“TO WIN IT on the final play was honestly such a moment, we all couldn’t believe we’d done it!”
Georgina Ruellan has scored more tries than one can count for Jersey RFC Women, but as she crossed the white line in the dying seconds to seal their stunning comeback victory over Medway Women on Saturday, it had the feel of one of her most important.
“I don’t think we’ve ever won a game like that before, it’s a first for me for sure. What a feeling!”
The excitement in Ruellan’ s voice in her post-match comments rang true of the vibe of the entire squad, after recovering from a 22–5 deficit to steal the points with the final play of the game.
Jersey ventured to the mainland on Saturday to meet a Medway side with an almost identical season record at the time. The fierce battle that followed echoed the inch-close disparity between the two sides.
Medway Women 27 – 29 Jersey RFC Women
Medway Women – 27
Tries: Duncan 4′, Garthwaite 21′, Jordan 26′, Young 33′, Withers 50′
Conversions: Stalley 27′
Jersey RFC Women – 29
Tries: Downing 10′, Turpin 43′, 65′, Ruellan 69′, 80′
Conversions: Duncan 66′, 70′
HT Score: 22-5
Forward of the Match: Elly Downing
Back of the Match: Georgina Ruellan
It was the hosts who took the early initiative, breaking the deadlock after just four minutes when the powerful loose-head prop Gemma Duncan burst through the defence.
The physicality of the home side looked ominous early, but Jersey hit back inside ten minutes thanks to an excellent score by forward Elly Downing, her first try in over 30 years of rugby.
The game was locked at 5–5 until the 21st minute, when flanker Abigail Garthwaite put Medway back in front. Once re-capturing the lead, the hosts flexed their collective muscles and scored twice more in a brutal 12-minute burst through inside centre Caroline Jordan after 26 minutes, which was successfully converted by Emily Stalley, and fullback Katie Young on 33 minutes.
Half-time sounded relief to Jersey, who trudged into the sheds 22–5 in the red.
However, if there is one word that describes Jersey’s women’s sport at the moment, it is resilient. Whether that be rugby, netball, football, strength of character in adversity is shining proud at present and Katie De La Cloche led her team back out for the second half with a steely glint in their eye.
The comeback commenced almost immediately, as the excellent scrum-half Laura Turpin got the Jersey motor moving just three minutes after the restart.
Just as it looked as if Jersey were on the return, the hosts struck a killer blow. In the 50th minute, Eirlys Withers stepped off the bench to touch down and make it 27–10, before Jersey replacement player Emma Cornick received a red card in the 55th minute for a high tackle.
Down to 14 players and facing a minimum of three tries down, the Jersey side were facing an uphill final 25 minutes.
“It was a really tough game,” Ruellan continued. “We started slow and rusty, but second half we seemed to find our groove and were able to go back to our principles and remain clinical for the most part.
“The girls really dug deep and just kept fighting, which is something we’ve been really working on, that grind and hard work when it gets tough. The forwards did an incredible job just powering through and the backs had brilliant hands getting it out wide and utilizing that space.”
Another ten minutes followed the departure of Cornick where Jersey battled hard for possession. However, with 15 minutes to go, Turpin broke free to grab her second and give her side a lifeline, with the conversion crucially secured by Emily Duncan, the score now 27–17 with a quarter of an hour remaining.
Four minutes later, talisman Ruellan clicked into gear, demolishing her way through the Medway line to score her first, which was again coolly dispatched by Duncan to cut the deficit to just three points heading into the final ten minutes.
Jersey pushed and pushed, but Medway looked resilient right until the final play. Great players step up in big moments, and as Ruellan touched down in time added on past the 80, scenes of jubilation for the Jersey girls and utter agony on the faces of the dejected Medway combined to paint the picture of an epic game of rugby.
Recalling the final moment again, Ruellan crowned off the perfect comeback win by saying: “From being 22–5 down at half-time to winning with a try on the last play, that’s a feeling I’ll never forget!”
Squads
Medway Women: [15-9] Katie Young, Emily Stalley, Caitlin Cohen-Brown, Caroline Jordan, Sydnee Cowell, Esme Conway, Laura Charter [1-8] Gemma Duncan, Stephanie Rukin, Stephanie Green, Beth Ryan, Amy Coates, Abigail Garthwaite, Ellen MacDonald, Corinna Griffiths
Replacements: Michelle Darby, Olivia Collins, Keturah Watts, Eirlys Withers, Rosie Clark
Jersey RFC Women: [15-9] Lucy Kendrick, Molly Büsel, Georgina Ruellan, Bethan Hughes, Fern Moolasiwa, Emily Duncan, Laura Turpin [1-8] Morgan Carter, Hannah Le Moignan, Elly Downing, Ava Byrne, Emilie Langlands, Abbie Syvret, Katie De La Cloche (c), Kerry Bisson-Mercury
Replacements: Emma Cornick, Jo Shipton-Taylor, Gemma Lowe, Stacy De La Haye, Beth Wyatt, Jenna McKinley, Gigi Cooke
