After we’d gone ahead 14 points to five, their body language showed they thought they were already dead and buried, before the last ten minutes of the first half turned the game for them,’ he said.
‘We went to sleep during that time; going from 14-5 ahead to 17-14 down when at one stage we seemed to be cruising.
In the forwards we then allowed them to dictate terms; on balance they began rucking lower than we were and they were robbing us.
‘They also had eight or nine turn-overs and, at this level, you can’t allow that.
We also spilled too much of the ball, with one pass to Gareth Jeffreys, for example, going several yards behind.
They played the basics of passing rugby better than we did and we must have put dozens of passes astray.
‘We were beaten by a better team on the day; a team who wanted it more than we did.’ Not for the first time Burton’s frustration at so much good work in training and, in patches, decent retention of the ball on the pitch going to waste, was evident.
As is usual these days, they also allowed Lewes a catch and drive score after barely five minutes of the game had been played, when one of many penalties awarded to Lewes was kicked into touch and, from the ensuing line-out, Lee Raikes went over.
However, three minutes later Jersey were 7-5 in front when captain Steve O’Brien ran straight through a non-existent defence at No 10, following tap-down ball from Richie Griffiths to score a try converted by Steve Mee.
Mee then, five minutes later, converted an even more difficult conversion attempt, this time after Gareth Jeffreys had touched down in the left-hand corner after a rare, fluent piece of handling in the Jersey threes.
It was after this that Jersey relaxed and Lewes came back to dominate the game.
Six minutes before half-time with the Jersey pack ragged in a set scrum; the Lewes pack over the line and the home side breaking off in disarray, the referee awarded a penalty try.
Neil Rumble converted; 14-12.
Then, poor defensive covering allowed Sean Taylor to slide over in the corner two minutes later so, from being two scores ahead, Jersey were one score down at the break.
Weak defence again at the start of the second half, following on from stolen ball, then allowed their winger Scott Patto to dart through on the blindside to make it 22-14 before a Dave Tyrell penalty minutes later made it 25-14.
However, with ten minutes to go, a misplaced kick was caught by O’Brien who ran in and over the try line, again in the corner.
Mee almost converted but the score was still 25-19 to the visitors.
By now the Lewes No 9 and 10 were controlling the game with their accurate kicking, using the breeze, typified when Tyrell dropped a goal to make it 28-19; and although Josh Chamier crashed over for a converted try to make it 28-26, Lewes had the last word when Jersey possession was intercepted following a horrible inside pass and Mark Griffiths, at centre, ran over in an easy canter, from 25 yards out, for another converted score.
So, at the death, Lewes had a 35-26 scoreline and only their second win of the season to date.
‘Jersey under-18s beat Winchester 27-14.
I watched the game, and the Island’s side’s keeness to win was the deciding factor,’ said Burton, with a reflective sigh.
‘The 1st XV could have learnt from that.’
