Rugby Mens 1 had their first outing of the year on Wednesday 4th, so with no club night to work off the mince pies and turkey, they were glad to have kept a vigorous training routine running through xmas and new year... I just hoped their performance on court would be as masterful as their drinking at the pub after!
the captain made a late change to the roster and called up a pair from our Rugby second team, hoping their winning ways would rub off... It looked like a savvy decision as both pairs took their first rubbers and Trinity went into a confident 2-0 lead.
The pairs then felt that it would be disheartening for Hunters to lose before the split, and on the swap over, despite valiant efforts both Trinity pairs lost to level the game at 2-2!
The split was definitely a worry, as we had split with a clearly stronger pair, and if we wanted the win, we had to hope that Hunters did the same (and looking at the scoresheet would have ruined the anticipation), or else the match had a 3-3 draw written all over it.... We were rewarded as their split mirrored ours, and it looked like both teams were set to try for the win.
The 2's & 4's match was a battle of tactics, trying to pick out the opposing weakness and capitalise, as the pairs matched up pretty evenly. Unfortunately it was our pair that came out defeated in 2. The 1's & 3's provided the hardest fought rubber of the match, with our stronger pair coming back from a game down, to level the rubber at 1-1. Knowing that the cost of losing the last game also cost us the match, their resolve was steely. A battle of long rallies and great badminton, and even a dive in desperation to get the shuttle back, eventually allowed the dust to settle on a 2-1 win for Trinity, levelling the match at 3-3.
Good work team, a strong performance by Phil and Chris on their first outing in the 1st division!
- Ben C