a try by hooker Beaver, who had earlier shone in defence. A strong carry from Claydon took the ball into the 22, then good passes by Milton and Nunn, gave Beaver the chance to break a tackle and cross the line.

There was still time for Chinn to get his “hat-trick” score. Some hard defence on the lower side gained a turnover and the ball came up the field, allowing the wing to burst away to the posts for Milton to convert.

This was a good performance by the Barbarians, against an ambitious young Castle Cary side.

Minehead remain third in the table 11 points behind leaders Clevedon who chalked up their 11th win in 12 matches with a 30-12 away success against Oldfield Old Boys.