AFTER a 18-17 win against Chobham RFC at St Peter on Saturday, Jersey are within touching distance of automatic promotion to London South Division I.

However, despite dominating the game and allowing three possible try-scoring opportunities to go begging, Jersey won by just a single point. Next week they play at second-placed Hayward’s Heath.

As for Saturday’s game, Chobham player and coach, former Rosslyn Park player James Justice at No 10, said: ‘We should have beaten them, but full credit to Jersey, whose No 8 ‘Latu Maka’afi’ was outstanding.

‘But since Christmas, Jersey’s results have been strange. They haven’t been as free-scoring as they were in 2007 and we knew that once we had pegged them back to a single-point lead with four minutes to go, given the opportunity we could have won this game.

‘We did have the chance, but inexperience and an over-eagerness to win the ball gave them the chance to turn it over. I’m disappointed, but the boys have proved themselves in this division and I’m proud of the club’s commitment.

‘Jersey are a good team, but they have to realise that at this level, most of the games are won in the head. Perhaps older, wiser heads would have taken us there. We lost the game in the last three minutes.’

Despite having 70 per cent of the possession, Jersey gave away turn-over ball far too easily and then had to cling on, for victory during a desperate last few minutes.

By half-time it was obvious to the 650-plus crowd that Jersey were the better team, but not for the first time this season, they threw away their chances and came perilously close to throwing away the game.

Their problems began as early as the third minute when, following the first real attack of the match down the right wing, No 12 Andrew Walsh and right-winger Billy Bates made a try for stand-in No 11 Chris Dodd, who scored close to the posts. Walsh converted. After that, most of the pressure came from Jersey, who were lifted by a Jon Swift penalty in the 12th minute making it 7-3.

Eight minutes later stand-off Ben Harvey’s impressive break from inside his own 22 saw him hauled down five yards short of the try-line, before winger Ryan Morgan showed how tries ought to be scored as he danced his way along the right touch-line to score the best score of the match in the 35th minute. It was a try to savour and Jersey were not only in front, they looked commandingly so, and to an impartial spectator it looked a question of ‘When will the floodgates open’?

Two difficult but gettable Jon Swift penalty attempts would have given Jersey breathing space, but at half-time the home side were only 8-7 in front and, in the second half, playing into the wind.

Thankfully, from the second half kick-off Jersey’s bustling dominance paid off as new signing centre Nick Buckley’s direct approach gave them an added edge with an early try, converted by Swift, to make it 15-7.

‘Surely,’ a bystander said: ‘one more try and Chobham will be dead and buried!’

But it wasn’t to be. Already Chobham’s Corey Kennard had been sin-binned right at the end of the first half for continual infringement in the loose. However, Jersey replacement front-row player Nathan Kemp, only this week re-signed from the Cornish Pirates, was also sin-binned after twice playing the ball from an offside position.

From being in command, Jersey were playing ragged rugby and if Chobham centre Andrew Walsh had been on target with the boot from a 51st-minute penalty, Jersey would have been in real trouble. In the 61st minute, from in front of the posts, he did make it 15-10 and after that Jersey were living on their nerves.

A Ben Harvey penalty with 20 minutes to go restored Jersey’s eight-point cushion as they went 18-10 in front, but then Jersey threw away two golden opportunities when first Maka’afi and then winger James Milner, who touched the corner flag, let try-scoring chances go a-begging.

So with eight minutes to play, Jersey allowed Chobham back into the game, giving away penalty after penalty as the clock ticked down.

Following yet another kick to touch followed by a scrum in front of the Jersey posts with four minutes to go, scrum-half Robbie Kennard burrowed over from yet another forward drive to make it 18-17 following the conversion. After that, the Chobham coach thought that his team were close enough to cause an upset.

‘But I also thought we only had one chance to win the game. Instead of that, they turned the ball over and suddenly we were on the defensive,’ he said.

Jersey coach Barry George was more appreciative of his own team’s approach to the game which, he said, should have been won by half-time.

‘We gave away too many penalties, but I think our scrummaging was outstanding,’ he said. ‘We created chances and if we had have taken them we wouldn’t have had to hold on for a win. Ben Harvey, Latu Maka-afi and James Milner could all have scored.

‘But we didn’t finish off our chances and also gave away too many penalties, which is a big worry. However, it’s up to the other teams to catch us. We haven’t lost a game this season. On their day, this team doesn’t know how to lose.

‘I don’t know what will happen next week, or the week after, but whichever team wins this league will be the best team in the division.’

So the Hayward’s Heath game on Saturday, becomes that much more critical. On paper at least, it’s a case of ‘winner takes all’.

Collins Stewart squad: Jim Brimelow (Nathan Kemp), Peter O’Connor, Jon Brennan, Talite Vaioleti, Toby Clyde-Smith (John Allo), Kern Yates, Latu Maka’afi, Graham Bell, James Cooper, Ben Harvey, Ryan Morgan, Keiao Bloomfield, Nick Buckley, James Milner, Jon Swift.