A GAME of frustration was the feeling expressed by Jersey RFC players after the Islanders made heavy going for themselves in a gruelling away win in Berkshire on Saturday.
The amateur side endured temperatures of 34°C, and humidity levels of over 80%, as they overcame a spirited Reading RFC side to score six tries and claim a commanding 34-15 win.
Jersey RFC’s No 8, George Willmott, sprinted over in the corner during the final minute to score his second try, while Hooker Jack MacFarlane, winger Eryj Swiech, replacement prop Ewan Davies and second rower Cameron Halliwell all got the behind the whitewash.
Clip: Eryj Swiech’s try
But the red-shirted amateurs had a high penalty count throughout, and a rocky half-hour in the middle of the game with three sin-bins: Willmott, captain Evan Whitson and fly-half Charlie Hubert.
Try-scorer and former Scotland international MacFarlane summed up the side’s post-match feelings.
He said: ‘A very frustrating performance. It took us a long time to get very basic things right. We spent a lot of that game in very stop-start rugby.
‘It’s very difficult to adjust to these new laws; we feel like each referee is interpreting them differently, so for 30 to 40 minutes we really struggled, as the game felt very different to the game we played the previous week, and it is likely to continue like that.
‘Some officials are refereeing with a lot of empathy, others are being really strict, with an on-the-book understanding of the law, and we’re probably not really adjusting to that quick enough.
‘From our point of view it was really difficult, so it was really pleasing at the end to put some rugby together and score some really good tries right at the end to pull away finally.’
Clip: Ewan Davies’ try
Ben Harvey was on coaching duty in the absence of Myles Landick – who was attending a wedding alongside several other club figures – and was more positive, albeit measured, in his post-game thoughts.
The former England 7s international said: ‘The boys learnt a big lesson in league rugby, and I’m really proud of them – as would Myles have been if he was here – in how they came through at the end well.
‘In the last 20 minutes they dominated, and in phases Reading did dominate as well, and credit to Reading as they found their zenith a couple of times, with their driving maul in particular.
‘When we gifted Reading possession they looked really useful, so I’m just delighted for the boys – and for Myles with him not being here – in winning, as being away from home in any league is tough, especially when you’re going into the unknown, so it was really good.’
Clip: George Willmott scored twice for Jersey RFC
What impressed Harvey and others was the full 80-minute performance the amateur side gave in such scorching conditions.
While Jersey’s players are used to the sun, it was the in-land humidity which was the real unknown challenge, with a final three try flourish in the final seven minutes, the red shirts had clearly met the challenge well.
Harvey added: ‘The boys are good at moving the ball around; technically they are very good with the ball in their hands, so that helped.
‘With the humidity and the sweat, it makes the ball very slippery, so it’s almost like a very bad rainy day.
‘There was a lot of dropped balls during the game from both teams – us in particular – and that stopped our continuity, ultimately with the rotation of subs that helps out the coaches and especially in protecting front row players.
‘We managed to do that well, and the boys worked really hard in pre-season, which showed today and came through towards the end.’
Clip: Cameron Halliwell’s try
Reading RFC’s head coach Luke Harding said: ‘[It was a] Frustrating day for us; the scoreline doesn’t reflect what we got out of it. Jersey are a very good side. There are some very good personnel there and the way they played was full of quality.
‘But we frustrated them a lot and with ten minutes to go we were looking good to take something from the game, but that didn’t happen. So it is frustrating. Credit to Jersey. They had the extra firepower and were able to pick us off as we flagged towards the end in the heat.’
