“A STEP BACK IN TIME”
(By Percy Jones)
SEASON 1982 -83
This is another report for the 1982/83 season. Details of the 1st XV’s playing record for this season was included in the previous report. Team photographs for the teams that played in the 1980-90 decade can be found in the main match programme.
15th October 1982
Trinity College nil; Carmarthen Quins 52 pts.
(By kind permission of the Carmarthen Journal)
QUINS BURST CUP BUBBLE
Trinity’s Schweppes Cup bubble burst in an 11 try explosion at Ystrad Fields. For the shell-shocked students, courageously battling away until the final whistle, it was a salutary lesson in the basic art of fast, open football and high powered forward play.
Trinity, who only came together at the start of the new term, were never in with a chance against a side which boasts a hundred per cent record after four weeks of West Wales League action. Yet, in what was to turn out to be no more than a stiff work out for the Quins, the students defended stubbornly to survive the opening 20 minutes unscathed.
Razor sharp tackles and pinpoint line kicking kept the Quins at bay, but gradually the intense pressure began to take its toll on a tiring rearguard. The first chink in the
armour was exposed in a bulldozing run to the line by fiery forward Richard Ratti. In the deluge that followed, Gethin Curzon, Nigel Langdon and Adrian Wray all found paths to the line. Dylan Richards landed one conversion to make it 18-0 at the interval.
The second session was little more than one-way traffic. Quins won ball almost at will from the set pieces and the backs made full use of the possession to run at the students. Not to be outdone, the forwards joined in the quick fire passing movements and it was Ratti who smashed his way over for a second try after Curzon had started the rot with a touchdown in the opening minutes. And there was still no respite for the students. Centre James Ward piled on the agony with a charging run to the line before Langdon crossed for his second try. Richards converted to take the tally to 36-0.
CHEER
Wray made it 40-0 with a try but the biggest cheer of the afternoon was kept for prop David Woodhead, one of the mainsprings of this season’s bid for championship
promotion. Woodhead, showing a devastating turn of speed, found himself embroiled inathree-quarter movement and perfectly placed to take a try scoring pass. Richards abed the extra points.
Although trailing by a massive 46 points the students kept on plugging away for the elusive score that would have saved the whitewash. Their best chance came from a tap penalty but poor handling halted the move and ironically it was the Quins who hit back with a score. This time it was Howard Iles who picked up to get his name on the score sheet. Richards, who by his own high standards had an off day with the ‘boot,’ sent the ball winging true and straight to complete the rout,
Quins officials, particularly new coach Barrie Jackson, paid tribute to the ‘never say die’ performance of the students but a spokesman admitted “We are unlikely to find the going so easy in the first round proper of the competition. We expected a tougher battle but I suppose it’s still very early in the season for the students who have only just started back after the summer vacation. Trinity have some fine players and I am sure that as soon as the side settles the results will start to come.” He added “Although our main aim is to secure promotion an extended cup run wouldn’t come amiss. The Welsh Cup gives junior union clubs their only chance of meeting the giants and we are hoping for a plum draw against Llanelli, Bridgend or Cardiff in the next rounds.”