The Islanders secured a 27-0 bonus-point triumph over Doncaster Knights on Friday evening with the help of three tries from the forwards – via hooker Jack Macfarlane and Josh Bainbridge. Macfarlane was credited with two, although Bainbridge rose with ball in hand from the second of those after the captain had earlier scored the opener.
Jack Stapley rounded off the victory, which temporarily sent Jersey to the top of the Championship table. They sit third this week – two points off promotion favourites Newcastle.
‘I’ve got to make mention of the pack tonight,’ said director of rugby Biljon.
‘I think they needed a response after last weekend against Ealing and, fair play to them, they did that. They got their heads down and got stuck in. So you have to give them a fair bit of credit.
‘Josh Bainbridge is leading the team extremely well now. He’s rejuvenated – he’s come and learned new things. He’s challenging himself and we’re challenging him. I hope he’s enjoying his time with us and let’s hope he can go from strength to strength. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet. I think he’ll grow as the season goes on.’
He added: ‘A real positive is that we didn’t give away penalties in the second half – we made a conscious effort to keep our discipline and that allowed us to get our just rewards.
Full report and reaction in Monday’s JEP.
