Jersey Rugby Club suffered their first defeat in the British and Irish Cup at St Peter today.

They were beaten by Leinster 16-12, the visitors coming out fighting in the second half, having trailed by 6-12 at half-time.

Jersey’s were 9-0 up early on in the match, but the early promise evaporated as Leinster piled on the pressure in the second half and scored two tries in fairly quick succession to give them a 16-12 lead.

The Island side rallied towards the end of the game, but they could not close the gap – the only consolation being a bonus point for the narrow defeat.

Jersey’s previous cup outings this season saw a draw with Pontypridd and a win against Leeds.

• See Monday’s Jersey Evening Post for full match report