COACHES tend to resist getting carried away, especially early in the season, but Jersey RFC’s Myles Landick was a pretty happy man as he reviewed his side’s most recent display.
Standing on the lush green surface at CoinShares Park – the pitch he’s been tending all year in his groundsman role – Landick could bask in some evening sunshine as well as the after-glow of a dominant display by his men.
The hosts claimed ten tries in racking up 69 points – more than double the 33 they’d averaged over the first five games of the season – against a spirited, but outplayed Horsham outfit.
It may not have been perfect, but Landick knew it would be ‘Grinchy’ to pick holes in his squad’s performance.
“It was a really good effort overall,” he said. “We started really well, and although we put ourselves under a bit of pressure at the end of the first-half through ill-discipline, the way we came out after half-time was brilliant and set the tone for the rest of the game.
“It was great to see PJ Dodge make his debut and another youngster in Ethan Huish playing well and to score that many points in front of a large crowd was very pleasing.”
Recent injury troubles had brought Dan Hawkes into the line-up at fly-half, and the player-coach delivered an impressive performance, starting with a penalty after three minutes. The visitors levelled things up, but then experienced Jersey’s forward power for the first time.
Two penalties – one for a scrum offence and the other for a midfield tackle without the ball – brought the hosts down to the pavilion corner and Jack Macfarlane went over from the back of a maul.
The other two first-half Jersey tries were scored by winger Bevan Biggs, the first as PJ Dodge broke off a maul near the line before giving a scoring pass and the second at the end of a flowing move from the other side of halfway, with Huish the set-up man.
Skipper Tom Johnson went over for Horsham and at 24-10 the visitors were very much in touch as the half-time whistle blew, especially with their opponents just down to 13 men with George Willmott yellow-carded for after several earlier team infringements and Max Ayling followed after taking out an opponent in the air.
The home supporters, making up the vast majority of an impressive crowd of 852, might have expected their side to try and keep things tight to manage the sin-bin periods which still had eight or nine minutes to run.
But what they got was a real statement from the men in red: a penalty almost straight from the restart, a kick to the corner and a lineout drive from the outnumbered – but not outpowered – forwards which yielded not only a penalty try, but a card for the Horsham player adjudged to have dragged down the maul.
The early score, stretching the lead to 21 points, represented an injection of confidence in Jersey veins and after their sin-binned duo returned to action, the home side were irresistible in scoring six tries over the final half-hour of the game.
The pick was probably Tom Tilstone’s pacey break and pass to Liam Rhodes for a sprint to the line, while Dan Barnes was also worked into space and crossed.
And the forwards showed their staying power too, with Macfarlane finishing another maul, a brace for Willmott and prop Huw Owen barging over in the closing minutes.
Hawkes missed just two of his 11 shots at goal, as well as marshalling the back line and delivering a sublime 50:22 kick, and may well be called on again after this display.
Horsham competed gamely, and claimed a second try while a man short after a yellow card for a high tackle, but finished well-beaten.
Landick said he had been pleased to see his team reduce their error count from previous outings and to show their all-court abilities.
“Our set piece had been a huge factor the previous week and we were strong again up front, but we also showed our versatility in getting the ball wide and getting our backs running into space,” he said.
Willmott, picked by the visitors as Jersey’s player of the match, added: “It was great to see players like Ethan Huish and PJ Dodge, although it feels weird me talking about the young guys when I feel like I’m still one of them.
“PJ’s must have been one of the best debuts in years and when we got into our flow today it was a great game to play in.”
Maximum points left Jersey with 29 points from a possible 30, just one behind league-leaders London Welsh, who recovered from an indifferent first half at Hammersmith & Fulham to stretch their 15-14 lead to 45-21.
The Exiles will be the next visitors to CoinShares Park on 9 November, but before that Landick’s squad face a tough test this Saturday.
Opponents Wimbledon won 29-26 at Brighton on Saturday and among a cluster of three clubs – CS Stags and Camberley the others – lying just over the shoulders of Welsh and Jersey.
Jersey RFC 69
Tries: Macfarlane 15, 60; Biggs 24, 33; Penalty try 41; Rhodes 52; Willmott 65, 73; Barnes 67; Owen 75Conv: Hawkes (8)Pen: Hawkes
Horsham 17
Tries: Johnson 29; Jeavons 70Conv: Chennell (2)Pen: ChennellHT: 24-10Attendance: 852JEP Player of the match: Dan Hawkes
Jersey RFC (15-9, 1-8): Ethan Huish; Bevan Biggs, Nathan Rogers (c), Dan Barnes, Jacques De La Bat; Dan Hawkes, Liam Rhodes; George Thomas, Jack Macfarlane, Huw Owen, Max Ayling (Y 40), Euan Spencer, PJ Dodge, Tom Tilstone, George Willmott (Y39). Replacements: Joe Ridgway, Cam Keys, Callum Cuthbert.
Horsham: Henry Warwick; Max Greatwood, Tom Whittaker, Tom Johnson (c), George Jeavons; Oli Chennell, Aaron Linfield; Luke Standing, Freddie Kilfeather, Taylor Mortis, Jacob Denhart, Richard Tredgett, Patrick Viol, Jordan Smith, George Howard. Replacements: Ian Paku (Y 41), Luke Powell (Y 63), Tom Sanders.
