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11 August: Straight from the kick off, it was almost a sure thing that Barcelona would win, but it would have been a whole different picture if the video ref. had been on form.
Barcelona opened the scoring in the first minute with a fantastic run by Alan Hunte, leading up to him scoring, the try converted by Glen Air, after the try, Barcelona continued to dominate the first half, the only points coming from Burrows with a goal, Glen Air with a penalty, then converting Chris Smith's try making the half time score 14-2 to Barcelona, but the score line could be very different, with three tries disallowed.
Half time score - Biarritz Ocelots 2 Barcelona Celtic 14
Biarritz seemed to be inspired in the second half, maybe by a team talk from coach Paul Reynolds, but Barcelona stuck to them, through the second half.
The Ocelots first try came with Danny Halliwell, a try of which Rob Burrows failed to convert.
Biarritz struck again on the fifty five minutes with a Steve Molloy try after some surprisingly bad defence by Barcelona.
The next points came from a Glen Air penalty after yet another head high tackle by Biarritz, again punished after seventy five minutes with another goal by Glen Air.
The game finished with the score 10-18 to Barcelona, who thoroughly deserved the win, after clearly being the best team on the field and working hard.
Final Score Biarritz Ocelots XIII 10 Barcelona Celtic 18
After the game, Biarritz coach Paul Reynolds said:
"I think the Barcelona were definitely better than us on the day, so they walked away with the well earned two points.
We lacked discipline and where we lacked it, they had it in a bag, the boys are obviously dissapointed, but I have faith in my team and believe we can achieve good things, but full credit goes to Barcelona, on the day, the outplayed us in every department".
1 July: Hervé 10 Biarritz Ocelots XIII 19
Hervé should really have done better in this French derby to kick off EIRL Division One in front of 13,366 at The Stade Mitterand but the visitors seemed to want the game more in the second half and overcame a 10-6 deficit to win easily with tries from Burrows, Davidson and Highton, 3 goals from Atkins and a Burrows drop goal to make sure. Hervé's points all came in the first half from Speak and 3 Barry Eaton goals.
23 June: An optimistic performance by the Ocelots with a healthy crowd of just over 7,000 brought a thoroughly deserved victory by the Salford Blues.
The Blues began the match a bit sloppily, but Biarritz started well with some strong attacking finally paying off on 13 minutes with Mike Dixon scoring a try after some good backline movement. The Blues reacted quickly, with some good defence and attack before a line break by Tim Rumford creating a superb try of which Steve Blakeley converted to make the score 4-6 to Salford. Biarritz obviously got worried and started playing 'Panic Rugby' causing Steve Blakeley to score a penalty goal, the score 4-8. The Ocelots bad play gradually got worse and Salford made them pay by Tim Rumford scoring another try, unconverted, after a well-placed kick in goal, making the score 4-12. The rest of the half was hardly fought by both teams, causing Willie Poaching to suffer a minor injury.
Half Time - 4-12
You could tell from the Kick-off that Salford Blues were now more up for the game and wanted to win more, obviously the half-time team-talk by coach Kevin Brock had paid off when the Blues started defending with passion and the attack turned much more creative.
Biarritz played with heart and never gave in, even when Phil Coussons suffered a minor injury. Some good forward play and lively attacking gave Warren Jowitt a good try on 68 minutes which was unconverted. Salford struck again on 71 minutes when good backline movement again, which gifted Ryan Hudson a well deserved try, again unconverted, making the score 4-20. After that try, Salford eased off slightly, which gave the Ocelots some hope, which saw a lively fight back create some chances that they could never quite finish.
Salford finished the last 2 minutes of the game on top, with some great defence and backline movement.
Final score - 4-20
Attendance - 7,339
After the game, Biarritz coach, Paul Reynolds said
'I thought the lads started the game very well, but had lapses when we didn't concentrate enough, but the performance is a good prospect for the future. The lads played with a lot of heart, but they knew that they got beaten by the best team. I thought Salford played very well, especially in the second half. I have to mention Tim Rumford because I think he played superbly well, although Dave Highton played well and had a fantastic line break early in the match. There were too many errors, I thought, but we will improve I'm sure.'
23 June: Biarritz went down to Salford Blues by 20-4 in their final trial game in a much improved performance.
17 June: Biarritz lost their trial game against Stuttgart by 26 points to 10.
10 June: Another disappointing game for the Ocelots who have failed to find their form yet again as the Animals played some good rugby league.
Biarritz opened the scoring with a conversion by Mike Dixon to lead 2-0 after a play-the-ball infringement by the Animals. Some bad defence by Biarritz and good attack by Aberdeenshire, making the game one-sided. Mike Dixon converted again to lead 4-0.
Peter Shiels suffered a minor injury as Malcolm Alker knocked-on.
Score 4-0 at half time.
The Ocelots' sloppy play showed off on the 58th minute when Sean Hoppe made a great run and scored a magnificent solo try converted by Jamie Rooney making the score 8-6.
2 minutes later, Jamie Rooney converted his own try after a great run by Danny Arnold. The only notable thing in the rest of the game was Jamie Rooney scoring two penalty's, making the final score 16-8 to the Animals, when realistically, it could have been more.
After the game, Biarritz coach Paul Reynolds said:
'I would like to give all credit to The Animals because I thought they pushed us hard and were always going to win, they played some good rugby and showed up our defence. As to us, I think we played in patches, but, In time I think I will settle in properly and the lads will start to play football, I will try a different formation next week and I might try out some of the reserves'
10 June: A late display of strength from Aberdeenshire put Biarritz out of the Billy Boston Cup.
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