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Two wins out of two for Jersey Reds – but that tells only half the story.
Last week Harvey Biljon’s side dismantled newly-promoted Richmond, but this was desperate stakes as a titanic struggle was required to overcome a fired-up Bedford Blues.
Biljon’s team just edged out the victory and it was deserved as the Reds were marginally superior and scored the only try of the match. But they were camped on their try line for five nail-biting minutes of injury time and the visitors rued a controversial decision by referee Andrew Jackson not to award the Blues a late score which would have sealed a remarkable win.
As it was, Jersey held on to make it a flawless start to the season so far and five wins in a row if you count the hat-trick of pre-season successes.
With London Irish predictably out-classing Richmond today, it means Biljon’s side are sitting pretty, second in the Greene King IPA Championship.
Biljon praised his players, but admitted it was a wafer-thin close contest.
“The 12 weeks of pre-season training all came out at the end in those final minutes, which seemed to go on forever and the players showed great technique as well as real heart,” said Biljon.
“Sometimes you have to take the win however it comes and this was one of those occasions. The ball was like a bar of soap in difficult rainy conditions and they really showed up. Bedford didn’t turn up last week in losing to Cornish Pirates but they certainly did this time. They are a strong, resilient outfit and they made it very hard for us.
“I felt we deserved the win and two out of two speaks volumes about the players. We had to hang in there in the end as they asked some big questions of us, but hang in we did.”
Biljon got it spot on as sometimes you have to win ugly and this was ugly.
The conditions didn’t help as a sharp wind and driving rain made ball-handling tricky, but that should not hide the fact that this was at times a dis-jointed looking Reds side, although a succession of injuries and an over-fussy referee did not help matters.
The Blues came out the blocks first as Myles Dorrian missed from 40 yards, only for Elliot Clement-Hill to show him how with a kick from a similar distance after Jersey were penalised for turning the scrum.
The Reds responded immediately with a bulldozing try in the 11th minute as a rolling maul heaved forward Joe Buckle over the line, only for Brendan Cope to miss a tough conversion from an acute angle.
Their lead lasted only two minutes as Dorrian punished Jersey again to make it 5-6, but the home side were to snatch the advantage back in the 15th minute with Cope’s first penalty and were to hold the lead for the rest of the contest.
Nick Haining and Josh Buggea were sin binned for ten minutes for some fisticuffs, before Cope extended Jersey’s lead on the half hour with a straight 40-yard penalty, making it 11-6 at half-time.
Straight after the break Cope had the chance to add another three points but his penalty hit the upright and then from under the posts and with the Bedford defence stretched, hooker Buckle dropped the greasy ball.
It was scrappy stuff as both sides struggled to get a grip with the unseasonal weather, but Cope had another opportunity to send Jersey clear, only to slip as he took a makeable penalty. Minutes later Cope made amends with a clever break which ended with at least three Bedford players offside.
The stand-off took the kick and the ball stayed just a yard inside the post to make it 14-6 in the 76th minute.
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That should have been game over as Jersey had at last secured a two-score advantage, but Bedford had other plans.
The visitors ploughed forward and took three points from under the posts with a minute to go. If that was supposed to be an admission that the game was lost, it didn’t prove to be the case as the official awarded Bedford a host of penalties, eventually leaving them with a line-out on Jersey’s try line.
Bedford barrelled over for the try but the referee ruled the throw-in had not been straight. This time Bedford won a scrum against the head and clawed for the line. Several desperate attempts were made before the tension was lifted as a knock-on triggered the final whistle.
Jersey breathed a mighty sigh of relief, while the visitors rued the try that never was.
Former Reds star Michael Le Bourgeois, captaining the Blues on his return to St Peter, said it was a tough loss to take.
“We felt we had it over the line in injury time but the referee didn’t give it so there is nothing we can do about it now.
“We were poor last week, but this was much better, even though we are absolutely gutted to have lost out again. We gave it everything out there and the players should be proud.
“As for Jersey, they are a strong unit, a great bunch of lads and they will do well this season, I’m absolutely convinced of it. They are coached very well and they do the basics very well. They will be a tough side to beat this season for anyone in the Championship.”
The poor weather probably had an effect on the gate, as it was below-par, but Jersey are happy with the win, although this was a reminder, if needed, of just how tough the Championship will be this season.
Jersey – Try: Buckle 11,
Penalties: Cope 15, 30, 76.
Bedford – Penalties: Clement-Hill 9, Dorrian 13, Sharp 79.
Attendance: 1,630
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