DESPITE Jersey RFC’s 1st XV making a big push late on in the game, it was too little, too late, as Guernsey commanded the fixture en route to lifting the prestigious Siam Cup with a scoreline of 35-28.
Guernsey may have been the first ones to get points on the board, with Ciaran McGann’s penalty putting them 3-0 – but, it was Jersey who managed to score the fixture’s first try, as Jack MacFarlane smashed his way through the try line.
However, Guernsey rebounded well to take a controlling grasp of the fixture, as the Sarnians managed to hit two tries from Dale Routledge and Dom Rice – as well as another penalty from McGann – to lead 18-7 going into the half-time break.
The Sarnians showed no signs of letting up in front of the home crowd following the restart, as John Dawe showcased exceptional movement to navigate his way through and speed across the line early in the half, building the lead up to 23-7 following the missed conversion.
Nothing seemed to present itself for the boys in red on the attacking front, as they found themselves being pushed back by the relentless Sarnian attack.
With just 12 minutes to go, Anthony Armstrong seemed to put the big game out of Jersey’s reach with Guernsey’s fourth try of the day.
Jersey’s Dan Barnes looked to set Jersey back on track with their first score since the early try – but Guernsey managed to force a penalty try, setting Jersey back once again.
Although the odds were firmly stacked against them, the Caesareans refused to roll over for their inter-insular rivals and kept bringing the fight.
At long last, they were rewarded for their efforts with two late tries in the game’s dying embers. Fergus Ludlam broke through with an electric long-ranged sprints to place the ball under the posts, before Jerry Sexton punched it in from close range – and, with a pair of conversions from Scott Van Breda, Jersey found themselves just seven points off levelling the score.
However, that surge of attacking play unfortunately presented itself to be too little, too late, as the clock ran out to see Guernsey reclaim the illustrious trophy.
