Barker v Trinity
by “rod skellet”
Another wonderful afternoon presented players from Barker and Trinity at Hornsby, with the Barker No1 Oval in great shape for running rugby.
With both teams coming off a loss the previous week, there was a lot to play for. A close game was expected as Barker always lifts at home and after a one point loss at Trinity in Round 1, Barker were out for a reversal of fortune.
Injuries enforced some position switching in both teams with Trinity captain and no 8 McLennan playing prop and lock Liam Rasch playing no. 8. Barker’s prop Tim Anstey played 6 and Sean Hasagawa (wing against Alloys) shifted to the front row !!!
First half
Trinity kicked off and a fumble by Barker was eagerly greeted by the men in myrtle who gratefully accepted a scrum 15 metres out from the Barker line. But what a scrum. Barker locked, and as one pushed the Trinity scrum back the maximum 1.5 metres. It made the ball messy for Harrison Gregory (Trinity 9), but somehow he cleared it.
Some dominant tackling by Barker, not seen all year, had Trinity going backwards. After several phases Trinity were back on the 10-metre line and under the pump, but still in possession. However a dominant tackle by Thompson of Barker, on Longville, made him fumble the ball into Thompson’s arms and he sprinted 50 metres to score under the posts.
Lloyd added the extras and Barker led 7-0.
There was some good forward work from Barker when they received the restart kick and with both of their locks, Ward and Webb, noticeable at the breakdown, they got deep into Trinity’s half. They earned a penalty in front of the posts…but it went begging.
The miss was unacceptable at this level—would it prove costly later on ?
Trinity was not playing badly and were still very much in this game. Rasch was delivering consistent lineout ball at the front, although it must be said Barker is weak in this area—and Siteine and Longville were starting to run more freely and pressuring the Barker backs.
A fortunate run of 50/50 referee calls to Trinity had them on attack and resulted in McLennan going over in the corner, but the conversion was wide. 7-5 to Barker.
Barker went on attack after some scything runs from Saar (12) and Caddy (15), and four phases by the forwards following up had them camped just five metres out from the Trinity line. After Barker took a scrum option when awarded a penalty, Purcell and Wigglesworth combined to put Van Woerkom (14) over in the corner.
The conversion was short and Barker led 12-5.
From the restart Trinity regathered through some good work by hooker Nguyen and lock Bechara. They got on the front foot as the Trinity backline started to make inroads against Barker’s tackling which was not as dominant as before. When the ref awarded an offside penalty against an over-eager Barker defensive line, Trinity were happy to take the three points offered.
Halftime score: Barker 12 – Trinity 8.
Second half
The game was in the balance as the game restarted and whoever stepped up could win it.
Trinity put Barker on notice early when they slotted a penalty goal to get within one point: 11-12.
A series of offensive moves by Trinity and Barker came to nothing but unfortunately Trinity 14 David Barbati suffered a horrible-looking knee injury. We all wish the the young man best wishes for a full recovery.
Barker’s best now stood up with Lloyd, Anstey and Purcell challenging the Trinity defence and they made some tough, hard-fought yards to get the Reds less than a metre from Trinity’s line.
Then Purcell did an astonishing thing: he took the ball out the ruck just as it emerged and reached over and placed it on the try line right in front of a stunned Trinity pack. No barging or pushing: he just extended his arm and put the ball on the line. A bit like reaching out to carefully pick up a cup of tea.
The conversion was wide again, but Barker led 17-11.
The clock was ticking and both sides were doing their utmost to to give the ball to their backs, both equally dangerous with possession.
When Trinity were awarded a penalty in extended injury time, the lineout from 60 metres out looked like the last play of the game. Rasch, the go-to man in the lineout, won the ball and Trinity sent the ball wide to Marcus Trevina (replacement for Barbati), who beat his opposing man and ran 50 metres to score five metres in from touch.
Barker 17-16. A successful conversion would win the game for Trinity; the crowd was hushed.
And…Longville made no mistake with the conversion for Trinity. They led for the first time in the match to win at the death, despite scoring only two tries to Barker’s three.
Final score: Trinity 18 – Barker 17
The wrap-up
What a game. Barker can be proud, but must be rueing not having a competent kicker. Both games against Trinity resulted in losses, when both teams would acknowledge that the results would most likely have been reversed if the Reds could kick goals better.
Given the Aloys game was also four tries apiece, a kicking program must be on the agenda for Barker’s sports master for 2016 season.
That said Trinity never gave up today and showed more heart than last week. With quality players with Rasch, Nguyen, Longville and Siteine again showing why they reached higher CAS honours, this team now finds itself in a three-way battle with Waverley for third place on the ladder.
For Barker, they face the might of Knox at home which will be a huge game. Hopefully the boys in Red can do themselves proud and give the Knox champions a real scare in a fitting last game of the year—and the last for the school for many of them.
The players
Best for Barker
Purcell, Lloyd, Anstey, Saar
Best for Trinity
Rasch, Nguyen, Longville, Trevena
Scoring
Trinity 18 ( M. Trevina, H. McLennan tries; R. Longville 2 pens, con) def. Barker 17 ( M. Ward, B. Thompson, F van Woerkom tries; A. Lloyd con)
Other results
Earlier results had Barker take out the 14A’s, 15a’s, 3rds while the Reds had a crushing 36-nil win in the 2nds.
Photos of Barker v Trinity by “rod skellet”
Click on Page 2 for a report on Aloys v Waverley by “sidelineview”.
