EIRFC, despite the absence of some key personnel, were still well equipped to win their away game against second-placed Barnet Elizabethans, but they let a golden opportunity pass them by after suffering an agonising 17-12 defeat at Byng Road, writes Jonathan Landi.

Very much the dominant force in terms of forward power, and this on a muddy track, the visitors’ heavier pack got into some great positions, but they were repeatedly denied by some poor finishing in the red zone, having trailed 12-0 at the break.

The opening quarter saw Ignatians pinned back deep in their own half. Forced on the defensive they had to overcome the early loss of prop, Aidan Bellingan, who took a hefty knock in the tackle, plus the sin-binning of fly-half Calum Middleton [.

Barnet, with their inside centre deployed in the role of battering ram, did get good width on their game, and their opening try was certainly well constructed, with the winger stepping his man for the opening score.

The visitors fell further behind at the half hour mark when a combination of losing control at a lineout, combined to slipping off tackles, saw the hosts more than double their lead to 12-0 after again going over in the corner.

Very much the slow burners in this game, Ignatians’ scratch side engineered a very sturdy response despite playing against the gradient, and with their heavier forwards making good yardage off an ample supply of good ball, the penalties soon came their way.

On four occasions, Calum Middleton drilled the ball to the corner, but on each occasion from positions around 5m from the line, they came away with nothing as Barnet dug in defensively. The visitors also shot themselves in the foot, having being penalised for an early lift in one instance.

Still, the chances continued to come Ignatians’ way and, with Barnet having to contend with a sin-binning of their own, having infringed once too often, they really should have done a whole lot better from a 5m attacking scrum.

Trailing 12-0 at the break, Ignatians remained very much in the hunt, particularly as the slope was in their favour in the second period, and they flew out of the blocks, having secured a number of good turnovers [Frank Antwi, Finlay MacKay and the Lavender Hill Garage MOM Seyi Adeosun to the fore], and done some exemplary work in the lineout.

It was certainly a time for Ignatians to fill their boots, particularly as Barnet had three players yellow-carded in the second-half, and they at last hit the target on 55 minutes, when Sam Rushmer charged over from the base of a scrum 5m out.

However, sloppiness also set in after this score, and with Ignatians carelessly failing to look after spilling the ball in contact, Barnet Elizabethans feasted on the turnover by pulling the visitors’ defensive line out of kilter to further extend the lead to 17-5.

Despite the setback, there was still plenty of time left on the clock, and with Ignatians lording the territorial battle, allied to winning the lion’s share of the penalties, the opportunities kept on coming.

However, you can’t knock opportunity indefinitely, and what should have been a simple walk-in for the backline, morphed into a bad miss after a glaring overlap went begging after the ball was spilled in the centres.

Still, Ignatians continued to rattle Barnet Elizabethans’ cage, and with Ignatians set scrum having gained good traction, having moved to within an ace of the line, the referee had little hesitation in awarding the visitors a penalty try after the hosts infringed in desperation.

It was no less than Ignatians deserved but, sadly, time had run, and despite an unsatisfactory end to the game, they were left to rue what might have been, having had to console themselves with a losing bonus point.

Not that everything was doom and gloom. The side worked hard and some of the young tyros, Emmanuel Okafor and Henry Sibley, showed glimpses of their undoubted potential.

Head coach Gary Philipps, having bemoaned his side’s lack of composure at key times, felt that the better team had lost the game. It’s hard to disagree with that assessment. Harrow are next up on February 14.