After a competitive first half, JRFC were unable to live with a Dorking side who continued their march up the National 2 East table.
After recording successive defeats at the start of the season, with just a single league point gathered, the Surrey side have won five straight and taken 24 points out of 25 to reach fifth place after the first block of fixtures.
The home side were left frustrated at finishing empty-handed, especially after a first half when they could have doubled their two-try haul with some more clinical execution.
The two tries for the men in red, claimed by George Willmott and Guy Thompson, did give their side a half-time lead of 12-8, with Dorking’s only responses being the early mauled try by Olly Rawlinson and a penalty by Henry Anscombe. But the feeling among the home contingent of a crowd of just over 800, was that it could, and should have been more, especially with the visitors being short-handed for the last eight minutes after flanker Will Scholes was sin-binned for cynical and illegal play as his side scrambled in defence.
Dorking seized the game by the scruff of the neck as the contest resumed, with Scholes’ return soon followed by a sniping try from the base of a scrum by scrum-half Tom Newman.
Playing up the slope at CoinShares Park and into a stiff north-east breeze, Jersey were struggling to match the share of both territory and possession enjoyed before the break, and Dorking sealed the win with tries by Will Sanders and Finn Osborne either side of the hour mark.
While there was no lack of commitment by either side in the closing stages, the match lost some of its intensity. Jersey’s Tom Tilstone and Dorking’s Newman fell foul of Sir and were shown yellow, and with two minutes left the scoring was rounded off by George Jackson’s try and a Jack Thorn conversion for the visitors.
The home side were boosted by the return of skipper Evan Whitson during the closing stages for the first time since he was injured in the Siam Cup in May, but the injury issues that have seen 42 players utilised in seven games so far continued as prop George Thomas was helped off and subsequently taken to hospital.
After a weekend off for the National Leagues, action will resume on Saturday October 31st when Dorking host league leaders Oundle and Jersey travel to second-placed Esher, who were also victorious in the Channel Islands after overcoming Guernsey 29-24 at Footes Lane. The next home game for JRFC Men is the visit of Oundle on Saturday November 7th (k-o 3.15pm).
A bright and breezy day on the Island saw a double-header of league games against Dorking, with the women’s sides of the two clubs locking horns in the second game of the day. And the Surrey side registered a convincing double as they registered two tries in each half to finish 24-0 winners. JRFC Women will host Canterbury in their next match on Saturday October 31st (k-o 12.30pm).
Scorers:
Jersey RFC
Tries: Willmott 13, Thompson 31
Con: Boarer 13
Dorking
Tries: Rawlinson 6, Newman 43, Sanders 56, Osborne 65, Jackson 78
Cons: Anscombe 43, 56, Thorn 78
Pen: Anscombe 25
Yellow Cards
Scoles (Dkg) 32, Tilstone (Jsy) 75, Newman (Dkg) 79
Attendance: 828
Referee: Alex Rose
