Rugby v St. Patrick’s College 2 April, 2022
Welcome to the 2022 Trinity Rugby Season
Player participation has continued its climb, as this year 300 young Trinitarians will don the Green and White each Saturday to represent the school on the rugby field. The teams represented across the age groups are as follows:
- Opens – We will have four teams, with the possibility of a fifth depending on availability
- 16s – For the first time in quite a while we will field three teams in the 16s age group
- 15s – Despite strong numbers in this age group the impact of the term-long Field Studies program will see us only field ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams
- 13s & 14s – Will both field three teams
Captain of the 1st XV – Orly Hatton-Ward (11Sc)
Congratulations to Orly Hatton-Ward who has been named captain of the 1st XV for the 2022 season. Following an outstanding debut season in the 1st XV, capped by his selection in the 2021 NSW Schools Under 16 side, Orly has continued to develop into strong leader. It will be exciting to watch him continue to grow over his remaining two years at the school.
1st Trial against St. Patrick’s College, Strathfield
For the second consecutive year the wet weather impinged upon the number of teams who were able to play in our first trial of the year. Due to field closures impacting preparation time for St. Patrick’s College, they were only able to field 10 teams for our weekend trial. Of those 10 fixtures played there was an even 5-win – 5-loss split between the schools.
| 1st XV | 24-10 | 15B | 10-27 |
| 2nd XV | 0-27 | 14A | 41-24 |
| 16A | 55-12 | 14B | 20-33 |
| 16B | 15-5 | 13A | 24-7 |
| 15A | 31-32 | 13B | 12-31 |
Team of the Week
Our first Team of the Week for the 2022 season is:
1. Cameron V. (We) – 16A
2. Eddy A. (10Yo) – 16B
3. Daniel C. (11Mu) – 1st XV
4. Liam I. (10Wj) – 16A
5. Sam N. (11St) – 1st XV
6. Oliver V. (7He) – 13A
7. Taj Y. (8We) – 14A
8. Will S. (8We) – 14B
9. Makoto C. (7Du) – 13A – Makoto was also selected as the Player of the Day.
10. Logan T. (9Ke) – 15A
11. Aiden L. (7Ta) – 13B
12. Harry G. (11Ke) – 2nd XV
13. Ethan A. (10Sc) – 16B
14. Christos C. (8Sc) – 14B
15. Tom B. (9Hi) – 15B
Mick Snowden | Director of Rugby
1st XV Match Report
The rain had finally decided to subside and thanks to the stellar work of the Trinity ground staff, Number 1 Oval was in outstanding condition, considering the recent downpour. To make things even better, the entire Year 7 cohort was out in full voice for the first compulsory game of the year. The final touch would be that a total of six young men would be making their 1st XV debuts; Tom Kosmas (10Fo), Daniel Christodoulou (11Mu), Sam Niulala (11St), Oliver A. (11We), Ashton Frazer (10Mu) and Malik Amine (11Yo).
The enthusiasm was palpable as our young men took the field and Trinity got off to a flying start. A well worked lineout move from just inside the St. Pat’s half would see Malik Amine break the line before being pulled down just metres out. Trinity quickly recycled the ball and Daniel Christodoulou crashed over from the following phase of play. A strong exit from the kick off and a barnstorming Alisi Leao (12Mu) carry would see Trinity hot on attack again, before captain Orly Hatton-Ward (11Sc) sold a dummy close to the line to dive over for his first try for the 1stXV. Orly then kicked the conversion to extend our lead to 12-0. The strong Trinity defence was hampered somewhat by our own ill-discipline, silly penalties and handling errors which kept the score at 12-0 entering half time.
Straight from the half time break Trinity continued their strong attacking form as Jaiden Timperi (12Hi) went over untouched from a well worked scrum move, Orly added the extras and our lead pushed to 19-0. Unfortunately, this was the point at which the Green and White decided to take their foot off the accelerator and St. Pat’s capitalised on a couple of poor errors to bring the score back to 19-10. Fortunately, this lull in performance was short-lived as eventual Player of the Match, Sam Niulala, capped his 1st XV debut with a try in the corner, right in front of the parochial Trinity crowd.
While it was far from a perfect performance, it was fantastic to see our debutants excel and even better to claim victory in front of our home crowd. The 1st XV will now enjoy a well-earned break over the holidays before travelling to Strathfield to take on St. Pat’s once again.
Final Score: Trinity 24 defeated St. Patrick’s College, Strathfield 10.
Tries: Orly Hatton-Ward (1), Daniel Christodoulou (1), Sam Niulala (1) & Jaiden Timperi (1)
Conversions: Orly Hatton-Ward (2)
Mr. Snowden and Mr. Pay (1st XV Coaches)
2nd XV Match Report
Saturday’s trial match against St. Patrick’s saw Rugby return to No.1 Oval for another season. Despite the inclement weather in previous weeks impacting preparations for Round 1, the 2nd XV took the field with great anticipation. The opening stages proved to be a tough contest between the two sides, with Trinity having to do a lot of defending in the first 20 minutes. Nevertheless, despite trailing the visitors at halftime, the match was still in the balance. Flyhalf Harry Groth (11Ke) worked tirelessly in both attack and defence throughout the match, and he was well supported by Liam Clayton (12Fo) in the Centres. Flanker Bede Dunn (11St) looked to make life difficult for the opposition at the breakdown, while Hugo Reed (11Ho) showed plenty of attacking flair at Fullback. However, errors at key moments of the match proved costly and, in the end, the home team had to unfortunately settle for a loss in the opening fixture of the season. Nevertheless, despite the setback, continued work at training will hopefully see an improved performance next Term.
Final Score: Trinity 0 defeated by St. Patrick’s College, Strathfield 27.
Mr. M Kearsley and Mr. M Di Paola
15A Match Report
The students were anxious but excited to start the season. The game started off a bit tense with both teams testing each other’s mettle. Trinity struggled to get out of their territory and St Pat’s was able to capitalise on errors and penalties within their half and scored first. Trinity was able to reply with their own try. The game was constantly changing with multiple lead changes from both teams. At half time the scores were 19-17 Trinity. In the second half, the match became more tense and both teams were able to score and reply to each try scored. Trinity was leading with one minute to go at 31-27. Unfortunately, bad decisions in the Trinity half caused St Pat’s to capitalise and have one last ditch to score. The siren blew and Trinity did its very best to hold out St Pat’s but soon the pressure was too great, and St Pat’s scored in the corner one minute after the final siren. St Pat’s won the match 32-31. The Trinity students gave a valiant effort and hopefully with more training and experience the students will be able to make better decisions under pressure.
Final Score: Trinity 31 defeated by St. Patrick’s College, Strathfield 32.
Tries: Logan T. (2), Brock Prideaux (1), Banjo Hannaford (1) and Tom Bermingham (1)
Conversions: Logan T. (3)
Mr. Huynh (15A Coach)
13A Match Report
The 13As had a clear win over the opposition last Saturday. The trial fixture against St Patrick’s College provided the 13As players with their first opportunity to play as a team. There are three principles, from which many skills of the game flow, that guide the focus of the team as they build for the CAS season. First, maintain possession. Second, listen to the voice of the players in key positions, notably the halfback and captain Makoto C. (7Du). Third, to regard defence as a contest by actively challenging the opposition. While the team started slowly off the blocks, their commitment and drive grew as the game went on. Alessio Caridi (7Sc) made some powerful runs, scoring off the back of some great passing from Marcus Prideaux (7Wh) and Callum Charnock (7We). Finn Byrne (7Mu) was solid at the breakdown with fellow forwards David Fisterman (7Wh) and Oliver Varone (7He) leading the team with the ball and in defence. While the 13As continue to gel and develop key skills, there was no doubt the result was a great first step.
Final Score: Trinity 24 defeated St. Patrick’s College, Strathfield 7
Tries: Oliver Varone (1), David Fisterman (1), Alessio Caridi (1) and Penalty Try.
Conversions: Marcus Prideaux (1)
Mr. Miller (13A Coach)
