by Peter Yates

Barnet Elizabethans 15
Finchley 3
London Three North West

The midweek visit of England's lock forward Tom Palmer to his old Byng Road club, where he played in the Mini and Juniors in the 1980s, must have worked some magic on the 1st XV as Barnet Elizabethans secured a good win over neighbours Finchley and consolidated their third position in the league table.

This was the first fixture between these two local rivals for three seasons and it was a pity that the pitch was muddy even before the intermittant rain.

In the end, ground and weather conditions were the real winners but Barnet fully deserved victory for their forward control, even though they were the lighter pack.

Elizabethans played downhill in the first half and it took 20 minutes for them to open the scoring when captain Peter Moulton touched down after a pushover try, which Jonny Hart converted.

Finchley responded eight minutes later with a penalty goal but Barnet could, and should, have been further ahead at the interval as their pack was dominating but two good scoring chances were missed.

Late in the first half, a Finchley prop forward was sent off for kicking a Barnet player, but the home side never utilised the one man advantage.

In the second half, the hosts continued to press their skills and Hart kicked a penalty (10-3) but it was not until after the hour mark that they secured the win with a move that Tom Palmer would have been proud.

From a lineout ten metres out, Barnet won the ball and drove Kieran Porter over for the try.

In the last quarter, the game ebbed and flowed but neither side could control the conditions and there was no further score.