Barking's Opening Day Away

Barking head coach Ollie Smith says there were positives to take from an opening day 20-0 loss in London One North away to Letchworth.
The Gale Street club enjoyed huge periods of possession in the opening minutes at Legends Lane, but were unable to find the score they desired.
Letchworth were oportunistic with their first try as they ran in an interception, and from there Barking were unable to find a route back into the game.
But far from downhearted, Smith believes there is plenty for the Gale Street club to take from the defeat.
“There were loads of positives, but unfortuntately the decisions just did not go our way,” said the former Leicester Tigers centre.
“We were dominant at the start of the first half and thought we had scored twice, but the referee decided we hadn’t and that’s the way it goes sometimes.
“It would have been interesting to see what would have happened had we taken the lead, but we conceded a couple of soft tries and it was always going to he hard from there.
“Credit to Teddy Hepworth, who was nothing short of brilliant and carried the ball well.
“It was a pleasing display even if we did not get the win we wanted and we learnt a lot from it.”
It was a promising start for Barking who piled the pressure on Letchworth in the opening exchanges, but for no reward.
However, Smith insists that even though his team came away from Hertfordshire without troubling the scorers, it shows there is promise for the new season.
“We knew the first 20 minutes would be key to our entire season as it would help set out what we want to do,” added the ex-British & Irish Lions back.
“We knew a good half would drive us on and we said to the boys beforehand that the game was where the new Barking starts.
“We did that in the first half and we set the bar high, but we were punished for some bad decisions.
“We are in a better place than last season, but we now need to put it together for a full game rather than just one half.”