JERSEY RFC MEN’S quest for an invincible season in Regional 1 South Central fell at the final hurdle after they were beaten 26-30 by Wimbledon in a fiercely contested encounter at CoinShares Park this afternoon.
Jersey were shown three yellow cards throughout a frustrating 80 minutes in their final league game of the season, where a win against a Wimbledon side entering the game in the bottom half of the division would have ensured a 22nd victory and a 100% record for the campaign.
However, they were met by a superb performance by ‘The Dons’ and, in particular, full-back Nicholas Blair, who was named Player of the Match for his try, three conversions and two successful penalties.
Despite howls of indignation at times from the home supporters towards the referee, one could not say Wimbledon were not good for their victory.
Jersey led at half time 14-13 thanks to a brace from Cam Keys, but the majority of possession had been held by the visitors.
After the break, a cynical yellow card offense from Bevan Biggs set Jersey back, and the visitors capitalised, scoring twice more to take a 14-27 advantage.
Jersey captain Evan Whitson, visibly frustrated, was shown the home side’s second yellow card with 15 minutes remaining, and newly introduced Tom Tilstone joined his skipper in the sin bin just minutes later to leave Jersey with just 13 men for the majority of the final ten minutes.
A defiant late rally from the men in red saw two more late tries in the dying minutes, but the damage was done. The final whistle blew, and with it, Jersey’s dreams of an undefeated campaign.
See Monday’s JEP for a full match report and reaction from the JRFC group.
