Sedgley Park 11 Jersey 13
Jersey claimed a hard-fought win after a gritty display in
Manchester against a determined Sedgley Park side. Ross Broadfoot's
penalty just after the hour was the only score of the second period
and was enough to nudge his side into a narrow lead which they
maintained until the final whistle. Jersey's team showed a change
on Friday when Nathan Hannay was forced out due to injury and Irish
flanker Eoghan Nihill came in after impressing for the 2nd XV in
recent weeks, with Kingsley Lang moving forward to second row.
In the first 10 minutes Ross Broadfoot and Matt Riley swapped
penalties, but significantly Jersey's pack suffered not one but two
serious blows - first Jim Brownrigg left the field to be replaced
by James Voss, and then skipper Graham Bell was forced from the
fray with Steve O'Brien coming on. Riley gave Tigers a 6-3 lead
with a penalty, but Jersey hit back with a try by Donovan Sanders
who raced over after good handling from Dave McCormack and
Broadfoot - the latter converted (6-10).
The try excepted, Jersey's handling left something to be
desired, and when O'Brien looked to have scored the pass from Glenn
Bryce was ruled forward. Stevie remained a central figure and just
before the break he was given a yellow card, his second this season
against Sedgley, for killing the ball. The hosts profited
immediately with Simon Parrott crossing for their opening try,
Riley's missed conversion ending the first half.
Jersey withstood the opening period of the second half with 14
men but gained confidence after O'Brien's return and were able to
gain the territory which eventually let to Broadfoot's opportunity,
which he took.
Ben Harvey admitted after the game that it was not a pretty
spectacle but was delighted with the four points and the gutsy
display especially considering the relative inexperience of those
on display.
Elsewhere in the top 5, Ealing and Rosslyn Park suffered narrow
defeats to Blaydon and Wharfedale respectively. A late try sealed a
22-20 win and a bonus point for Fylde at Tynedale while Macc easily
beat Cov. So at the top it is: Jersey 89, followed by (all with a
game in hand) Fylde 76, Ealing 76, Macc 74 and Ross Pk 70.
Teams:
SEDGLEY PARK:-15 RICHARD WAINWRIGHT, 14 MIKE
DUTTON, 13 MARK JENNINGS, 12 MATT RILEY, 11 JAMIE HARRISON, 10
CHRIS PARROTT, 9 SIMON PARROTT, 1 DANNY BIRCHALL, 2 RICHARD
OXLEY, 3 NICK FLYNN (Captain), 4 JAMES LLOYD, 5 LOUIS McGOWAN,
6 HENNO VENTER, 7 DAVE LIVESEY, 8 JUAN CROUS.
REPLACEMENTS:-16 BEN BLACK, 17 SCOTT WRIGHT, 18 ADAM
LEWIS,
19 FERGUS OWEN, 20 WILL RUNCIMAN
JERSEY:-15 GLEN BRYCE, 14 ASHLEY MAGGS, 13
JAMES COPSEY, 12 DONOVAN SANDERS, 11 SAM FULLER, 10 ROSS BROADFOOT,
9 DAVE McCORMACK, 1 MYLES LANDICK, 2 DAVID FELTON, 3 BEN EVANS, 4
KINGSLEY LANG, 5 JAMES BROWRIGG, 6 GRAHAM BELL (Captain), 7 EOGHAN
NIHILL, 8 NICK TROWER.
REPLACEMENTS:-16 JAMES GETHINGS, 17 CHARLIE CLYDE SMITH, 18 STEVE
O'BRIEN, 19 BRENDAN O'BRIEN, 20 JAMES VOSS.
