Rugby: Reaction from defeat at Headingley

But at one stage it had looked oh, so promising.

The Reds were seemingly set to add to what was a weekend of real shocks in the division . . . three tries and 19-6 ahead just before the break against a Yorkshire side that continually fell foul of referee Andrew Jackson, Jersey had produced by far the best rugby. Tries from Nick Haining and new boys Jack Moates and James Freeman could easily have been added to as the Reds confounded pre-match predictions of a powerhouse show from the expensively assembled Yorkshire.

And although Yorkshire pulled one back just before the break, with a rolling maul try from prop Charlie Beech that was set to be the big feature of the second-half, their second sin-binning of the game, also punished with penalty that new No 10 Brendan Cope kicked for a 22-13 lead, had the few visiting fans in the 2,000 crowd licking their lips in anticipation.

And that anticipation was so close to becoming a reality as Jersey went for the kill early in the second half against Yorkshire’s 14. However, in what many saw as the day’s big turning point, referee Andrew Jackson failed to award what looked a clear penalty try against the hosts’ desperately under-pressure pack, but instead awarded them a five-metre scrum from which they cleared their lines. Almost from that moment onwards the many replacements, on both sides, resulted in a swing of massive proportions as Carnegie took control of the forward battle.

Yorkshire's maul was particularly effective in the second half PICTURE: VARLEY PICTURE AGENCYFullback Richard Lane clears for Jersey PICTURE: VARLEY PICTURE AGENCY

With the hosts’ No 10 Harry Leonard having a day to dream of with the boot, the Yorkshire pack, reinforced off the bench with experienced and powerful specimens, slowly, but surely, wrested control from Jersey, with replacement flanker Chris Walker scoring the first of his two tries, which were both to come from penalty-line-out mauls.

Jack Moates keeps Jersey moving PICTURE: VARLEY PICTURE AGENCY

A moment of indiscipline from replacement flanker Gary Graham made their task considerably easier when he clearly retaliated and suffered ten-minutes in the bin. By the time he emerged the tide was flowing even stronger against the Reds – and it was not to turn.

Flanker Myerscough immediately punished Graham’s absence on the left and Walker soon added his second in the right-hand corner – both tries from penalty line-out moves, the only surprise being that Leonard missed the conversion of the second. All of Yorkshire’s tries came from forwards, even the last one, which involved handling worthy of the backs, from another replacement, Tom Ryder.

It seemed an age since the first-half when, after an early Leonard penalty from a lost scrum had them trailing, Jersey exerted some impressive control and showed great self-belief in having Cope kick for position instead of going for the posts. It paid off too, with pressure created eventually rewarded when Haining burrowed over in the left-hand corner after some impressive work across the park, from captain Alex Rae and scrum-half Moates, in particular.

Jersey were showing by far the great enterprise and even the forwards were prepared to run from deep, with one such surge from lock Pierce Phillips sending Moates scampering away under the posts from the left flank, although the home support were vocal it was a forward pass and annoyed at the time Moates took to ground the ball under the posts. Showboating, from the opposition at least, never goes down well in Leeds.

But it was good stuff and the best was still to come, with Moates again doing well, this time on the right, to put the surging Tua Otto away. The Samoan speedster left several defenders standing, then showed great timing with his inside pass to flanker Freeman, who romped to the line. It was the highlight of the day for Jersey and clearly the good work shown in that first 50 minutes shouldn’t b forgotten, despite the second-half transformation.

FRUSTRATION was the overriding emotion from Jersey officials after yesterday’s five-tries-to-three defeat away to Yorkshire Carnegie and the message was clear: The Reds’ squad can expect a thorough inquest into just how a 19-6 lead turned into a 39-22 loss.

While giving Yorkshire due credit for turning around their first-half performance – and they are undoubtedly a squad with Premiership quality – conceding four second-half tries without adding to their 22-13 half-time lead left both head coach Harve Biljon and forwards coach Steve Boden hugely disappointed.

Steve Boden was less than pleased with Jersey's second half showing

There were also many positives that the pair could have rightly pointed to first, but Jersey’s ambitions are loftier now and the pair also refused to take cover from decisions that, had they gone the Reds’ way, would almost certainly have resulted in them leaving with at least a bonus point or two.

Biljon, too, while extremely pleased with the rugby produced in the opening period, will want to dissect exactly why a team that threatened – and produced – so much, did so little in the closing stages.

‘Discipline played a big part today. When they had men in the bin, we prospered. When it happened to us, they did. We need to go away and look carefully at several situations where we lost points – in attack and defence – then work hard at putting them right. But let’s not forget that Yorkshire are a “Premiership-ready” squad and we are still learning. Let’s see what we can learn from this.’

Chairman Bill Dempsey said: ‘I think it’s totally down to the vast experience that Yorkshire have – they can replace experience with experience and it told on the day. But had we taken our chances it could have been a different story – and not getting a penalty try early in the second half when they pulled down our maul proved a real turning point.’

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