Yesterday afternoon’s highly charged 15-3 win over much-vaunted Havant in front of a bumper crowd at St Peter was an historic result – they are now the first Academy side of any age to reach a county showdown.
Their right to host Gosport and Fareham in the final was earned through tries from man-of-the-match centre Charlie Clyde-Smith and flanker Marc Curtin – but they were merely highlights in a great all-round performance.
Although a great deal of the play was a midfield battle it was Jersey who enjoyed the crucial moments of pressure to set up a platform for points.
Said Jersey head coach Bob Shambrook: ‘Everything went to plan and I’ve never seen the lads so focussed before a match.
They played it exactly as we wanted and the effort they put in was simply tremendous.’ Havant team official Martyn Holloway certainly had no grumbles: ‘My lads are disappointed, but it was a cracking game and the best side won – we can’t argue with the result.’ Jersey started well and led with a second-minute penalty, stroked over from 27 metres by composed stand-off Michael Le Bourgeois, after Havant were ruled offside.
That lead lasted only five minutes when Hampshire’s No 10 Matt Hart replied in kind after Jersey infringed inside their own 22.
But Jersey were clearly up for the battle with the forwards already showing an edge in strength, power and desire.
On the quarter-hour a perfectly executed line-out catch, from Alex Whitehead, and bulldozing drive from the pack set up a scintillating try for the hosts.
Le Bourgeois sent the ball to his backs and when it reached the hard-running Clyde-Smith he simply blasted his way through the Havant line to score by the posts.
A deserved lead that was stretched to 10-3 by Le Bourgeois’s conversion.
Although Havant went on to enjoy their best moments of the game when Jersey’s concentration lapsed it was still the home side who held the greater threat, with the visitor’s high kicks to full back Mark Livesey and hard-running winger Luke Le Sueur usually being returned with high interest.
A superb finish to the half underlined how well Jersey were supporting each other though a final off-load could have produced more scores on several occassions.
The physios and trainers were kept busy with a number of combatants in need of treatment as the war of attrition continued in the second-half, though referee John Gleave kept a tight rein on the players’ emotions.
Le Sueur and Clyde-Smith continued to catch the eye in the second-half, but it was a forwards’ try that stretched Jersey’s lead on the hour, prop Myles Landick feeding the lively Curtin on the blindside of a ruck near the left-hand corner, the No 7 squeezing in for a vital five points.
The difficult conversion attempt from Le Bourgeois was on target but fell just short – 15-3 to the Youth and the crowd of well over 500 roared their approval.
Jersey needed to demonstrate that they had learned how to close a game out and they did that well with a raft of substitutions freshening their pack and back line.
Even when reduced to 14 – a yellow card shown to Livesey for an illegal hand-off – Jersey stayed in control and looked the more likely to score.
A late flare-up when a Havant player was bundled into touch underlined the tension both sides were experiencing but order was swiftly restored.
Minutes later it was joy unrestricted for the Island players as they celebrated a historic win.
The match, which at one point looked unlikely to go ahead because of travel costs, was backed by the Bedell Group, one of the Academy’s regular supporters alongside main sponsor Moore Management and Ashburton.
Jersey RFC Academy U18s: Chris Pople, Luke Fisher, Myles Landick, Alex Whitehead, William Hunter, Spencer Adams (Joe Ellyatt), Marc Curtin, David Felton (captain); Sam Marks (Harry Bertram), Michael Le Bourgeois; Alistair Dickson (Luke Carney), Dan Lezala (Stephen Phelan), Charlie Clyde-Smith, Luke Le Sueur, Mark Livesey.
Replacements: Paul Mourant, Oliver Montgomery, Nick Kearns.
Coaches: Bob Shambrook, Mick Mayo, Les Small, Andy Mayo and Mick Curzons.
Manager: Mark Fisher.
Havant RFC U18s: Lewis Osborne (captain), Sean O’Carolan, Alex Thomas, Robin O’Connell, Richard Farmer, Greg Williams, Will Sage, Alex Lamont; Joe Balls, Matt Hart, Tom Cantwell, Dan Pope, Mike Huckle, Matt Connell, Jim White.
Officials: J Gleave, D Harrison, B Le Brocq.
Other weekend results, tour matches: Jersey Wanderers (27) v Ivybridge (25); Guernsey U15 (0) v Whitbury (24); Les Quennevais Sharks 40, Ivybridge 15.
Jersey U15s 22, Whitney 12.
JRA League: Guernsey RFC 2nds 13, Jersey 2nds 22.
Jersey RFC U15s recorded a good 22-12 win over Whitney RFC from Oxfordshire yesterday, with Kilian Dorey, Matthew Gosselin, Tom McCabe and Daniel Clark scoring the tries and Danny McAvinie adding a conversion.
It was not obtained without cost, however, as promising hooker Stephen De Ste Croix suffered a broken leg.
