Despite fielding a strong mixed team, which beat Scotland 7-1 in the first round thanks to tries by Caroline Marsh, Zoe Smart, Lauren Therin, Dan McDowell, Arnou Helmholt-Kneisel and Simon Di Meo (two), before progressing through to the latter stages of the competition against Wales with tries by Carla Marsh, Therin and Chris Veal, the Island side struggled in the second half of the final despite going into that final period 5-5, with everything to play for.
It was only in the last minutes that the England squad took a decisive 7-5 lead and thereby won the match.
‘We fielded our strongest side, and the defensive lines in the second half made a huge difference,’ said manager Morag Obarska afterwards. ‘It was a tough match to play in, and afterwards I was particularly pleased by the administrators’ decision to make Dan McDowell the ‘most valued’ player of the tournament.’
Jersey squad: Dan McDowell, Jeremy Johnson, Chris Veal, Dave Sharrock, Mark Knight, Arnou Helmholt-Kneisel, Louise Hotton, Lauren Therin, Chrissie Helmholt-Kneisel, Rena Nelson, Zoe Smart, Caroline Marsh, Simon Di Meo.
