A POINTS difference of just 17 separates Jersey RFC Women and the top of the table this week after they extended their convincing unbeaten run to four matches.
The Island side waltzed past a battling, but ultimately under-cooked Seaford outfit at St Peter, with six tries – five of them converted – taking them level with National Challenge 2 SES leaders Horsham.
The victory maintains Jersey’s perfect on-field record this term, in the wake of a defeat by forfeit on the opening day.
‘We wanted to make sure we went out and put points on the table. That was important,’ said coach Simon Le Moignan. ‘We haven’t really been scoring as many as we know we can but we’re all happy with how this went, once we settled into our game. We played some nice, structured rugby.
‘We have been working on our defence and that was spot on. We didn’t let them through, really, and them scoring was just from us switching off. I don’t think that will happen again.
‘We’ve just got to keep on trucking, as they say.’
Nancy Portsmouth (two), Andi Vaughan, Laura Turpin, Lisa Saout and Georgina Ruellan all drove across the whitewash following a steady start which required concentration in defence.
Seaford – short of game-changing pace and skill – made little-to-no ground while recycling the ball in the opening 20 minutes and Jersey remained patient. When given a chance, the hosts stretched their legs through Turpin and their dynamism soon told.
Ruellan had knocked on five metres out but the Caesareans turned over the resultant scrum and Vaughan made a quick dash for the line. Scrum-half Ashling Magner – effective with the ball in hand and at her boot – added the extras.
The visiting pack did prove more useful later in the half – earning two turnovers of their own through brute force – but the speed of Jersey’s back line proved too much for them to handle and they were 14-0 down at the break, after Portsmouth had snuck through a gap 35 metres from home and charged under the posts.
The outside centre would strike again early in the second half, following a quick spread from right to left, and she turned provider just before the hour with a neat offload for Turpin, having barged through a would-be Seaford tackler.
A lack of concentration cost Jersey their clean sheet after that fourth try.
Despite a warning from referee George Thomas that Seaford were not obliged to wait for them before kicking off, the reds still had support staff on the field just seconds before the restart and many backs were turned. The East Sussex side closed down the loose kick to within five metres of Jersey’s line and won a penalty under the posts. A tap-and-go led to them crossing for 28-5.
Seaford would score again in the closing stages of the 75-minute encounter but the tie was already well beyond them by that stage, having conceded to a Lisa Saout touchdown on the right flank.
Ruellan then rounded it all off at the death with a 30m sprint, leaving it to Magner to take her side to the 40-point mark with the last act.
JRFC Women (1-15): Georgie Keens, Lucy Hart, Kerry Bertram, Emilie Langlands, Heather Taylor, Andi Vaughan, Katie de la Cloche, Abbie Syvret; Ashling Magner, Emily Hart; Lauren Halliwell, Georgina Ruellan, Nancy Portsmouth, Lisa Saout, Laura Turpin. Replacements: Hannah Le Moignan, Frankie Vautier, Becka Hunter, Gaby Linstead, Hannah MacLaughlin, Marion Olivier-Martin.
