Waverley v Trinity
by “Anonymous Al”
With heavy rain falling for most of the match and on a waterlogged and muddy Queens Park pitch, Waverley and Trinity did battle in the first Round of the 2015 CAS rugby season.
Predictions were that the Trinity forwards and the Waverley backs would dominate, but the Waverley team dominated right across the park in atrocious conditions.
The Death Valley crowd was reasonably big considering the conditions and they didn’t go home disappointed.
First Half
Within the first five minutes Trinity was awarded a penalty right in front and 30 out but missed with the attempted penalty goal. Despite being on the right side of a 12-3 penalty count and despite having the majority of possession and territorial advantage, things didn’t get any better for the away team at Death Valley.
At one stage the Green team attacked the Waves try line for a period of ten minutes but couldn’t break through to score. Waverley, on the other hand, scored the first time they crossed into Trinity’s 22 metre zone. Big outside centre Jake Smirnotis scored a try from a quick tap kick by #9 and Captain Cooper Murphy. It was a welcome return to rugby for Smirnotis after taking a break from the game last season. Waves 5-0.
Both teams missed with penalty goal attempts before two forwards were given yellow cards for an altercation. The Waves #1 Finn Wright and Trinity’s #1 Harry McLennan were given their marching orders five minutes before the break. Props !!
The first half was pretty scrappy with both teams finding it difficult to hold onto the slippery ball. There were a lot of stoppages but mainly it was Waverley defending and Trinity trying to make ground in attack.
Half time score. Waves 5-0.
Second Half
Even though Waverley were still on the wrong side of the penalty count in the second half, it was more even. It wasn’t long before they worked their way downfield to see their back line put the ball through quick hands for winger Dion Narayan to post a five pointer. Narayan converted his own try from the sideline. Waves 12-0.
It was all Waverley in the second half as they enjoyed a better possession rate and territorial advantage. Their forwards carried the ball strongly, supported by a smart tactical kicking game. The backs weren’t shy of throwing the ball around when given the opportunity despite the wet conditions.
As the Waves clicked into gear in the second half and looked better as a team the Trinity side looked in disarray and played worse.
Having #12 Jordan Morris and #1 Harry McLennan (for the second time in the match) yellow carded didn’t help their cause.
Waverley forwards #1 Finn Wright, #4 Patrick Clifton and #5 Stefan Kovacevis each scored five pointers from good field position on the back of excellent lead up work by the Waverley team.
#11 Dion Narayan and #10 Tyzac Jordan each kicked a conversion goal. Waves 31-0.
The Teams
Waverley looked good. They looked confident and played strong and smart, but a team only plays as good as the opposition allows them to play and Trinity played poorly. The Waves did look well prepared and composed and employed smart tactics for wet weather football.
Their defence was solid and all tries were scored from good field position. They worked hard for each other.
The negatives were they gave far too many penalties away and had one player yellow carded.
Trinity tried hard but they struggled and their tactical kicking in general play wasn’t up to scratch. It was one of those days; they just didn’t gel as a team and couldn’t take advantage of a glut of possession to convert into points.
The Players
Waverley played well as a team, but their best was #8 Justin Cooper. He was a powerhouse in attack and defence and scored a points victory over Trinity’s Liam Rasch at the lineout. #5 Stefan Kovacevic played very strongly and U16s #1 Finn Wright and #4 Patrick Clifton each scored tries and impressed with their high work rate on debut.
All of the Waves backs combined to play a good game. When they did kick their #9, #10 and #15 Jackson Mohi kicked intelligently in the wet conditions.
Trinity: to be honest, it was difficult to give any individual player much of a rap for the entirety of the match but Liam Rasch did some good things and Jordan Morris received the Waves players’ game ball.
The Wrap up
Even though Trinity lack depth, I wouldn’t be writing them off after just one game; there is far too much individual talent on their roster to ignore. Wayland, Longville, Morris, Rasch and Filipo and co impress on the team sheet. To state the obvious, they just need to get it together as a team.
Maybe a dry track suits them better. To state the obvious again, Trinity have some work to do.
I doubt if anyone from the Waverley camp will be getting too carried away with the win but it was encouraging. If they’re to be any chance of matching it with Knox next week they’ll definitely need to improve their discipline and cut down on the number of penalties they give away.
They’ve got some work to do as well.
Scoring
Waverley – 31 (Jake Smirnotis, Dion Narayan, Finn Wright, Patrick Clifton and Stefan Kovacevic tries; Dion Narayan 2 cons, Tyzac Jordan 1 con) def. Trinity – 0
Other Results: Waverley 2nd XV 50 def Trinity 5; Waverley 16As 14 def Trinity 0; Waverley 15As and 14As won.
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