Jersey RFC 43
Tries: Spinks 27, 37; Adair 32; Butterworth 56; Howe 62; Campbell 77; Burroughs 79.
Cons: Cope 27, 37; Robling 62, 77.
Plymouth Albion 15
Tries: Dacres 6; Ford 13.
Con: Bale 13.
Pen: Bale 9.
HT: 19-15
Referee: Simon Harding. Crowd: 726
Jersey RFC: McCarthy, Selway, Herriott; Campbell, Markham, Rae (capt), Butterworth, Spinks; Dudley, Cope; Dawson, Robling, Evans, Adair, Burroughs.
Rolling replacements: Saenz-Lancuba (HT); Garfagnoli (51); Phillips (HT); Freeman (HT); Haining (46); Moates 62; McCrea (51); Howe (46), Lane (51).
Plymouth Albion: Freestone, Penman, Pullinger, Holmes, Collier, Dacres, Hayler, Stupple; Setter (capt), Bale; Raumakita, Bedford, Murphy, Wedlake, Ford. Replacements: Brooker, Judge, Crang, Countier, Hawley, Searle, De Mendonca, Putt, Dawe, Chesters.
There had been, however, many puzzled, even concerned Jersey fans, after the opening quarter-of-an hour at a sun-kissed St Peter, late on Saturday afternoon.
Old Championship rivals Plymouth, facing a season in National I after relegation, came to St Peter to face a mid-table Jersey side trying to bed in many of their 16 new signings. And the visitors certainly stole the early plaudits, deservedly being rewarded with a 15-0 lead after some tight play gave flanker Nile Dacres and full-back Ethan Ford the chance to claim tries, the latter racing through after fumble in Jersey’s midfield. And Plymouth’s intention to make a game of it was underlined when No 10 Elliott Bale chose to slot over a penalty rather than give his forwards lineout practise.
But if not welcome, then Jersey’s start was not entirely unexpected; the coaching side were aware that after just one contact session to date, the Reds (actually wearing blue) were likely to face major challenges in the tackle and with ball retention. So it proved, but the response, coming slowly but surely and without any sense of panic, resulted in a half-time lead and growing control over the outcome in the second-half.
Jersey found a familiar and still reliable route back with their line out and maul giving new No 8 Tommy Spinks the opportunity to score twice before the break, sandwiching a neat try in the Barclays Pavilion corner for another new boy, winger Ross Adair, who roared over after an exquisitely timed pass from lively No 9 Joel Dudley.
Two conversions from another new face, Brendan Cope at No 10, who settled well after a couple of kicks from hand failed to make touch, helped overhaul Albion’s early advantage.
Jersey’s back division often looked sparky, but understandably cohesion took a while to come, though come it did with some aplomb in the final quarter after another penalty lineout move had given new flanker Charlie Butterworth his first Jersey try just before the hour.
With replacements coming on at regular intervals the home fans got a real glimpse of the attacking potential of their new signings with winger Tom Howe roaring over from the left following superb running and passing from Adair and Jack Moates, after being unleashed by centre Ollie Evans. Lewis Robling converted, the first of two successes from four attempts.
The final two tries came from more familiar names and faces, with Jack Burroughs, now playing on the wing, firing in a good pass inside for giant second row Nick Campbell to stretch over the line in the Jersey Bowl corner.
A score to challenge Howe’s try as the best of the day finished the action; a tremendous curving and pacy run from deep by full-back Rich Lane around to the left flank finished in glory when his pass out wide was finished in style by Burroughs.
JRFC head coach Harvey Biljon was pleased with the workout Plymouth had offered his side, saying: ‘It was exactly what we needed although there was a fair amount of anxiety in the first 20 minutes. You have to be impressed by the way Plymouth organised themselves and approached the game – but we can go away with lots of learning points and we did compose ourselves to deal with the situation and build phases and create scoring opportunities. From a coaching perspective it was fantastic to go away and have such a lot to work on – there were a lot of new players learning new systems out there today. But overall it was an excellent workout and in terms of giving players game time it went well until late on when there were injuries.’
Asked if he was happy to see an attacking spark in the back line, the former Wasps scrum-half said: ‘Yes, but it was a little frustrating how many balls went to ground today, that was a little bit loose, so it’s an area we will go away and work on. We’ve got some pace there yes, but let’s get our basics right first.’
Asked about a stand-out show from Nick Selway at hooker, Biljon said: ‘I think he put in a great shift, particularly for someone who is fairly new to the position. He handled the set-piece really well and got around the park a few times as well – so let’s keep him working.’
