Lewes RFC U15 Boys v JRFC U15 Boys

JRFC U15s travelled to Lewes last Sunday for the final away fixture of the of their Sussex League campaign. Conditions were bright and sunny if a little crispy with a little crunch underfoot from a heavy overnight frost.

This was a real arm wrestle of a game against one of the more physical teams Jersey have encountered. From the kick off both teams favoured a heavy forward approach with ruck and counter ruck, with Jersey looking to tie in the hosts players and create space for their strong back line to move the ball wide. This proved difficult, as both defences up to the task with several big collisions upfront. Oli Wiseman, Aphonso Correia and Kobi Millington all showing well for the visitors. However, on 20 minutes Jersey did manage to create quick ball from the break down and put Lennon Cummins free down the right wing from 30 mtrs out for the first try. 0-5.

The game resumed in much the same fashion with Lewes appearing to be the more dominant, making ground regularly but then failing to convert outside due to some excellent tackling in the midfield. Jersey feeling the pressure started to sit back and allow Lewes more time and space to run. But for some very scrambling Lewes could have gone into break level but the Jersey line remained intact.
The second half was a repeat of the first. Much of the heavy lifting was done up front with both side slugging it out looking for an advantage. The Jersey backline were now much more alert and, led by makeshift fly-half, Archie Donnelly, were stepping up to snuff out any whiff of an attack from Lewes, often forcing them backwards or creating a handling mistake. The referee was heard to comment he had never blown up for so many scrums.

As the ground warmed up, conditions became much softer and very tricky to change direction at speed, with many going to ground at the point of trying to wrong foot an opponent. Jerseys ambition to move the ball was starting to test the conditioning of the Lewes forwards. It wasn't until the 61st minute that jersey were able to double their advantage, with several powerful forward drives falling just short of the line, eventually the ball was spun out along the line for George Powell to go over in the right hand corner.

Lewes, undeterred and less than 5 minutes remaining, came back hard with their preferred forward approach but the Jersey defence held strong. Final score Lewes 0 - Jersey 10. Lewes chose Jacob Watson as the Jersey player of the match.

We would like to thank our main sponsor, Santander International for their continued support as well as Jersey Sport for travel grant funding.

Aphonso Correia, Eoin Mann, Connor Brennan, Oli Wiseman, James Wiseman, Kobi Millington, Ianto Davies, Harrison Fitzpatrick, Max Le Vesconte, Archie Donnelly, Callum Coombs, Oliver Ramage, Jacob Watson, Lennon Cummins, George Powell, Harrison Cordiner, Owen Carter, Robbie Milner.

Dave Clark, Jo Shipton-Taylor, Lisa Mann.