MATCH REPORT BY GERRY MURPHY

Trinity  39  Beccehamians  34

In this first round match of the Community Cup, a national competition, Trinity met close neighbours Beccehamians for what turned out to be an entertaining afternoon in an awkward cross-wind.

Trinity had to defend early on but made good exits when Adam Sheehy cleared well and then Tom Wilcox made two strong carries out of defence.  David Williams, a new strength in the line out, claimed good ball and Mids were soon on the offensive.  In their first attack Ty Williams came in on a great line and took the pass from George Kimmins at speed to sail under the posts.  Kimmins converted, and the home side were 7-0 up after only 2 minutes.  Beccs came back well but Trinity responded well with big tackles from Fuad Agbalaya and Lewis Cin-You and then a good carry from the latter. A high kick was well fielded by Sheehy, and his long kick was just short of achieving a 50-22. Another good line out take by David Williams saw Trinity move the ball left and Quinn Singh made ground before unloading to Sheehy who scored in the corner. This put Trinity 12-0 up after 10 minutes. Things looked good for Mids when, in the first scrum, they had the edge. Beccehamians came more into the game and forced their way up field, aided by some penalties conceded by Trinity.  They reduced the deficit after 17 minutes when, from a short tap penalty, they retained possession well to force their way over.  The conversion made it 12-7.

Encouraged by this the visitors now dominated territory for a while.  David Hoffmann put in two good defensive hits and Trinity then won a turnover and Kimmins was able to relieve the pressure with a good kick to touch. Trinity were not helped when Tom Wilcox was given a yellow card and, on their next attack, Beccs transferred the ball quickly and created space for a straightforward finish.  The conversion gave them a 14-12 lead on 26 minutes.  Their next attack was repelled when Ben Telfer put in a high kick which was knocked on and then Josh Joubert won a penalty which Kimmins kicked into the stiff breeze to regain the lead. Beccs piled on the pressure again and big tackles were required from both Agbalaya brothers, Wilcox and Singh.  A turnover by David Williams gave Trinity a way out and a quick pass to Singh saw him speed down the field and set up a ruck just short of the visitors’ line. Joubert was up in support and claimed the try. Kimmins converted and it was 22-14 to Trinity.  Trinity were not focused at the kick-off and a knock-on gave Becs an attacking position on the 22 which they managed well to retain possession and score. They took too long on the conversion and the new law meant that it was 22-19 to Trinity at the interval.

Trinity had the chance to use the cross-wind in their favour after half-time. A strong run by Telfer on the right indicated purpose.  Jasper Brown came on as a replacement and helped carry on the scrum dominance.  A huge push yielded a penalty and then, after some broken play, Telfer was vigilant, claimed a loose ball and took the opportunity well to score his try.  Trinity looked comfortable at this stage, but Beccs were not going to let them relax. They laid on an onslaught and further good tackles were needed from Wilcox, Farooq and Marc McEvilly. The visitors created a big overlap on the right, but a wild pass spoiled their chance. They kept coming and were rewarded when a fortunate bounce gave them the opportunity to score again.  A strong gust of wind negated their conversion attempt, but they were back in it at 32-24 with 10 minutes left. Mids extended their lead shortly afterwards.  A good carry by Brown gained ground and Singh then had space to outpace the defence and score his second try. Kimmins converted for 39-24.

A 15-point lead with 8 minutes left seemed a winning score. Beccs failed to kick the ball 10 at the restart and McEvilly latched on to the loose ball and was through, but Mids were disappointed as the whistle had gone for the scrum.  Soon after this a mistake in midfield allowed Beccs to steal a try and reduce the margin to 10 points.  There had been some time for injuries, and they still had belief. Mids began to concede more penalties.  Big tackles by Rhys Gormley, making his debut, Fuad, McEvilly and Sheehy kept the rampant Beccehamians out but then Trinity were offside and Beccs retained well to narrow the gap to 5 with an unconverted try.  Time was nearly up but Beccs came again in waves and repeated offsides by the home team meant that the referee could not blow time and the half was extended to 50 minutes including the earlier stoppages for injury. In the final play Beccs had a line out in the corner and Farooq jumped high to flick the ball back and Mids survived.  Coach Matt Higgins will, no doubt will have some words about closing out a game.

PETE FILEWOOD’S FLICKER MATCH PHOTOS