Cobham  27  Trinity  31
Match Report by Gerry Murphy

Trinity travelled to Cobham aware that it was this club which had brought their winning run to an end before Christmas in a match in which Cobham were convincing victors.

Though depleted in strength, Mids were not short of spirit after last week’s lively performance.  The hosts put on the pressure from the outset, and it took a trademark turnover from Olly Hubbard to exit. Cobham then had a drop goal attempt which failed, and Ben Telfer put in a magnificent clearing kick to touch. Marc McEvilly was injured and replaced by Tim Cochrane. A deliberate knock-on by Cobham near halfway gave George Kimmins a chance of a long penalty goal but this was wide. From the drop-out Cobham tried to run the ball but an interception by the alert Quinn Singh gave him the chance to run in and score. Kimmins converted for a 7-0 lead to Trinity after 11 minutes. Cobham came back on the attack and Trinity had some defending to do. This they did with aplomb through a succession of powerful tackles and turnovers with Farooq Agbalaya and Archie McMillan in fine form. Cobham then missed an easy penalty chance. Their next attack was snuffed out by Callum True who put in an intelligent kick up the line which went all the way to the home goal area but was then returned all the way to the other end of a lively pitch. The home team were now dominating territory and possession, and it was inevitable that they would register.  This they duly did on 21 minutes with a penalty to the 22, followed by a careful catch and drive for a try which narrowed the gap to 7-5.

Josh Joubert at full back for the visitors was full of running and won a penalty on halfway. Telfer’s long attempt was just wide. McEvilly had returned but Cochrane was needed again to replace Tom Wilcox who had a blood injury. The scrum was well contested with Chris Reid developing as a real force and Ali Hall rock-solid as usual.  Cobham did have the edge at times and kicked long from a scrum penalty. A huge relieving kick up the line by Kimmins gave Sam Goldschmied the chance to break through.  He was fouled and Kimmins had a kick well within his range, but this was missed.

Farooq and McMillan were called on again for more heroic defence as Cobham surged forward.  A turnover gave Kimmins a chance to find another very good touch in the 22 and Hubbard, who was outstanding in the line out all afternoon, took a good catch to set up the drive from which Khrys Speed, making his debut for the 1st XV drove over to score. Kimmins nailed the conversion, and Trinity had a 14-5 lead, mainly because of their grit and persistence rather than having possession or territory. Cobham piled on the pressure as the clock ticked to half time and Trinity held out well, holding a strong scrum and maul drive ad winning a turnover. Kimmins now was injured and just on half-time Cobham broke through for a try and a fine conversion to leave the visitors 14-12 ahead at the interval.

The injury count was ramped up early in the second half when Telfer required attention for some 13 minutes before being assisted off the field, unable to take any further part, having suffered two broken ribs and a collapsed lung. His injury was double-edged for Trinity in that Singh had made a break down the right and with a man outside him the try was on, but the referee had to make the call for treatment and stop the play.  Ty Williams who had suffered a full year out with injury came on in the reshuffle. When Cobham kicked ahead Goldschmied fielded the ball.  His clearing kick was partially blocked, but the result was that all the Trinity players in front were now onside, and the ball was quickly fed out to Williams who need no invitation to speed down the left and hand off the last defender for a spectacular return, having been on the field for only a minute. 19-12 to Trinity was hard to believe but they knew they were in for plenty of payback from Cobham.

A turnover from Singh, a huge carry by Wilcox who had returned to the fray and a determined hold-up by Ali Hall frustrated the hosts, but Cobham did score eventually to create space on the right and get a try. 19-17. In the next attack True put in stout resistance to force a turnover.  With Kimmins off the field Jack Greenwood had a penalty chance but pulled it wide. Given their strength and the amount of ball they had, it seemed that things would go the way of the home side at some stage, but Mids kept fighting.  Hubbard carried with purpose, True cleared out well and soon Trinity were in the 22 in search of a bonus point. They came away with nothing this time but had shown that they were still a force to be reckoned with despite all the injuries. Cobham came again but Hall made a significant turnover to stem their flow.  However, their strengthening scrum and greater firepower (when they chose to use it) told on the hour when they created a try, converted, and had the lead at last for the first time at 24-19. Trinity were battling and it was significant that, as they ran out of replacements, Kimmins returned to play, following McEvilly and Wilcox who had also come back on to contribute massively. Greenwood was a solid replacement at full back as the backs were reshuffled.

Penalties were won and Kimmins was able to set up two fine platforms in succession in the home 22. From the second of these the ball was well recycled and spread wide where Farooq crashed over, injuring himself in the process of scoring.  Kimmins found the perfect line with a difficult conversion and the scores were level at 24-24. The time added on for injury was some 15 minutes and, with Farooq now off the field, the question was could Trinity survive? They came again with another sally into the 22 and there were several charges at the line, including one from McEvilly which was just short.  Cobham managed to clear, and it seemed that heartbreak was the fate of Mids as an offside in front of the posts enabled Cobham to score a simple goal for 27-24.  But Trinity were not finished. They won a kickable penalty and bravely decided to go to the corner. They then managed the catch and drive admirably, and Ali Hall crashed over for the winning score. Kimmins’ fine conversion finished off a really inspiring performance from this Mids team which, Coach Matt Higgins felt, handled many tricky situations well and showed that they had learned plenty over the course of the season.

This more than compensated for the scribe’s disappointment at the result of a far less important match in Dublin!