Trinity 22 -10 Weybridge Vandals

Vandals, riding high at the top of the league with maximum points, were a tough proposition for Trinity who have received some drubbings from them in the past. 

The visitors had the first chance with a penalty in front early on, but this was missed. A clever kick from skipper Harry Wilson won a promising position in the Vandals’ 22. Dave Spedding a welcome returner to line out duty took a good catch but then the ball was dropped, and the chance lost. For the next 15 minutes Weybridge had a huge amount of possession and moved the ball left and right.  They threatened to run riot, but outstanding tackling by Trinity kept them scoreless. Practically every member of the home team participated in this admirable part of their play.  It seems invidious to mention individuals, but Tom Wilcox, Ben Vaillant, Archie McMillan, Farooq Agbalaya and Wilson were all heavily involved and amassed several turnovers to ice the cake. Having weathered the storm, Trinity drove into Vandal’s half and, when they won a penalty just outside the 22, Vaillant ran a quick one to despairing shouts of “No Ben” from suppporters who feared he would be isolated. But he was vindicated when Quinn Singh followed up in support and took the ball on with too much strength for the defence and scored by the posts.  George Kimmins converted, and Trinity were ahead after 16 minutes.

An injury to full back Barney Kember saw Max Mouna move to 15 and Callum True  come on as a replacement.  Vandals came again and Trinity had more defending to do.  Tackling continued to be exemplary with Tom Fairclough, Kimmins, Hubbard and True putting in strong resistance. Ali Hall carried well into contact and more turnovers were won.  Wilson’ kick ahead was just too long for a run chase. Hubbard took a good catch in the line out but a number of others were lost and Vandals were rock solid in this department. The scrum was doing well against a huge pack and late replacement Tim Cochrane put in a big shift at prop.  Young debutant, Ted Wilkie replaced Spedding as Trinity pushed forward, having seen off another period of dominance by Weybridge. A strong press forced Vandals to take the ball back into their 22 and further vigilance ensured that the clearing kick meant that the hosts had a line out well inside the 22.  Wilkie, with his very first touch for his Old Boys’ team secured the ball at the front of the line and this gave Wilson the chance to dart through on the blind side and score in the corner.  Kimmins added the extras with a superb kick from the touchline for a 14-0 lead on the half hour. Another chance came when Vaillant kicked long on the right but again the ball ran dead before the followers could reach. Vandals came again and were helped by some poor Mids lineouts, but the visitors lost a player to a card just before half time.

Weybridge produced a fierce onslaught on the resumption, and they battered the Trinity line repeatedly and seemed certain to score.  However, when they did cross the ball was held up by Wilcox and Trinity survived. On 46 minutes they went further ahead when Vandals were penalised  and Kimmins stepped up to strike a perfect kick into the breeze between the posts.  17-0 was a significant lead, meaning they were 3 scores ahead. Vandals were still strong and forced a number of penalties to help them move upfield and the inevitable came on 54 minutes when their pack produced a perfect line out and drive to break their duck.  The conversion was missed.

Shortly after this as we entered the last quarter Trinity suffered three yellow cards in the space of 4 minutes with Tim Jupp, Wilcox and Wilson all sent to the line.  Trinity had to knuckle down to what seemed an impossible task – to retain their lead with 12 men against such a powerful outfit.  Mouna put in a great tackle to keep Vandals out, but this simply delayed matters and they scored on the right to narrow the gap to 17-10. Another missed conversion meant that Trinity still held a full score advantage. That Weybridge did not score again is a tremendous tribute to Trinity’s resilience. They refused to lie down and when Vaillant ran at Vandals with spirit and was twice tackled high, the penalties and a yellow card for Vandals reduced the gap in numbers and gave Kimmins another penalty chance. His kick struck a post. Vandals won a turnover and threatened again but Khalil Alleyne brought off a spectacular turnover to win the ball.  Trinity lost the advantage when they knocked on. Now the home scrum drove Vandals off their own ball and won a scrum penalty to joyful roars from home supporters. Harry Wison used one of the key weapons in his armour to run a quick one and  score in the corner, so putting the game out of Weybridge’s grasp. ( Zou claims an ‘assist’)

When Vandals were given another yellow card Trinity pressed for the bonus point but just could not quite top off a magnificent performance against such powerful opposition.

MATCH REPORT – Gerry Murphy
TRIBE MAN OF THE MATCH – Quinn Singh
Pete Filewood’s Flickr Album of the match CLICK HERE