Trinity  31  Old Caterhamians  21
Match Report by Gerry Murphy

In this local derby a hard-fought but entertaining game was served up to a large number of supporters with no shortage of banter and disagreement about the happenings on the pitch.

Trinity started with some wonderful handling in a move initiated by Farooq Agbalaya with a strong carry. The ball went right first and then came back again through many hands and ended up with Marc McEvilly putting in Farooq for the opening score in the left corner after only one minute.  George Kimmins added the extras with a fine kick from far out.  Cats came into the game, but things did not go for them as line out throws were not straight and several of their promising efforts came to nothing.  Trinity went back up the field, helped by two penalties the second of which was confidently dispatched by Kimmins for a 10-0 lead after 7 minutes. Cats now had a strong period and were dominant in the scrums, something Trinity had not experienced in the season up to now. They won two scrum penalties in quick succession to win a shot at goal, but a good effort drifted wide. In a keenly contested midfield, there were good carries by Lewis Chin-You, Ben Telfer and Ty Williams and Ali Hall put in a strong tackle. Ben Vaillant had possession in space but his long kick ahead rolled dead.   Rhys Gormley was playing with confidence at scrum half and producing some fine passes to set the line going. Trinity had to be committed as Cats too were showing plenty of spirit and created a good position in the 22 only to spoil another line out. Eric Trinder replaced David Hoffmann at prop.  Trinity now set up another good attack and Archie McMillan made ground down the right wing. Trinity sustained the pressure and declined points when Cats were twice penalised.  When they infringed again Farooq was alert and decisive to plunge over for their second try.  Kimmins converted and it was 17-0 to the hosts.  The interval was near, but things changed quickly and, after a melee in midfield, Olly Hubbard was given a yellow card.  Cats now piled on the pressure and camped in the home 22. It seemed that they must score but a last-ditch tackle by Tom Wilcox prevented this. After much deliberation Cats were awarded a penalty 5 metres out and their scrum turned the screw. Wilcox tried again to deny them, but a penalty try was awarded and he went to the bin, leaving Trinity to start the second half with 13 men and the visitors very much back in the game at 17-7.

Trinity started the second half well.  They knew they had to secure possession and do their best to retain it until the yellow cards had expired.  This they did with a sound line out take and a determined carry by McEvilly.  However, a wild kick gave possession to the visitors, and they took advantage to control well and score a 7 pointer. 17-14. Trinity had, it seemed, provided some early festive presents and the game was now in the balance with the visitors looking strong. A poor kick-off compounded the problems and the Cats scrum set up the next attack. A huge turnover from Vaillant was just what Trinity needed to disrupt their momentum and there followed some fine team play from Mids. McEvilly was everywhere and soon the carded pair were back in action and Kimmins and Hubbard were scything through the middle. Williams fielded a kick ahead and showed real intent and speed in cutting through the midfield to set up the platform for a lovely handling move left with Adam Sheehy and Olly Wilcox involved. Cats defended well but were offside and a quick penalty created the opportunity for Vaillant to finish a well-deserved try. Kimmins’ conversion gave Mids more breathing space at 24-14 coming up to the hour. Trinity were now on top and there were some notable performances from the bench.  Trinder produced two storming runs, Olisa Ufodiana fitted in very neatly to replace the injured Hubbard and Seb Robertson was there to unload to McEvilly for the bonus try after a galloping charge by the returning Hoffmann. Trinity produced some more good running moves and threatened to increase the tally but some knock-ons in good positions denied them.  Cats, who had done little to build on the platform they had created at half time, eventually broke away to register a converted try at the end after Trinity had stopped, thinking that the score would be ruled out for a forward pass. Mids were well home at this stage with Farooq a worthy man of the match.

Trinity started with some wonderful handling in a move initiated by Farooq Agbalaya with a strong carry. The ball went right first and then came back again through many hands and ended up with Marc McEvilly putting in Farooq for the opening score in the left corner after only one minute.  George Kimmins added the extras with a fine kick from far out.  Cats came into the game, but things did not go for them as line out throws were not straight and several of their promising efforts came to nothing.  Trinity went back up the field, helped by two penalties the second of which was confidently dispatched by Kimmins for a 10-0 lead after 7 minutes. Cats now had a strong period and were dominant in the scrums, something Trinity had not experienced in the season up to now. They won two scrum penalties in quick succession to win a shot at goal, but a good effort drifted wide. In a keenly contested midfield, there were good carries by Lewis Chin-You, Ben Telfer and Ty Williams and Ali Hall put in a strong tackle. Ben Vaillant had possession in space but his long kick ahead rolled dead.   Rhys Gormley was playing with confidence at scrum half and producing some fine passes to set the line going. Trinity had to be committed as Cats too were showing plenty of spirit and created a good position in the 22 only to spoil another line out. Eric Trinder replaced David Hoffmann at prop.  Trinity now set up another good attack and Archie McMillan made ground down the right wing. Trinity sustained the pressure and declined points when Cats were twice penalised.  When they infringed again Farooq was alert and decisive to plunge over for their second try.  Kimmins converted and it was 17-0 to the hosts.  The interval was near, but things changed quickly and, after a melee in midfield, Olly Hubbard was given a yellow card.  Cats now piled on the pressure and camped in the home 22. It seemed that they must score but a last-ditch tackle by Tom Wilcox prevented this. After much deliberation Cats were awarded a penalty 5 metres out and their scrum turned the screw. Wilcox tried again to deny them, but a penalty try was awarded and he went to the bin, leaving Trinity to start the second half with 13 men and the visitors very much back in the game at 17-7.

Trinity started the second half well.  They knew they had to secure possession and do their best to retain it until the yellow cards had expired.  This they did with a sound line out take and a determined carry by McEvilly.  However, a wild kick gave possession to the visitors, and they took advantage to control well and score a 7 pointer. 17-14. Trinity had, it seemed, provided some early festive presents and the game was now in the balance with the visitors looking strong. A poor kick-off compounded the problems and the Cats scrum set up the next attack. A huge turnover from Vaillant was just what Trinity needed to disrupt their momentum and there followed some fine team play from Mids. McEvilly was everywhere and soon the carded pair were back in action and Kimmins and Hubbard were scything through the middle. Williams fielded a kick ahead and showed real intent and speed in cutting through the midfield to set up the platform for a lovely handling move left with Adam Sheehy and Olly Wilcox involved. Cats defended well but were offside and a quick penalty created the opportunity for Vaillant to finish a well-deserved try. Kimmins’ conversion gave Mids more breathing space at 24-14 coming up to the hour. Trinity were now on top and there were some notable performances from the bench.  Trinder produced two storming runs, Olisa Ufodiana fitted in very neatly to replace the injured Hubbard and Seb Robertson was there to unload to McEvilly for the bonus try after a galloping charge by the returning Hoffmann. Trinity produced some more good running moves and threatened to increase the tally but some knock-ons in good positions denied them.

Cats, who had done little to build on the platform they had created at half time, eventually broke away to register a converted try at the end after Trinity had stopped, thinking that the score would be ruled out for a forward pass. Mids were well home at this stage with Farooq a worthy man of the match.