Pulborough V JRFC Saltgate Colts

Following on from a narrow defeat to Horsham (12-7) the previous week JRFC Saltgate Colts were on the road again just seven days later to Pulborough for the second match of their Premiership campaign. Sickness meant they only travelled with two replacements.

Storm Ashley had a big say on the match with it kicking off in biblical conditions!  On winning the toss Pulborough opted for Jersey to play up the hill into horizontal rain fanned by storm force winds.  In spite of the horrendous conditions Jersey put their opponents under pressure from the off.  With kicking not an option as the ball was being blown back behind Jersey’s gain line this necessitated disciplined passing and hard yards, which in conditions where the ball was like a “bar of soap” was a massive challenge.

With the wind behind and a favourable slope Pulborough kicked a number of balls to the far right corner which Jersey resolutely defended until Pulborough broke through after ten minutes for their first try which was converted (7-0).  Jersey got on with the job, heads down and trundled their way up the incline to Pulborough’s line where sustained pressure resulted in a yellow card for Pulborough.  Jersey’s reward came five minutes later with Max Sayers scoring a well worked try to cut the deficit to just 2 points (7-5).  Once again despite the atrocious conditions Jersey managed to turn the screw with some amazing pressure which resulted in a second yellow for Pulborough. The strength of Jersey’s pack saw them move Pulborough on numerous occasions to the point where they were penalised for being too good when they marched Pulborough back more than the permitted one metre.  Amazingly it was Jersey who scored next, sustained pressure and excellent passing saw Lance Armstrong break through to score Jersey’s second try to take the lead (7-10) with four minutes to play.  Pulborough hit back with a converted try (12-10) which saw them take a narrow lead into the second half.

Being just two points down in the conditions  felt more like a first half victory for the Jersey as they readied themselves to take advantage of the conditions in the second half.  However, Ashley had other ideas, the wind dropped and the rain stopped! Notwithstanding this they still had the benefit of the incline which they leveraged with hard pressing runs and tactical kicking. Pulborough’s defence remained resolute until 20 minutes into the half when after a period of supreme pressure on their line Jersey worked the ball out to the left for Michael Dearsley to dive over for a try which he duly converted to take Jersey into a deserved lead (14-17) and the final score.  A well worked, disciplined and dogged display by Jersey in challenging conditions saw them victorious!

Next game Sunday 10^th November away to Hove.

Ze-Luca Piazza, Dylan Ventura, Daniel Rodrigues, Jules Isherwood, Dakarayi Sithole, Christian Lotz, Oliver Walker, Max Sayers, Oliver Sayers, Charlie Fraser (captain), Quentin Fevrier, Lance Armstrong, Zak Le Marquand, Shane O’Brien, Zac Cloete, Byron Major and Michael Dearsley