JERSEY RFC start their game away from home against Lewes this afternoon looking for revenge in throwing away a 14-5 lead at St Peter in their first London South Division II encounter to lose, eventually, 35-28.

They played the unfair way of never giving up,’ said coach Dai Burton wryly.

‘We, meanwhile, threw the game away.

14-5 ahead with two minutes of the first half to go we were comfortably in the lead before a converted penalty try and a try in the corner meant we began 17-14 down in the second period.

‘They also robbed a lot of our ball on the floor; there’s a thin line between doing that legally or illegally but they saw they’d got away with it early on in the game, and carried on robbing us.’ Too many turn-overs and spilled ball during that game and a fast Lewes pack, providing decent ball for their quick wingers meant that, having been at the bottom of the league before the game they moved up and now, after three wins in succession, are eighth in the table, with a game in hand behind sixth-placed Jersey.

The Island side, meanwhile, have lost John Allo, out with a suspected broken jaw, but have South African Brett Els back in the side.

For how long, no-one knows, as he aims to find work and to stay in Jersey.

The threes, too, have a different look about them as Mark White switches with Steve Mee from wing to centre.

And, for one of the first times this season, there are three 18-year-olds on the bench: Jamie Allan, Harry Bonn and James Simpson.

‘They aren’t there because they’ve been playing badly,’ Burton said of Allan and Bonn, ‘but they’re taking three months out next year, travelling and surfing.

We’ll also lose them to university.’ The tone of his voice showed that, yet again, the frustration of rarely being able to play a settled team – but one thing he does expect this weekend is revenge.

‘Hopefully, we can turn it around,’ he said, not least because in their November game against Lewes two minutes of lethargy cost them two points which, really, were theirs for the taking.

Team: Marcus Nobes, Josh Chamier, Jim Brimelow, Mark Peters, Ian Henderson, Brett Els, Richie Griffiths, Steve O’Brien, Paul Nayar, Darren Toudic, Steve Mee, Mark White, Andy Whelan, James Milner, Gareth Jeffreys.

Replacements: Jamie Allan, Harry Bonn, James Simpson, Peter O’Connor.

n The Jersey 2nds game against Wanderers has been postponed.