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On a hot sunny afternoon Dings looked well off the pace and were obviously suffering from the effects of two games in less than three days after Wednesday nights County Cup win over Cinderford. Trailing at halftime a gutsy effort in the second half almost took the points but in the end the home side, which performed well above their second from bottom league position, hung on for a well-deserved victory.

Dings took the lead after just two minutes, a penalty from the kick off was kicked into the corner by stand off Neil Dipple to set up a lineout catch by No 8 Gavin Curry which was driven over by the pack for a touchdown for lock Luke Bellinger. Barnes hit back two minutes later with a try for No 8 Gary Holmes after stand off Gareth Williams-Davies had exploited a gaping hole in the Dings defence, full back Warren Gower added the conversion for the lead.

Barnes intent on running the ball at every opportunity dominated the next twenty minutes with Dings continually conceding ground with some very poor tackling. After Gower and Dings scrum half Steve Plummer had exchanged penalties Barnes added their second try when Williams-Davies touched down after a fine break by impressive centre Jonathon Joseph, Gower added the conversion for 17-8 to the home side with five minutes of the half remaining.

In the final minutes of the first half Dings hit back with a try for wing George Watkins after a good run from full back Jack Tovey, reducing the halftime deficit for Dings to 13-17

Five minutes into the second half Plummer landed a penalty for Dings to cut the arrears to just one point and with the Dings pack beginning to get some control for the first time in the match they were back in the game. However another defensive lapse and some pretty average tackling gave Barnes their third try on fifty five minutes when replacement lock Joshua Clements touched down under the posts with Gower adding the conversion.

Dings fought hard in the final quarter with centre Alex Dancer leading the charge with countless barnstorming carries and he got just reward for a man of the match performance with a try on seventy two minutes after a fine break from wing George Watkins. Barnes held on for a well-deserved win to hold on to a mathematical chance of avoiding the drop.

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 Scorers:

Dings – Bellinger 1T, Watkins 1T, Dancer 1T, Plummer 2P

Barnes – Holmes 1T, Williams-Davies 1T, Clements 1T, Gower 3C 1P

Rich Grant.