Trinity’s objective for this weekend’s league encounter with Chobham was clear: win by 32 points or more, and they would clinch the Surrey Combination League 1 title. Following Sutton’s annihilation of Old Whits 81-0 the previous week, Trinity needed full bonus points and a convincing win at LMA on a bright sunny afternoon. Trinity retained most of the team from last week’s victory at Battersea Ironsides and offered a debut to Trinity student Ollie Stephenson.

The home side came out of the blocks firing and worked their way into the opposition 22, Mark Macaskill crossed for the first score, followed by a 2nd a few minutes later after a quick tap penalty move, both converted by Ed Duffy, 14-0 Trinity. Kitan Taiwo then crossed for a 3rd try and Trinity were 19-0 with all the momentum. A 50-22 from Macaskill led to one more score from Temi Asanbe after a typical bulldozing carry, converted by Ozzy Edwards, 26-0. Chobham bounced back and through some strong carries and ill discipline from Trinity were able to cross for a converted try, 26-7. Trinity applied pressure at the gain line and this forced a turnover which ended in Kitan Taiwo crossing for his second score, just reward after several effective runs, 31-7. Despite their dominance, Trinity fell foul of the referee’s whistle through a combination of high tackles and offside decisions. what followed can only be described as 5 minutes of madness with Trinity being reduced to 12 men. Firstly Taiwo received a yellow card for a tackle offence, then Zou left the field for 10 minutes after a high tackle and Callum Plumb shortly after for a late tackle. Chobham used their numerical advantage to bring the score to 38-19 and the half time whistle was blown.

With the three cards, the momentum had shifted dramatically, and Trinity needed some composure & wise words to manage the game and regain control. The set-piece in the first half went well, Dom Plumb, Tim Jupp and Zou Mihremane dominating in the scrum and efficient lineout ball to George Daniels, Tim Jupp hitting him regularly despite a cross wind.

Trinity kicked off the second half with 12 men but were able to get on the front foot, Daniels with a carry and offload to Macaskill who ran in for his hattrick score, 45-19. Back came Taiwo from the bin, followed by Mihremane and Plumb shortly after, Trinity kicked into gear again and were able to play their expansive style to cause havoc in the Chobham defence, 3 quick tries from Ozzy Edwards with a brace and Ed Duffy who had an excellent game at full back with some incisive counter-attacks. One of which produced his second try following a deep kick which Duffy gathered aorund half-way, he then meandered his way through the Chobham tacklers to dot down under the posts, converted to make the score 66-19. Chobham, to their credit, pushed for a second-half score and looked to run everything however were met with solid defence. One final debut score for Ollie Stephenson, finishing off with some great footwork. The final score 73-19 to Trinity, with a +54 points difference; the score line was enough to win the league.

Huge credit to the whole squad, which has included a mix of club stalwarts and young talent from Riddlesdown and Trinity schools. The turnaround in fortunes compared with last season has been a result for the efforts of several key members of the club to build a strong 2s culture and develop a style of play to attract new players. Trinity now look to a possible double and a Cup semi-final against Old Emmanuel next week.

Saturday 5th April 2025
Triniity RFC 73-19 Chobham RFC
Try Scorers – Mark Macaskill x3, Kitan Taiwo x2, Ed Duffy x2, Ozzy Edwards x2, Temi Asanbe, Ollie Stephenson
Cons – Ed Duffy x2, Ozzy Edwards x7
Squad – Dom Plumb, Jason Hoffmann, Tim Jupp, Josh Bennett, Zou Mihremane, Temi Asanbe, Isaiah Opara, Mattia Reuter, Luke Thorne, Ben Donovan, George Daniels (c), Dave Stanton, Matt Sheils, Kitan Taiwo, Callum Plumv, Ozzy Edwards, Mark Macaskill, Ed Duffy, Ollie Stephenson

MATCH REPORT – Mark Macaskill
MATCH PHOTOS via Pete Filewood’s Flickr page