Trinity  34  East Grinstead  18

Trinity’s 1^st XV  returned to form following  the A’s exciting victory on the best rugby day at the Club for some time. Credit is due to all who worked to make this possible, as having two fixtures on a Saturday is now so important for the future of the Club.  Special appreciation to Dom Plumb, whose work has been described elsewhere.

Trinity were soon behind when they were offside and Grinstead kicked an early penalty. Two penetrating runs from Archie McMillan, making a welcome return from injury, moved Mids up the field and then Tom Fairclough won more ground before George Kimmins levelled the scores when the visitors were offside.  A charge out of defence by Farooq Agbalaya set up another attack and, after good work by McMillan, Marc McEvilly and Olly Hubbard, Quinn Singh powered over in the corner. Kimmins’ accurate kick from the touchline came back off the crossbar but Trinity led 8-3 after 9 minutes.  A good take in the line out by Hubbard then set up another platform which was exploited by Farooq and McEvilly.  Trinity surged to the line, but Chris Reid was held up.

Grinstead came more into the game on the back of a powerful performance from their scrum. A scrum penalty gave them another kick at goal and this was well taken.  8-6 after 26 minutes.  They followed this up with some good running to the 22 and then won a penalty to the corner. Their scrum was too strong for the hosts, and they pushed over for an unconverted try to lead 11-8. Trinity, despite this disadvantage in the scrum, more than made up for it around the field. Tom Black was winning good line out ball; Alex Willis came on as a replacement and carried well and a dangerous high kick from Grinstead into the 22 was fielded with a mark by McEvilly. Trinity drove into the 22 where the visitors were penalised.  Farooq powered towards  the line and a second penalty followed from which Hubbard forced his way over. Kimmins’ conversion gave Trinity a deserved 15-11 lead at the interval.

A poor kick-off put Mids under pressure at the restart and Grinstead were soon deep in the home 22. Excellent defensive work by Farooq and Ali Hall and then a 20 metre carry by McMillan completed a fine exit and then Singh won a turnover. Trinity ran the ball in midfield and suddenly McEvilly found himself in space.   He backed himself to beat the cover and crossed to change the picture dramatically. Kimmins’ conversion increased the advantage to 22-11. Trinity now showed more spirit than their opponents. Line speed was good and fine tackles by Tom Wilcox and a very welcome returnee, Andy Dean, put more pressure on.  A Trinity maul to the line was held up but Mids now had the upper hand.  They were spreading the ball well against a side who had some good runners but were narrow in their formation.  A scintillating burst by Black, coming in on a reverse angle opened up the line for another score but his pass was dropped. Grinstead still held the whip hand in the scrum but Trinity were far more lively in the loose.  Fairclough carried well again, and Tom Wilcox made a turnover.  When Grinstead were penalised in front Trinity declined a kick that would have made the game safe, in favour of seeking a bonus point. Plan B did not work out but then Harry Wilson saw some space, chipped through and followed up to get the touchdown. The visitors kept at it and, when they forced a scrum deep in the 22, it seemed they had their platform to reduce the arrears.  The beleaguered Mids scrum eventually force them back and followed up with a turnover by Ollie Wilcox to emulate his brother. After a couple of early errors, he had featured well in the game with sound catching and intelligent kicking from full back. Grinstead came again with some strong running and were through only for a fine tackle by Kimmins. Trinity ran it back and an outrageous reverse flick out of the back of the hand by Farooq allowed Fairclough to show his strength and pace in finishing well in the corner for Trinity’s fifth try. Kimmins added the extras.  Trinity were now out of sight but credit to Grinstead who fashioned an excellent running move to cross for their second try which was converted with a fine kick. A late break by Hubbard opened up the defence again but the final pass was not taken.

Trinity will relish this victory but will have their work cut out when they travel to Cobham next week, having been chastened by this powerful team in the home fixture.

Match Report: GERRY MURPHY

Match Photos via PETE FILEWOOD’S FLICKR PAGE