Trinity vs G's

Training during the week had intensified following the heavy home defeat to Twickenham as the team prepared for the first away fixture of the season. Trinity were a bit of an unknown quantity but have been playing at this level for many a year, so a hard fixture lay ahead.

G’s started brightly with plenty of possession, testing the Trinity side and creating space through the middle and out wide. They strung together multiple phases and played the structure of their game at a high tempo. The slight angle on the pitch meant that G’s could target a corner of the pitch and ensure Trinity were stuck in their half, under pressure.

However, despite plenty of good opportunities created there were also plenty of unforced errors from East Grinstead which prevented any points on the board. After 20 minutes of pressure, Trinity were finally able to clear their lines and mount the first attack of their own.

Having scored no points and now facing an attack, East Grinstead looked disorganised in defence with Trinity able to hit lines and move the ball into space and threaten the G’s line. After turning the ball over, G’s cleared the ball but managed to find the only player in the backfield in plenty of space. The kick chase was not good enough and Trinity scored the first points of the game. Conversion missed. 5-0 to Trinity.

Trinty kicked off and almost immediately won themselves a penalty, which was kicked between the posts to make the score 8-0 with 25 mins gone.

The next 20 minutes were frantic and were spent in the East Grinstead half. Some superb defensive work meant that no additional points were scored this half from Trinity, and on the stroke of the half time whistle, G’s won a penalty which was kicked by Oli Billin.

Half time. Trinity 8 – 3 East Grinstead

G’s came into the second half with intent. Moving the ball quickly and attacking the wings, allowing Chris Taylor and Jake Radcliffe to gain momentum and meters. 4 minutes into the second half Oli Billin scampered over the line under the posts and then converted the extras to take the lead for the first time. 8-10 to East Grinstead.

Trinity know their pitch and much like G’s did in the first half, they used the slope to pin G’s in their own half. The difference being they converted and over the following 15 minutes through set piece moves using heavy carriers, carved space to score two tries under the sticks, both converted.

60 mins gone Trinity 22 – 10 East Grinstead.

Now chasing the game and facing huge amounts of pressure, East Grinstead’s defence became a little wild and Ryland Thomas was given an unfortunate yellow card for repeated infringements, G’s down to 10 men.
G’s rode the storm and tightened up the defence, played in the right areas of the pitch and with 14 men on the pitch, MOTM Aaron Boczek crashed over the line to give a glimmer of hope within 10 minutes left on the clock. 22-15 to Trinity.

Tails up, momentum swung, and back to a full complement of 15 players, East Grinstead played their best rugby of the afternoon. Crashing lines from the forwards and quick hands from the backs created chaos for Trinity. Jake Radcliffe found himself in space but was held up just short of the line, allowing Max Crawley-Moore to pick and go from the base to score in the corner. Conversion missed.

2 minutes left on the clock. Trinity 22 – 20 East Grinstead.

Trinity collected their kick off and looked to eat the clock and finish the game but G’s disrupted and won a scrum on the 10 meter line for the last play of the game.

Scrum won, G’s pushed the ball wide to one wing with Jake Radcliffe exploiting the space and eating up meters. The ball came back the other way to the other wing and now on the 5-meter line, Oli Billin’s inside pass was perfectly timed for Max Crawley-Moore to muscle his way over the line to score his second of the day. Conversion made, final whistle.

Full time. Trinity 22 – 27 East Grinstead

A bonus point win on the road in a new league and first points on the board. Objective complete.

It was a hairy game that could’ve gone either way on the day, but G’s showed fantastic resilience to fight back and play the game for the full 80 minutes and never giving up.

This was a monumental day for the club, after securing promotion to Counties-1 and shows that we can compete at this level.

Another massive talking point to mention is that all three Billin brothers played together to join legendary rugby brothers of the past. Massive congratulations to Dan, Oli and Jack (And very proud Dad). To watch them interviewed, click this link: Billin Bros

G’s now face KCS Old Boys at home next week, which looks to be a tough fixture.

Onwards.