Barking very North Walsham

Head coach Ollie Smith says a sluggish start to the second half hit Barking hard during their 30-3 defeat at home to London One North leaders North Walsham.

An early penalty from Charlie Fatoma put the hosts ahead at Gale Street, but the visitors hit back with a penalty of their own and a converted try to lead 10-3 at the break.

Within five minutes of the restart, North Walsham crossed for their second converted try to open up a 14-point gap and from there, it looked difficult for Barking to get back into the match.

To their credit, the Gale Street side battled on until the end, even if the visitors were able to add two further tries before time was up.

And Smith openly admitted that Barking’s start to the second half was far from good enough, adding that it had taken the shine off what had been a good first half at home.

“We had an idea of what to expect as North Walsham had some big wins this season, so we knew it was going to be tough, but that we had to focus on what we could do to them,” said Smith.

“We had that mindset and up until a few minutes before half-time it was 3-3 and even at 10-3 down by the break, we had still shown we could compete with them.

“We said to the boys where they needed to improve and what they had to be mindful of at the break, and also told them to keep their discipline.

“Within 15 seconds of the restart, we gave away a needless penalty that led to their second try and all the good work from the first half was undone.

“The game was gone by that point, but we kept battling against North Walsham, who are a good side, but we know we’re a lot better than our second half display.”

In the build-up to the match, Smith had spoken of his desire to see Barking reduce their errors, such a giving away penalties, in the coming weeks.

However, the Gale Street club failed to heed his warnings, with an early penalty in the second half ultimately leading to North Walsham’s second try, while Jack Pearce had earlier been sent to the sin-bin in the first half.

And though the former British & Irish Lions centre said it is tough to take having worked so hard on improving that area of the game in training, he went on to add that it is something which happens at every level of the game.”

“I had frustrations when I was working with London Welsh, and they were all being paid!” he added.

“The lads are doing well in training and I’m mindful of the fact that we are in transition.

“The first half against North Walsham was the best we had put in all season and they had to work hard for their try.

“We played the leaders and competed with them for 40 minutes and if we had been smarter in the second half, maybe it could have been different.

“We’re a work in progress and we’re getting closer to where we ant to be, so we’ll keep plugging away.

“There was a chance for us to take a few strides forward against North Walsham, but instead we only moved a few inches.”