UNDEFEATED Jersey RFC have put clear daylight between themselves and the chasing pack, after they did themselves “justice” in brutal conditions at St Peter.
The Islanders have begun their Regional 2 South Central with seven straight victories, the latest of which came with a 50-15 win over travelling Salisbury RFC.
In front of a sizeable home support, the Caesareans looked assured throughout the contest, highlighted by three quick-fire tries at the tail end of the opening period, with a man advantage.
Head coach Myles Landick has been keen to expose some of his younger members of the squad to league rugby, and with injury troubles, the Salisbury fixture provided the perfect opportunity. The youthful tandem of Eryk Swiech and Sam Harvey on the wing proved fruitful, with the former scoring two of Jersey’s eight tries.
Clip: Eryk Swiech’s try
“I think last season, we didn’t perhaps do ourselves justice in tough conditions,” said Landick.
“We needed to show we can play in the wet better and I think we proved that.
“There will always be some skill errors in slippery conditions, but we tightened up our game well and I think the lads did a great job at adjusting to the weather on the day.”
A real point of emphasis heading into the contest was Jersey’s ability to clear the path for Max Harrington at the breakdown.
It proved a key facet of the fixture, with the scrum-half able to quickly spread play without giving the opposition time to reset.
Clip: Ewan Davies touched down for Jersey
Landick added: “It was really pleasing to see how well we managed the breakdown.
“We worked hard on that aspect at training during the week and to execute that was really pleasing.
“To play our game in the right areas, we need to ensure we are keeping possession in the rucks and that gives us the opportunities to put points on the board.”
Clip: Nathan Rogers scored to help Jersey RFC to a seventh straight win
Captain Evan Whitson led his forwards from the first minute until the last, in what was an energy-sapping affair between the packs of both sides.
It was that “strong backbone” that laid the foundations for the hosts to exploit spaces with the backs in attack, and also nullify the the oppositions chances in defence.
Whitson said: “When we woke up and saw the conditions, we knew were were in for a real battle.
“We had a really strong back line and with Penbo [Aaron Penberthy] in at fly-half, if we could do our job at front, that would give them the chance to express themselves.
“All credit to Salisbury, they came at us, especially early in the second period, but we kept our foot on the pedal throughout and that’s what we need to continue to do, heading into a tough block of games.”
Clip: Bryn Edwards’ try
On a dreary day, the local support flocked to St Peter in their masses to support their amateur side.
Something that was not lost on the captain.
“All of us are still very shocked and sad at the situation with the Reds,” he added.
“But to get numbers like this up here in bad weather means the world to us and we always love to play in front of them.”
