Johnny Watterson on how the oldest rugby club in the world has survived into the professional era.

Following their comeback from 28-6 down to beat UL Bohemians 35-28 last weekend in their first All Ireland League outing of the year, you might say Trinity's survival instincts have been well honed.

The college, which is celebrating its 150th year of continuous rugby, have a season mapped out ahead that could prove to be even more eventful than their first major scalp of this season's campaign.

Given the nature of the weekend's comeback, one can see why they have survived so long and now occupy the grand position of being the oldest continuously-playing rugby club in the world.

While the professional game has moved rugby further away from the position of eminence university teams once held, the students have weathered the changes well, regularly making their presence felt with the sort of vigorous contribution that sent UL Bohemians back to Limerick in a bit of a stew as well as feeding their own underage sides.

But the university's history is also seamlessly linked to the evolution of the game of rugby and when the college shamrock emblem was surrendered to the nascent IRFU in 1880 at the request of the governing body, their position literally became part of the fabric.

While the Guy's Hospital (formerly St Mary's) Rugby Club was founded in 1848 and their website lays claim to the title of world's longest established club, they did go out of existence for 10 years before being reconstituted.

Trinity, meanwhile, forged ahead and now rightfully lay claim to be only club to have been playing the game for 150 years without stopping.

These are different times now from the halcyon days when nine of the college side, including the Ireland captain GH Stack, were selected to face England in the 1875 international at the Kennington Oval.

And since then Trinity have supplied Ireland with not just the shamrock emblem but 152 international players and 17 British and Irish Lions.

Long gone, too, are the days when Hugo McNeill, Brendan Mullin and Fergus Dunlea - the last group of players to do so - could play for Trinity one week and pull on an Irish shirt the next.

In fact, the chances of current college players simultaneously playing for Ireland are as likely as them again having five playing members elected to the IRFU committee, as it did when it was founded.

"There are a number of things happening to mark the anniversary," says former Trinity president Gerry Kelly.

"We are playing a Trinity XV against a President's XV on February 21st, which is on the eve of the Ireland games against Wales.

"Trevor West has also written a book and that will be launched in November. It's a series of essays from people who are alive and also papers taken from the archives in the college."

The Trinity under-20 side are the Irish champions at that grade, the first Leinster club to have won the title since the competition began. They have also risen from Division Four in the AIL to Division Two, with director of rugby Tony Smeeth deciding which direction the game should take at College Park.

After all, UL Bohemians came to College Park as favourites, having just been relegated from the Division One. With a number of Munster and Ireland underage players on the side and full of confidence following their impressive Munster league run, they faced Trinity, who were introducing 10 new players to the AIL competition and had not fielded that team in any prior match.

After 150 years, they would have been happy with that result.