JERSEY RFC 2nds are through to the final of rugby’s Doug Tranter Cup after beating Beeches 27-5 on Sunday.

In a tense game at St Peter, in which two Beeches’ players were sin-binned, the difference between the two sides was in the threes.

The packs matched each other with a try apiece, but Jersey’s wide men made the most of their opportunities and slick hands produced four tries in a display of fast, fluent, open play.

However, as Beeches’ captain Gary Osborne explained afterwards: ‘For the first 30 minutes neither side dominated.

They could have scored on more than one occasion, but so could we.

The score was 5-0 at half-time but it was always tight.

And I was pleased by the way we came back in the second half, after two players had been sin-binned for a bit of niggle.

‘Andy Dawson deserved his try.

He came on in the second half as a “”super-sub”" and scored from a tap and go, from eight metres out.

‘We’re not getting as many players as we’d like up to training, but we had a full team out with plenty of reserves.

We’ve no problems with numbers.

I just hope that we can beat St Jacques (in the JRA league) in two weeks time.’ Dawson scored in the second half when Beeches were already chasing the game.

The first, and only try in the first half, came when captain Matt Howe finished off a move begun by the pack and, through the threes’ deft handling, touched down for a try in the corner.

In the second half, with former 1st XV player Doc Snook sin-binned for Beeches, Jersey scored again, through Matthew Leach, before further tries came from No 8 James Simpson (converted by Nick Waddington); Waddington himself, playing on the wing, and Dave Carswell in the centre.

As Burton said: ‘Quick hands and decent passes made our tries, although their try came following their scrum-half knocking the ball on, horribly, from a ruck.’ Knock-on or not, for Beeches, Dawson’s try was scant consolation for a game they’d already said goodbye to.

And, as Burton said, with a smile of satisfaction after the game: ‘Jersey 1sts won, so did the 2nds, and Guernsey lost.

They’re always the first three results I care about at the weekend, hoping all three will be in our favour.

And this has been a good weekend.

A very good weekend.’