JERSEY RFC won their first game of the season not through attack, but because their defence was outstanding in front of a crowd approaching 500 at St Peter on Saturday.
Apart from one penalty kick, converted by Nick Barton in the second quarter to bring the score to 5-3, for long periods of the game they were also in total command.
As their coach, Jordan Reynolds said, after the game: ‘Once our regular No 10, Blair Campbell, went off injured, we had nobody left on the field who could control the game. Like Jersey, we had six or seven players away on holiday. We also had four teenagers, from the Colts’ side, in our team, which is a plus for Guernsey rugby, including Tom Ceillam and Nick Merrien. They both played well.
‘Jersey are a good side, although they rely on the physicality of their pack. They are a more muscular side, but if this had been a Siam Cup I doubt that there would have been more than two points in it.’
Neither coach really wanted an inter-insular so early on in the season.
However, for new coach Ben Harvey, it gave some indication of the direction Jersey will be heading in, in their new status as a London, Division I side.
‘We scored some good tries from set movements and our defence was pretty good,’ he said. ‘But what was most revealing to me, as a coach, was that even though we won, afterwards players came up to me, telling me what they ought to have done better. We were the better side. But in three weeks we’ll work harder and be better again.’
Score: Jersey 27, Guernsey 3
Pictured: Jersey RFC Ashley Maggs carries the ball into the Guernsey defence
Article posted on 26th August, 2008 - 3.08pm
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