CONTROVERSY reigned in the 2024 Women’s Siam Cup as Jersey suffered a heartbreaking 17-15 last-gasp defeat at Footes Lane.
An extremely close contest that swung back and forth was ultimately decided on a head-scratching decision from the assistant referee, which resulted in a Guernsey penalty in front of the posts to earn victory with the last kick of the game.
“Today was the big dance for us, but we just came up short,” said assistant coach James Morgan.
“I’m so disappointed for the ladies. The commitment they’ve put into this season, we couldn’t have asked for anything more from them.”
The match started evenly, with both sides feeling each other out.
But the deadlock was broken on 13 minutes when a penalty for the Caesareans gave vice captain Ashling Magner the opportunity to put the first points on the board. She duly obliged and the visitors led 3-0.
The Raiders came storming back, nearly scoring the first try of the game on 18 minutes, but a magnificent try-saving tackle from Claudia McGuigan put paid to that.
Just moments later, however, the home side did score.
Pegged back behind their own try line, the Jersey defence decided against kicking to safety in search of running the ball.
Unfortunately, the ball was ripped away by Sarnian Aideen Le Prevost and touched down, bringing the onlookers in green to life.
As the half-hour mark came, the visitors were in need of a moment of brilliance.
Up stepped Taye Boakye-Yiadom.
The powerful outside centre decided to take matters into her own hands, breaking through the Raiders line from just inside her own half and running the remainder to score the most spectacular of solo tries.
“What a moment that was for Taye,” added Morgan.
“She has the capability to do these things. She’s incredibly strong and quick and she saw her opportunity and grabbed it, it was a really special moment.”
As the second half began, Jersey looked to be clicking into gear.
The outstanding Laura Turpin broke through the line, offloading to teenage talent Seren Coombs, who was too strong for the last two defenders and touched down for a try on her Siam Cup debut.
The home side’s dominance returned, as Jersey were forced to retreat for much of the last 25 minutes into their own 22. This pressure ultimately resulted in a moment of ill-discipline from Jersey replacement Emilie Langlands, who was shown a yellow card.
Guernsey made the numerical advantage count for a second try through the strength of Mani De Freitas Alves. A successful conversion brought the thrilling tie back to 15-14.
As time dwindled down, with the visitors defending for their lives, the game took a bizarre twist.
As both teams settled into their scrum formations inside the Jersey 22, the touchline official came running over to the referee. Apparently, he had been trying to communicate that he had spotted a foul in the build up, but an error in the hearing device meant the referee did not receive the call.
After a lengthy discussion, the on-field official awarded the Raiders a penalty.
The assistant said that one of the defenders in red had “deliberately collapsed the maul” in the build-up to the scrum.
As Footes Lane waited with bated breath, Chelsie Blondel opted to kick for goal with what would surely be the game’s final action. With ice in her veins, she slotted the ball effortlessly through the posts, sparking wild celebrations from the home contingent.
Jersey captain Katie de la Cloche, visibly emotional at the final whistle, was awarded the player of the match.
“We’re completely devastated,” she said.
“For such a good game to end in such a way is brutal, but I could not be more proud of our group of girls.
“This has been the most incredible season. A win today would have topped it off perfectly, but it wasn’t to be.
“Congratulations to Guernsey, I thought they played brilliantly. They caught us on a day where we were not at our best and they capitalised on that.
“It means so much to get to lead the team out in an event like this with the crowd and the rivalry. These days mean the world to us as players.
“We’re going to get to play Guernsey more next season as we’ll be in the same league, so we’ll be back and looking to restore our foothold on this rivalry.”
Head coach Simon Le Moignan added: “I think today was just one of those days where it just didn’t fall our way.
“I definitely won’t say I’m disappointed in our performance, the girls gave it everything out there. But some of our on-field decisions cost us dear.
“The decision at the end by the official was a really tough one to take, none of us saw what he saw.
“But that’s the rub of the green sometimes. On another day that could have gone the other way and we get the win, but it wasn’t to be.
“Fair play to Guernsey, they take it this time but we’ll be back. The girls have been utterly incredible this season and I can’t wait to see how much more we can improve moving forward.”
Jersey Women [1-15]: Nicole Rodrigues-Ferreira, Lucy Hart, Holly Bertram, Willow Le Luan, Abbie Syvret (vc), Seren Coombs, Katie de la Cloche (c), Kerry Bertram, Ashling Magner (vc), Laura Turpin, Saskia Martins, Emily Hart, Taye Boakye-Yiadom, Claudia McGuigan, Kim Hacquoil. Replacements: Hannah Le Moignan, Emilie Langlands, Ella Vieira, Andi Vaughan, Nancy Portsmouth, Georgina Ruellan, Tina Davies.
