AMID the upset and uncertainty of Storm Ciaran, Jersey RFC endured the logistical chaos to put down a clinical stamp in their bid for back-to-back promotions.
Full-back Charlie Hubert scored two late solo tries as Myles Landrick’s side went up a gear in the second-half to come through the summit clash in fine fettle away at London Irish Wild Geese.
Clip: George Willmott continued his fine try-scoring form
The nine-try win, which came after Wild Geese capitalised on Jersey’s ill-discipline in the first 40 minutes to be ahead 20-12 at the break, gives the Islanders an eight-point margin over the Sunbury-on-Thames side at the top of Regional 2 South Central, after eight games.
Jersey RFC director of rugby, Myles Landick, said: “We spoke about the games before this. We hadn’t really clicked, we felt we were misfiring – clicking at times, and not at others.
Clip: Charlie Hubert touched down for Jersey RFC
“But in that second-half it really came together, and that’s what I said to the boys after the game, that 25-minute spell in the back end of the second-half, if we can play at that level of intensity from the get-go, then we will be really successful this season.
“But it’s taking us too long to get into games at the moment, and that’s one thing we’ve got to look at, and it’s a work in progress. But yes of course we’re very happy with the win. We started very slowly, our discipline wasn’t great in the first 30 minutes. But we created opportunities in that first-half which gave us confidence, and belief, that let us know we could get the result. We spoke at half-time, looked at different aspects of our game that we needed to sort out and change.
“We left the breakdown quite well in the second half, which allowed us to get off the line and keep making our tackles. I also thought our defence was really good in the second half.”
Clip: Joe Ridgway’s try
The Islanders racked up a huge number of penalties in the first-half, being at the wrath of referee Jonathan Priestley’s whistle, and they made some key tactical tweaks after the break.
Landick added: “We created opportunities in the first half that gave us enough confidence going into the second, and those aspects we spoke about at half-time, we exceeded those in the second-half, and I’m very pleased with the second-half performance for sure.
“It’s always a bit of a lottery in the scrum, they probably felt they were harshly treated at times, and we felt the same. But, if you’re not getting the reward from the scrum, then you’ve got to change what you’re doing, otherwise if you keep getting penalised then you’re playing 40 or 50 metres back down the field.
“Irish were very good at pinning us back when they got those opportunities. Looking at the positives, our maul was brilliant, that’s one big tick for us. We’re not a huge pack, but we’re technical, and I was pleased that we got three maul tries, they got us back in the game.”
Clip: Sam Harvey scored for the Islanders
One of Jersey’s shining lights was Hubert, and focusing on some individual performances, Landick said: “We know how dangerous Charlie is when he’s got the ball in hand, and it was a lovely surface out there, so that complimented our running back-line and what we’ve been working on.
“We wanted to move the ball, we wanted to play with it, but we’ve got to do the hard graft first, and that led to a pleasing second-half.
“A couple of our young guys had a good showing, young Callum Cuthbert, one of our colts, came off the bench and made some really important tackles for us that looked good. James Mitchell had a great debut as I knew he would.
Sam Harvey on the wing, a young Jersey boy, did very well. He’s gota lovely step on him, a small guy, but I was dead chuffed with him.”
Clip: Nathan Rogers touched down
Looking ahead on what Jersey need to do to continue their form, Landick added: “There are a lot of positive we can take.
“We know when you’re at the top, teams want to come and take the scalp, but being at home next week will be nice. Hopefully we can play like we did in the last 25 minutes and can get a big crowd at home to cheer on the boys against a very good Winchester side.”
