Barking start pre-season with a win!

Barking started their pre-season preparations off with a win against a good Warlingham side, coming out 43-39 winners.

Barking scored 7 tries in the game, a huge improvement on last season the scorers were Hayes, Fabio, Zak, Connor O'Toole, Oleg, new signing Seun and finally from captain Sam John. Ratty and and vice captain Connor Baker added a conversion apiece whilst Fabio popped up with 2 conversions to add to his try and man of the match award.

Attack coach Ratty said after the game "It was great to see so many boys getting their first hit out of the season against a good Warlingham side. It's always tough going into your first game, but the boys worked hard, tackled well and scored some well worked tries"

Forwards coach Roasty added "the forwards looked strong and organised today today, with some more time on the training ground, big things are to come this year".

Finally, Director of Rugby Andrew Moreland said "There were so many positives today, 12 months ago if you had said to me we would've competed, and looked better than Warlingham I would've bitten your hand off. The squad have worked incredibly hard in pre-season and this is the start of their rewards for that hard work. What's most pleasing to see is the harmony in the squad and the club we now enjoy, it was also good to see the boys with the bit between their teeth and raring to work even harder in training this week to continue the positive start made.

We spoke after the game and looked at what we still need to work on, we haven't seen this squad hit top gear yet and when they do, it's going to be really exciting to see and be a part of.

Our scrums were excellent, the processes the forwards went through were especially good to see whilst our backs played some very positive rugby and let their hands do the talking. We had a wobble in the 2nd quarter, conceding a quick try after the whistle blew, the boys on the pitch kept incredibly calm, stuck to the game plan we've implemented and went straight back and scored a try of their own. That moment showed we have turned a corner. we are looking forward to working on aspects of our game in training this week in preparation for Romford".

Next up for Barking is a Friday night game against local rivals Romford and Gidea Park, all support is welcomed for what is sure to be a competitive match.

Man of the match: Fabio deserved his man of the match award, he worked incredibly hard, led by example, called the plays with confidence when playing at 10 and managed to get a try and an assist.

Special Mention: Ali played the best game I have seen him play, it's a real shame we now miss him as he goes travelling for a few months however, we look forward to seeing him back at the club very sooner and hitting the ground running. Our Captain, Sam John, was immense today, leading by example from start to finish.