Saturday afternoon in Barnsley. Doesn't sound that appealing really does it? Unfortunately thanks to a fixture swap earlier in the season, Wetherby made the trip down the m1 to a team placed well below them in the table, but who had turned them over in the home fixture. Having been moved from the swimming pool to the swamp, a strong wind and big slope were sure to have a big say on a small replacement pitch.

Wetherby looked to impose themselves in defence but soon found out they were playing against Jedis. The Barnsley number eight used the force on Barney Roberts and he fell flat on his backside without even being touched! More awkward to watch than bumping into Jack Kaye in the train station.

The visitors were struggling with the gusty wind on the ground, half of which seemed to be coming from the referee's whistle, as they also seemed to be on the wrong side of that. Rob Adair was the first casualty, followed shortly after by Liam Hogan as they both received yellow cards for breakdown infringements. Both penalties were converted. 6-0.

Wetherby continued to be pinned back to the bottom of the slope and defended valiantly. Eventually they were always going to run out of defenders, and they were rounded on the outside by some good hands from the Barnsley backs as the capitalised on a dog leg with more shape than Chris Atkinson's little man. 11-0.

The pressure was getting to the visitors, and with the referee not allowing Wetherby dominance at scrum time, and penalising Wetherby every time they got the ball, it wasn't long before Barnsley launched another attack. Despite Frankenstein's monster Danny Warden unsettling the line-out, Wetherby were found short of numbers again. 16-0.

With Adair returning to the pitch and Bradley Mason having the game of his life, The red and whites appeared to have got their bite back. Myles Oates broke the line and was allowed to recycle the ball well. Billy Cale was left plenty to do but weaved, spun and stretched his way to a fine finish in the corner to end the half well.

Half-time: Barnsley 16-5 Wetherby

Wetherby fired out of the blocks in the second half. With Elliott Griffiths moved back to prop and George Gilbert back at eight, the strike runners operated well. With Harry Kaye fizzing the ball to the backs, Wetherby piled the pressure on and Rob Adair shuffled over the line to close the gap. 16-12.

The visitors now looked to be in full swing, and with the Ed 'Bengal' Blackwell (he never made that curry himself!) securing a key turnover close to his own try-line, they were able to mount an attack. Myles Oates had his hands on the ball, and with every defender on the park assuming he'd use the overlap, he double bluffed and dragged his giant noodle head past four defenders to give Wetherby the lead. 16-19.

With the wind at their backs, and playing down the hill, Wetherby had surely sewn up the game. This is Wetherby we are talking about though. As soon as the lead was taken, the foot went off the gas. With a lack of physicality in defence, Barnsley made yards round the fringes. Eventually they created the overlap and scored a deserved try to take the lead. 21-19.

After conceding the try, the visitors looked utterly dumb-struck. Despite this being a natural look for Mattie Chappel, whose ears flapped around in the wind like a pair of hummingbirds wings, the Wetherby boys were clearly dejected. The lack of energy allowed Barnsley to hammer home their advantage with another try to the corner. This time a superb conversion from the touchline took their advantage to two scores with ten minutes left. 28-19.

To say that the next ten minutes were the luckiest of the home side's lives would be an understatement! Five minutes from time, Wetherby had a scrum five metres out. Bread and Butter against a feeble Barnsley scrum. The referee gave a penalty, with no advantage to Wetherby, yellow carded the Barnsley prop and allowed them to go uncontested! They didn't even lose the extra player from going uncontested!

With the clock out of time, Wetherby went hunting for the losing bonus point. Elliott Griffiths found himself in a tight spot with an 18 year old. Him and Billy Cale combined beautifully to send the latter away but as he kicked through to score, he was hit late and the referee awarded the penalty try. Too little too late if you ask me!

Full-time: Barnsley 28-26 Wetherby

MoM: Bradley Mason - not brilliant as a functioning human being, but the boy is an incredible tighthead.

DoD: Rob Adair - Yellow cards must be punished, especially in your first game back!