Jersey won the Ipes Siam Cup for the eighth time in succession, coming from behind to defeat a determined Guernsey Raiders side, performing in front of a passionate home crowd at Footes Lane.
Although Aaron Penberthy's penalty helped the visiting Reds into an early lead, tries by Cameron Craine and Ned Brown, plus two Owen Thomas conversions saw the home side move 14-3 ahead.
By half-time, Jersey had narrowed the gap to a single point thanks to Nick Selway's try and five more points from the boot of Penberthy.
Both sides suffered injury blows in the opening period: Jersey full-back Jack Burroughs was forced off with a shoulder injury after just a few minutes, and there was a lengthy break soon before half-time when Guernsey fly-half Thomas suffered a nasty-looking leg injury. Happily he was able to give a thumbs-up to supporters as he was carried from the field.
Jersey were looking for an early score after the resumption, having to play into a stiff breeze, but in fact it was the Sarnians who scored first; Sam Whitehead went over in the corner and Guernsey led by 19-13, taking advantage of the absence of Ryan Morgan after the Jersey winger was yellow-carded.
Soon after Morgan's return, Guernsey went down to 14 themselves with Jason Batiste seeing yellow. Jersey took advantage with a driving maul, finished by replacement Stephen de Ste Croix, although the conversion was missed and the Greens still led by a point.
The game was approaching the 70-minute mark when Penberthy landed a penalty to put his side ahead. It was the fly-half's last act in a Jersey shirt before leaving the Island at the end of the season, as he had to yield to a worsening leg injury and was replaced by Alex Jeffery.
In the final 10 minutes, Jersey were the dominant force as their opponents tired, and there were two more tries: de Ste Croix again, plus a Jeffery conversion, to stretch the lead to nine points, and then Donovan Sanders in the corner to crown his return to Jersey colours. It was enough to secure a 19-33 win and meant that Jersey captain Sean McCarthy could lift the Siam Cup
In line with the agreement between clubs earlier in 2016, only 1st XV players who had played for three or more seasons were eligible to play for Jersey. Eight professionals, including two Jersey-born players, were in the 22-man Jersey squad; four professionals were on the field when the final whistle blew.
Guernsey Raiders 1st XV
Cameron Craine, Tom Ceillam, Layton Batiste, Lewis Hillier, Nick Merrien, Dale Martin, Dom Rice, Matt Thomas; Adam Nixon, Owen Thomas; Malcolm Barnes, Blair Campbell (capt), Ned Brown, Sam Whitehead; Luke Sayer.
Replacements: Nico Ashplant, Thomas Malagodi, Leon Gardner, Simon Sharrott, Jason Batiste, Ben Challinor, Anthony Armstrong
Head Coach: Jordan Reynolds
Tries: Craine, Brown, Whitehead. Cons: Thomas (2)
Jersey 1st XV (Siam debuts marked *)
Sean McCarthy (capt), Nick Selway, Chris Pople*, Nick Campbell, Ed Howgate*, Alex Rae, Tim Corson, Brian Rennison; Joel Dudley, Aaron Penberthy; Ed Dawson, Will Falle*, Donovan Sanders, Ryan Morgan; Jack Burroughs
Replacements: David Felton, Jacob Carter*, Stephen De Ste Croix*, Charlie Clyde-Smith, Alex Jeffrey, Johnny Glendening*, Richie Stevens
Coaches: Harvey Biljon and Myles Landick
Physiotherapists: Alena Dostalova, Chloe Montgomery and Emma Nelson
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Jim Molony
Analyst: Brendan O'Neill
Team Manager: Guy Hinks
Tries: Selway, De Ste Croix (2), Sanders. Cons: Penberthy, Jeffery. Pens: Penberthy (3)
JRFC man-of-the-match: Nick Selway
Pictures of the Day by Sue Armes are available on the Jersey RFC Facebook Page
Other matches
Three other trophies were up for grabs on a warm, sunny day in Guernsey, well organised by the home club in front of a passionate home crowd supplemented by a noisy bunch of travelling supporters.
Guernsey won their fifth straight win in the Ladies Siam, scoring seven tries in a 41-12 victory.
Guernsey Ladies
Michaela Rabey, Eleanor Woodward, Heidi Mahy, Kristine Vavere (capt), Ellie Whittles, Tanya Scholtz, Fiona Power, Vicki Rang; Jemma Crouse, Fiona Ashworth; Kaitlin Donaldson, Hannah McLennan, Chelsie Blondel, Anneka Saunders, Carly Parrott.
Replacements: Andrea Harris, Michelle Schofield, Sarah Woodington, Sophie O'Connell, Morgan Johnson, Janelly Le Maitre
Tries: Blondel, Ashworth, Mahy, Parrott (2), Crouse, Donaldson. Cons: Crouse (3)
Jersey Ladies
Kim Vallance, Cara Mackay, Beth Rosser, Anel Crowther, Amy Carter, Giselle Gosselin, Fiona Maclean, Laura Poingdestre (capt); Natasha Eastwood, Lauren Lowe; Estefania Santos Barea, Laura Clapham, Rosie Corbett, Tracey Da Costa; Katie Silva.
Replacements: Elsa Moya, Ann Brien, Stephanie Cox, Sara Felton, Jo Butters, Lucy Hart, Caroline Musardo
Coaches: Dave Markham, Rhys Owen
Physiotherapist: Adam Fosse
Tries: Poingdestre, Corbett. Con: Poingdestre
JRFC Player of the Match: Laura Poingdestre
Played on the club pitch adjacent to the Footes Lane stadium, the Fallaize Cup was a breathless, feisty affair, with Jersey's young back-line in irresistible form. Max Whelan scored two early tries and although the home side recovered slightly to trail 12-26 at half-time, Jersey scored three more tries to end up comfortable winners by 12-47.
Guernsey Raiders 2nd XV
Ben Le Noury, Mike Goodwin, Cally Murdoch (capt), Jacob Smith, Mitchell Smith, Chris Ahne, Jonny Laws, James Regnard; Tom Nixon, Tom Veillard; Callum Hayes, Dan Rice, Matt Armstrong, Ben Honour; Taylor Quate.
Replacements: Diego De Freitas, Jake Cornes, Brad Webb, Giles Quigley, Hayden Dempsey, Koen Le Prevost, Ben Inderwick
Tries: Regnard, Murdoch. Con: TBC
Jersey 2nd XV
Gerr Collins, Andrew Pitcher (capt), David Day, Tom Tilstone, Nathan Thomas, Chris Voss, Bryn Edwards, Charlie Clyde-Smith; Christian Lowe, Wayne Boschat; Adam Spencer, Ashley Maggs, Max Whelan, Rupert Lee; Simon Johnson.
Replacements: Danny Curzons, Paul Kempster, Jack Lowe, Adam Mansfield, Euan Spencer, Archie Duncan, James Dempsey
Team Managers: Radley Montgomery and Bob Shambrook
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Rai Garcia-Singh
Physiotherapist: Verity Simon
Tries: Whelan (2), Spencer A, Johnson (2), Lowe, Dempsey. Cons: Johnson (6)
JRFC Man of the Match: Wayne Boschat
After successive Jersey wins in the Nash Cup for veterans, Guernsey's Vets regained the trophy, scoring five tries to the visitors' two to end up winners by 33-10
Guernsey Veterans
Simon Sharrott, Ian Clarke, Dave McGall, Mike Smith, Gareth Burchell, Steve de Jersey, George Hartley, Nick Barton; Tom Eisenhuth, Simon Graham (capt); James Rowe, Paul Smith, Jim Elliott, Carl Johnson; Andy Bailey
Replacements: Russ Roberts, Laurence Hill-Tout, Ken Wrigley, John Morris, Jim Nicholls, Mark Elliott, Ray Smart.
Tries: Bailey (2), Johnson, Rowe, Smith. Cons: Nicholls (4)
Jersey Wanderers
Daniel Curzons (capt), Graeme Stokes, Billy Bond, Richard Vetier, Alex Walker, Paul Maltby, Ed O'Brien, Ivan Murphy; Jerry Willis, Philip Walker; Bob Humphrys, Craig Simeon, Matt Davenport-Brown, Leon Gocoul; Rory Steel
Replacements: Paul Kempster, Ian Troy, Paul Nayar, Neil Welsh, William Church, Justin Hewgill, Pat Dean
Physio: Verity Simon
Tries: Willis (2)
JRFC Player of the Match: Jerry Willis
