Hat-trick to Barnes as Raiders run riot at Reds
Redruth .................. 17pts Worthing .............. 28pts
A HAT-TRICK of tries for Worthing by winger Curtis Barnes, plus the steady boot of goal-kicker Matt Mclean, gave the Raiders a first-ever win at Redruth, and with it a season doubler over a pale Reds side.
Head coach Jody Lovett was over the moon with his side’s performance.
He said: “A fantastic performance from the team, the first time we have come here and won so it’s very special.
“Our first-half performance was key, playing up the slope and reaching halftime 15-5 up really gave the lads a huge boost.
“Then starting the second half with a man advantage and scoring our third try really put us in the driving seat.
“Huge credit to our pack who worked hard throughout, when the penalties came our way Matt Mclean was able to keep the scoreboard ticking and that was vital to keep us ahead when Redruth threatened a comeback midway through the second half.”
It was Redruth who made the better start with an early unconverted try scored by Tom Notman following good work from Jack Simmons.
Worthing soon replied when Barnes weaved a path under the Redruth posts from his own half for his first try, giving Mclean a simple conversion.
The Worthing half-backs proved a problem for Redruth all afternoon whilst in midfield the silky running of Kiba Richards was a constant threat.
Redruth lost the influential Jack Oulton to an ankle injury before Mclean stretched the lead with a penalty.
It got worse for the home side when Craig Williams was sin-binned towards
half-time and compounded as Barnes was put in space to go over for his second try out wide.
Worthing put the Reds under huge pressure early in the second half and when a half-charged down clearance fell into the hands of Barnes the winger ghosted through some lacklustre defence to complete his hat-trick of tries.
Mclean was again on the money with the extras as he was with a penalty soon after.
Redruth needed a quick reaction and it came through Notman with his second try following an inside pass from Aaron Simmonds, who slotted the conversion.
With their tails up Redruth drove hard at the Worthing line as the Raiders lost Jordan Gibson to the bin, eventually Connor Gilbert crossed for an unconverted try.
Mclean’s third penalty towards the end confirmed the win for the Sussex side.
Redruth head coach Pale Nonu was left disappointed. He said: “We did some good things but we let ourselves down with some basic errors.
“We seem to be in a bit of a rut at the moment the lads are going to have to work even harder to get back to where they want to be.”