Jersey Rugby Club proved their pedigree on Saturday by beating London 1 Division league leaders Shelford by just one point.

The Island side, still in third position in the division, beat their opponents in the away match by 15 to 14.  Even though Shelford could have snatched the game at the end with two late penalties, according to their chairman, Ross Seymour, on the day the better team won.

‘It was a tremendous game of rugby and in the first 20 minutes Jersey dominated most of the play,’ he said. ‘They deserved their ten-point lead although we tried to put more pace on the game in the second half and missed two difficult penalties right at the end. Of course we’re bitterly disappointed but hopefully Jersey will do us a favour next weekend and beat (second-placed) Barnes.’

JRFC head coach Ben Harvey was full of praise for his side. ‘Shelford aren’t top of the league without reason and in the second half we let them back into the game,’ he said. ‘After that they had their tails up, but this was a well-disciplined performance and I was pleased with the way we played. We worked hard; kept our hands out of the ruck and were worth the win – even though, after three inches of snow last week, the pitch was a quagmire.’

• Picture: Sam Tuia scored both of Jersey’s tries against Shelford