Trinity played their first game of the season after only two weeks of training on the afternoon of Saturday 29th August. Despite their loss, Trinity gained a vital bonus point in this Leinster Cup group game at College Park.
Old Belvedere, with two matches already under their belts, came out more organised and cohesive than Trinity who only had five players from the team which played the last game of the season against Lansdowne in April.
The positives for Trinity are that they finished far stronger than their opponents, and some new players turned in some impressive performances to prove they are up to the required standard. In fact, if Trinity had taken their opportunities earlier in the game they may have won the contest on the day. As it was, Old Belvedere were deserved winners with their out-half Andy Dunne returning from ten years of professional rugby, competently calling the shots and showing some nice touches.
The try scorer for Trinity was tighthead prop Paul McFeely. Coming off the bench in his first 1st XV appearance he crashed over from close in, to score off a pass from his scrum half Michael McLaughlan.
Meanwhile, Trinity’s senior rugby squad had a disheartening kick-off to the season, losing out to their Belfield rivals UCD in injury time of their first Leinster Senior Cup pool game on September 12, 2009.
In the dying moments of the match, Trinity out-half David Joyce engineered the levelling points with a towering kick and it looked like the teams would share the points on offer, a result which would have been deserved by both teams.
However, after a woeful lapse in concentration by the visiting team, UCD summoned one big recovery effort to sneak over for a soft converted try, paving the way for a home-side triumph.
The game started at a very high tempo in perfect conditions at the Belfield bowl. UCD set the scoreboard ticking, kicking a penalty early on. Trinity replied back with a superb try after several phases of play involving the entire team. Inside centre Conor Mills scored his debut senior try when he ran a beautiful sharp break by wing Neil Hanratty to seal the score behind the posts.
In the overall play, Trinity proved a solid, formidable side, creating and exploiting more opportunities than the home side, and for this they deserve credit; but some below-par ball-handling proved to be their letdown on more than one occasion after their initial terrific approach work.
Midway through the first half, UCD instigated a turnover at ruck time and punished the Trinity team with a well-taken try. UCD led 10-7 at half time.
The second half provided both sides with bountiful opportunities to score. Trinity kicked a penalty and UCD returned the compliment to retain the lead at 13-10.
Towards the end, both sides were a little disarrayed, and the game seemed to lose its direction, until Joyce pushed the pace up a notch with his score-levelling penalty. However, it was not to be Trinity’s day as UCD narrowly restoring the lead back in the end.
Hopefully, this setback will not knock Trinity’s senior team off focus for the season ahead. No doubt they will have revenge on their minds when they meet their old rivals UCD again later in the season, and will have brushed up the untidy aspects of their game, which proved pivotal in this encounter.
In other news from the rugby frontline, Trinity J1 opened their account in the Metro A section after being promoted last season from section B. A hungry and fresh-looking team played some superb rugby in the first half leading 17-0 at half time against Wanderers. The students tired in the scorching heat in College Park in the second half. Wing Colin Murphy did pick up an 80 metre try when he picked off a loose pass and ran in unopposed. Trinity won out 24-0 getting the important bonus point for four tries.
Trinity U20s also had a very early seasonal run out against Blackrock College U20s. In a training-type game of four quarters, Trinity won out 12-10 in a fast and open game. They travel to Newbridge on Saturday, 19th September to play in a six-team U20s tournament.
Man of the Match
Craig Telford
Captain of Trinity’s Junior Rugby League 1 Craig Telford displayed incredible sportsmanship on Sunday the 12th. In what was a particularly tense build-up to the first game of the season, he proved himself to be more than capable at motivating his team. They won the match 24-0 which is a huge testament to their skill and perseverance.
