MINEHEAD Barbarians ran in 15 tries in a 101-42 away win over Yatton in Counties Two Somerset, with Jacob Gower collecting an amazing 56 points which included six tries, writes Bryan Stevens.

It was the outside backs which ripped through the home defences, but the calm control from half-backs Milton and Lynch was vital to allow this freedom.

It was Gower who opened the scoring as he latched onto a chip by Lynch and raced away to score. Then came a surprising moment as Yatton scored following a kick ahead; the chasing player appeared to touch down well beyond the dead-ball line, but the try was given! Minehead regained the lead; Fritz saw a gap and beat two defenders to the line.

Yatton, always competitive, particularly with their rugged forward carries, but the Barbarian defence was organised, making the home side work hard for their points.

Day was next to score, finding space after Chinn had carried hard through midfield. The Barbarians lost Lock with Edwards coming on.

A booming 50-22 kick by Lynch kept Minehead attacking. Then Gower crossed again, stepping and accelerating away. Another Yatton fight back, short carries from a tap-penalty ended with their scrum-half darting over. When Yatton had the ball, the work of Buckingham, Cronin, and Day was noticeable. Day made one superb cover tackle, and stole the ball back to save his team. This turnover became an attack which saw Gower score again.

The Barbarians rotated their props, allowing Parsons and Chinn to share the workload, but Swann showed his class, fighting all 80 minutes. In the middle of the pack Griffin impressed, and after some fine ball movement, he was the next scorer.

Yatton kept up their efforts and crossed again; short range carries finally broke the Minehead defence. This only spurred on the Barbarians, and when Milton took a quick tap-penalty, Fritz was unstoppable as he broke away to the line.

The second period started with an excellent catch and set-up by Cronin, the ball was spun wide and Fritz scored again to take the total past 50. The next try came on the back of an outstanding carry by Edwards, who like skipper Bullard, did much of the vital heavy work. After Edwards, Handley made good ground, before Gower cut back to score at the posts.

The Barbarian forwards may not have been the biggest, but they were well drilled in keeping possession until a chance came for the ball to go wide. As the ball reached the wing Day finished clinically.

Again Yatton came back. They didn’t move the ball wide, but eventually their forwards gained a try. Langdon came on and worked hard for the Barbarians in his first game of the season.

The dogged work of the Barbarian pack hammered at the home line, sucking in defenders until Gower exploited the space to score again. Fritz added to his try count, sprinting in from distance despite his leg cramping! As all players tired, more gaps opened and the home side added another to their tally. One of the few errors by Minehead at the restart allowed a soft try to the home side.

Now Chinn finally got his try after hard work by Floyd and Swann. Griffin followed up with his second try, and appropriately Gower grabbed the final try.

Jacob Gower was the Barbarian man of Match.