OLD Grovians avenged the previous week's loss by defeating Barnsley 26-12 in Yorkshire Division Two.

From the opening whistle, the Grovians pack punched holes in Barnsley’s defence, with notable strong carries from Matt Dakin and the returning Joe Garforth.

Steady build-up play enabled Grovians’ fly-half Alex Masterson to step through a gap in the defensive line, linking up with his centres to take their team to the opposition five-metre line.

Patiently waiting at the back of a ruck to drive over for the opening score, with assistance from his forward pack, was inside centre Josh Dickson, with Ben Brown adding the extras.

In a first half where Grovians enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, it was their defence that did the talking for their second score.

Following a few moments of ill-discipline, Grovians found themselves defending in their own 22; astute defence and great line speed forced Barnsley backwards.

Anthony Griffin capitalised on a misplaced pass, breaking down the field before offloading in the tackle to the supporting Max Kennedy, who raced home for his fifth try of the season. Brown converted.

Barnsley kept coming, making the most of the blustery conditions with clever kicks, testing the Grovians back three.

Controlled build-up play meant Grovians had gained a foothold in Barnsley territory, only for a misjudged cross-field kick from Masterson enabling the opposition to relieve some pressure.

Pressure would not be relieved for long as Hinchliffe’s men came bounding back, creating an overlap on the left wing, allowing Robin Jones to dummy and step inside to score his first try of the match. Brown converted.

Numerous penalties against Barnsley for offside at the breakdown led to Sam Potts showing Barnsley’s hooker the yellow card, sentencing him to 10 minutes in the bin.

Stand-in skipper Brown opted for the sticks, but in testing conditions shaved the far upright.

Controlled phase play marshalled by the superb axis of Brown and Masterson as half-backs, led to a mismatch on the right wing, with Brown feeding Jones for his second try.

The bonus point score remained unconverted, and at 26-0, Grovians had a comfortable lead to see out the remaining 10 minutes.

It was a spirited Barnsley performance, as the finished the game strongly, their prop forward breaking through the Groves defence to the five-metre line.

A professional foul from open-side Secker meant a yellow card for him, which he would argue was for the good of the team.

Barnsley’s first try resulted, which meant 26-5 with little over five minutes remaining.

From kick-off, Barnsley broke through again, and another yellow card, this time for Lawrence, enabled them to finish with a second try with the last play of the game.