Another defeat for Park

It was a game of contrasts, in which Park held the whip hand in the first half – but failed to convert their advantage into points – whereas Jersey controlled most of the second period and undoubtedly deserved to win, scoring the only two tries of the match.

The visitors were first to trouble the scoreboard when Park sinned on half way after five minutes and full-back Michael le Bourgeois smacked the long-range penalty straight between the sticks to give his side an early lead.

Park were stung into attack, first through the middle and then up the left with Chris Lewis, Ben Gotting and Dom Shabbo all contributing decisive runs.

Jersey were forced to concede a penalty near the posts and Will Robinson levelled the scores on 10 minutes.

The home side began to take over, a good kick up the right gained territory and, though the touch judge failed to spot that a throw going behind even his own catchers might not have been entirely straight, Park soon won back possession.

Lewis had another good run and when John Rudd somehow turned up in front of the goalposts it looked as if he had only to catch the ball to barrel over, but the pass eluded his grasp.

Under immense pressure, Jersey conceded a penalty outside of the 22 well to the left of the posts.

Given Ed Lewis-Pratt’s prolific recent strike rate it was surprising to see the kick entrusted instead to the 18-year-old left boot of Robinson, on the ‘wrong’ side of the field for a left footer, and the youngster narrowly missed his target.

Park maintained the pressure, won a further penalty on the same side of the field with the same result.

To be fair, outside of place kicking, the highly promising fly half had a good game, and never more so than when he brilliantly fielded a clearance kick, running backwards at full tilt, and flicked away a pass to set up another attack.

However, when Park were penalised for not releasing the ball a metre inside the Jersey the half on 26 minutes, up stepped le Bourgeois to hammer it over and put his side back in front despite all Park’s best endeavours.

Park soon went back on the attack, and hammered a penalty to touch, drove to the line but the visiting defence was superb, some outstanding play by Lewis-Pratt saw his team nearly score up the right, then Park crossed the line on the left but were pulled back for a forward pass.

Good work at the scrum saw Park steal the ball for Lewis and Mike Baxter to have good runs. The defence was again superbly organised.

When the visitors made a complete pig’s ear of a line-out throw inside their own 22 a melee broke out and their experienced Welsh international prop, Ben Evans, was sent to the bin.

However, again Robinson’s radar let him down at the penalty. The fly half made immediate amends with a superb kick from hand up the left, but even a man short Jersey defended soundly.

When Park were penalised five metres inside their own half, le Bourgeois narrowly failed to exact punishment and as added time wound down Park gained a penalty themselves, which Lewis-Pratt stroked over for 6-6 at the interval.

Jersey had the first play of the second half, kicking a penalty to touch but Park defended well, rumbled up the right and then threw the ball around, being stopped at the cost of a penalty and stern words from the referee to the Jersey hooker.

Lewis-Pratt slotted over the penalty to put his side ahead for the first time on 52 minutes.

The visitors replied with a massive attack, which Park could only stop at the cost of a yellow card for Johnny Barrett.

At the resulting penalty, Jersey opted to scrummage against the reduced pack. Park defended magnificently as the visitors threw in everything including the kitchen sink and a few appliances besides, but Park simply refused to step backwards during minutes of extreme pressure.

When eventually they booted clear there was a spontaneous round of applause from the stands – something you don’t hear very often for a rearguard action.

But from now on Jersey held the whip hand and Park’s defence then had one of those Fred Karno moments when three players were in the vicinity of a descending clearance kick but none of them went for it or called for it, had to scramble back and then the clearance kick was hopelessly sliced leaving them, from a position of no pressure at all, facing a throw in their own 22.

It ended with the concession of a penalty, gratefully accepted by le Bourgeois for 9-9 on 67 minutes.

A period of sustained pressure from the visitors appeared to have ended when Tommy Turner narrowly missed with a drop goal attempt, but he knew that the referee was playing advantage and it was le Bourgeois, again, who made Park suffer, adding his fourth penalty for a 12-9 lead.

Park desperately tried to wrest the match back but foundered against a sound defence, and were hit by a superb counter-attack which saw their nemesis, le Bourgeois on the end of the line to coast in under the posts for a try he converted himself.

You could not fault Park’s commitment and they went back at Jersey into injury time and earned a penalty.

The three points would have given Park the bonus point they probably deserved but this time even Lewis-Pratt’s radar deserted him and it went wide.

Playing desperate catch-up rugby, Park were always vulnerable to the counter, and so it proved when flanker and skipper Paul Rogers got over for Jersey after seven minutes of added time to seal a good win for the visitors.

Overall Park did not play badly, but this is a very strong league and Jersey were the better side taken over the whole 80 minutes.

Park: Lewis-Pratt; Rudd (Edwards), Shabbo (Campbell), Lewis, Mantella; Robinson; Baxter (Barr); Ovens, Gotting (Morris), Ward (Huggett); Lloyd-Jones, Anderson; Rowland, Barrett, Lock.

Park scorers: Lewis-Pratt (2P), Robinson (P).