Although outplayed by a host side who are among the early-season favourites for the National 2 East title, a young JRFC side showed great character to stay in the game and claim a bonus point.
Forwards and backs combined for one of the best tries of the day, finished by Deepinder Dyal, to seal the try bonus with four minutes to play. And the visitors were pressing for a fifth try at the death, only to suffer an interception which meant it was OAs who rounded off the scoring with the final play.
On a bright, breezy day at Woollams, with the clubs meeting at 1st XV level for the first time since their Nat 2 South clash in February 2011, the tempo of the game was fast from the off. The men in red saw their defence tested straight away, and after some initially solid ‘D’ they conceded a try apiece to the home side’s wingers within 11 minutes.
Albanians then turned to their forwards to add a mauled try early in the second quarter to make it 15-0, but then the visitors hit back as Dan Barnes grabbed an interception and coasted to the posts, with debutant Noah Smalley adding the extras.
Max Westcombe-Evans scored the fourth try for OA late in the half as the centre juggled a scoring pass near the line before touching down, but then Toby Osbourne grabbed the second Jersey try from close range to make the half-time score 22-12.
The third quarter was the toughest of the afternoon for the Island side, with their opponents’ backs running riot and racking up three converted tries by the hour-mark and another just afterwards to reach the half-century.
But whereas other sides may have buckled, the Jersey boys dug deep, with impressive commitment throughout and good impact from two 18-year-olds making their debut: Josh Krysztofiak and Max Sayers. Jack Macfarlane steered a well-worked maul over the line for his side’s third, setting up the final Jersey hurrah for Dyal.
The former Colts teenage duo were among just four ‘front-line’ replacements for the visitors after back row man Kade Bird had to withdraw at short notice due to illness. This led to Head of Rugby Myles Landick donning his kit and making his presence felt during a three-minute cameo appearance just before the final whistle.
The win took Albanians to second in the N2E table, ahead of Esher and Guernsey on points difference after E’s defeated London Welsh and the Raiders were downed, for the first time this season, away at Dorking. Oundle head the rankings with a perfect 30 points so far. JRFC sit 12th with 10 points, one behind the Exiles and just ahead of Westcombe Park and Leicester Lions.
Both the men’s and women’s sides from JRFC will look forward to a double-header against Dorking on home turf at CoinShares Park next weekend. The men will kick-off at 2pm against a side who inflicted a first defeat of the season on Guernsey in the latest round of matches, while the women’s game is due underway at 3.45pm. JRFC Women will be looking to return to winning ways after a proverbial tough day at the office on Sunday, when they were downed 63-10 by a powerful Medway outfit.
Scorers:
OA
Tries: Natui 6, Eves 11, Davies 22, Westcombe-Evans 30, Gray 42, Noot 48, Hewitt 58, McPhun 62, Mason 80
Cons: Hodgson x 6
Jersey RFC
Tries: Barnes 26, Osbourne 37, Macfarlane 65, Dyal 76
Cons: Smalley, Boarer
Cards
n/a
Attendance: 569
Referee: Conor Boyle
