CLASSY. That was the first word that sprang to mind as Jersey RFC Women began 2024 in a high gear with a display to which their plucky opponents from Worthing had few answers.
The hosts racked up points at a rate of around one per minute across the course of the game, which eventually concluded more than ten minutes early on the basis of “enough is enough”.
The result made a mockery of the league table in National Championship 2 South East (South), which at kick-off showed the visitors from Sussex in top-spot, just ahead of the Island side.
By the time the final whistle blew, the home side had shown a real gulf in class to demonstrate that they, every bit as much as their male counterparts, are worthy of promotion and should, barring a shocking decline in form, find themselves at a higher level by September.
Unsurprisingly, head coach Simon Le Moignan was a contented figure as his players headed for the changing rooms after taking the applause from an appreciative crowd.
“I’m very happy with that – we stuck to our game plan and played proper, structured rugby,” he said.
“There was one lapse in defence, but otherwise we didn’t go off-script: the calls were made, and then run as we were looking to run them.
“We’ve got an important few months ahead and this sets us up really nicely after the Christmas break.”
JRFC did not take long to impose themselves on the game, with two canny tactical kicks by Laura Turpin causing alarm in the Worthing defence and earning a penalty in the corner by the big screen. A quick tap, a couple of passes and Kim Hacquoil was over for the opening score with only three minutes played.
Rugby tends to work best when a team’s forwards and backs are working in harmony, and the second home try was the perfect illustration.
Second row duo Willow Le Luan and Emilie Langlands both made hard yards up the middle with powerful runs that stretched their opponents’ defence, then the ball was swiftly moved wide with Turpin feeding Georgina Ruellan, who had a bit to do, but found her way to the try-line.
After a quick ball was fed out from scrum-half Emily Hart, who was unfortunate to be forced off the field through injury soon afterwards, Turpin set up the next try as she flipped the angle of attack from right to left and gave another scoring pass to Ruellan before slotting the extra two points from the tee.
It was hard to choose between Turpin and Ruellan as the game’s dominant force. Turpin crossed for two tries of her own before the break, while Ruellan completed a hat-trick thanks to a neat assist from wing Tina Davies.
The forwards were not left out either, as Le Luan charged over from 20 metres out, while the final word before the break saw Beth Cooper touch down in the corner for her team’s eighth try.
The Worthing players, who had been up early to catch the 6.25am flight from Gatwick, competed gamely throughout and showed glimpses of attacking potential on the infrequent occasions they had possession, notably when full-back Alex Norman glided through the red defence to the try-line after half an hour.
Spirits remained good among the visiting squad, as evidenced at half-time.
While most male players would have been furious to be 40 points down at the break and planning which opponent they were going to punch first when the game resumed, Worthing’s players danced up and down the pitch to keep warm while S Club 7 blasted from the PA system.
Unfortunately for the visitors it was their hosts’ points tally that continued to reach for the stars as the second half began, with Turpin completing her hat-trick and slotting her second successful conversion having earlier seen one attempt come back off the post.
Former captain Lauren Lowe, soon to leave the Island for some time overseas, was able to watch her successor Katie de la Cloche get in on the scoring action as she caught a wayward kick and steamed to the line.
Although Worthing were able to stem the tide for a brief period in which they pressed for a second try, JRFC asserted themselves for two late scores.
Turpin’s run from inside her own half to under the posts was a stand-out moment from the game, earning the tired fly-half a break from kicking duties as Ashling Magner converted, and then Turpin fed de la Cloche from the floor for the 12th and final try.
JRFC will now look to back up their commanding performance when they travel away on successive weekends later this month to Beckenham and Beccehamians.
Home supporters will be looking forward to the next action at St Peter when Seaford visit the Island on Saturday 10 February.
Jersey RFC Women [1-15]: Ella Vieira, Lucy Hart, Holly Bertram, Willow Le Luan, Emilie Langlands, Abbie Syvret, Katie de la Cloche (c), Kim Vallance; Emily Hart, Laura Turpin; Tina Davies, Kerry Bertram, Georgina Ruellan, Beth Cooper; Kim Hacquoil. Replacements: Hannah Le Moignan, Becka Hunter, Beckie Vautier, Kirsten Slatter, Ashling Magner, Bethan Hughes, Claudia McGuigan.
