Trinity v Waverley
by “oldandslow”
On a cool, clear afternoon at Summer Hill the home side prepared to take on traditional CAS rivals, Waverley, in the final round for 2015.
Both teams had mixed seasons, with good performances at times but perhaps not living up to their full potential, in part due to injuries to key players.
For the final round Waverley welcomed back star fullback Jackson Mohi but were still missing their dynamic #8, Justin Cooper, who was injured in Round 8 against Barker.
Trinity continued to miss its NSW representative players James Wayland (prop) and Jordan Morris (inside centre) and had shuffled the backline again, with Ryan Longville moving from fullback to wear the 12 jersey.
First half
After belting Trinity’s 2nd XV 51-17, Waverley seemed to carry the momentum into the 1st’s game, enjoying good field position and converting an early penalty for a 3-0 lead.
Both the inside centres started well, with Waverley’s Tom Fuller running strongly, while Trinity’s defence just held, including a head on tackle by Ryan Longville (12) which stopped Waverley’s big prop Finn Wright (1) in his tracks.
Waverley grew into the first half, with a mixture of clever back line moves from set pieces and an astute kicking game from Dion Narayan (10) giving the Double V the bulk of territory and possession.
About 20 minutes in a sparkling backline move from Waverley almost landed the first try. Longville (15) diffused it for Trinity, but in doing so knocked the ball dead and the referee awarded a penalty five meters out. From the ensuing possession Waverley’s Jackson Mohi (15) scored in the corner. A sideline conversion from Narayan (10) put Waves up 10-0.
In the 28th minute Waverley’s skipper Cooper Murphy (9) was sin binned for slowing down play on one of Trinity’s rare attacking forays. Five minutes later it was a 14-a-side game, when Trinity’s Kordell Payne (14) received a similar yellow card.
Waverley continued to dominate territory on the back of Narayan’s boot. Trinity defended bravely, with McLennan (8) ironing out a couple of Waverley ball runners, but Waverley were dominant in the first half, with repeated clean exits from Narayan pushing Trinity back into its own half.
In the dying minutes of the first half a sublime cross-field kick from Tyzac Jordan (11), playing in the fly half position, found his winger Yoannidis (14), who scored out wide.
Half time: score: Waverley 15 – Trinity 0.
Second half
Trinity drew first blood in the second half, a penalty taking them back to 15-3 and they began to earn more possession, as their forwards started to assert themselves, including winning a tight head scrum. However, basic handling errors continued to let them down.
When L. Smith went over the chalk for Waverley following a turnover by Trinity the score was 20-3 and it looked like game over. Trinity, however, didn’t give up and eventually found some continuity, with good runs from Siteine (10) and Nguyen (3) building some momentum.
Nguyen was rewarded with a try from one of his charges and at 20-8 Trinity still had a sniff, especially after Waverley’s prop Finn Wright (1) was sin binned.
Trinity’s forwards continued to win good ball, as momentum shifted, with strong tackling and clean out work by Dominic Pham (4) securing a couple of turnovers and Liam Rasch (5) running the ball strongly.
Following a typically powerful 15-metre run from McLennan (8), Trinity’s Christopher Molla (7) took advantage of quick ball and dived over for a try that was converted, to leave Trinity trailing 20-15.
A few minutes later Trinity’s Alexander Connolly (11) touched down right in the corner to even the scores at 20-20 and, from the sideline Longville (15) converted to give Trinity an improbable 22-20 lead.
As the game wore down, Trinity looked like they may have stolen it, however a late yellow card to McLennan (8) and a calmly taken penalty by Narayan (10) left Trinity a man down and a point behind, with Waverley edging back in front 23-22.
As the match wound down, Longville (15) lined up a penalty from around 45 metres out. He struck the ball sweetly, and the season ended with the tightest of finishes, as the ball dropped agonisingly short by only a few centimetres.
Final score: Waverley 23 – Trinity 22.
The players
Waverley
Narayan (10) was a stand out for man of the match, with a complete performance from fly-half where he controlled the game and showed off outstanding kicking ability from the tee and in hand. Tom Fuller (12) had a strong game, as did Jack Willson (7).
Trinity
Longville (12) was best for them and almost did enough to get them home again, running evasively, tackling strongly and kicking well. Rasch (5) and Nguyen (3) had strong second half performances.
The wrap-up
Overall, a fitting end to the season for two mid-placed sides that were gallant and both sported some star talent, but as teams overall lacked the polish and composure to challenge Knox in 2015.
Scoring
Waverley 23 (Mohi, Yonnidis, L. Smith tries; Narayan 2 pens, con) def.Trinity 22 (Nguyen, Molla, Connolly tries, Longville 2 cons, pen.)
Images of Trinity v Waverley courtesy of https://www.facebook.com. Thank you.
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