L Scottish …………7pts
Tries: Nutton 2
Conversions: May 2
Jersey Reds ….47pts
Tries: Thompson 27, 40, 58; Van Breda 52, Clarke 64, Farrance 70, Barnes 78
Conversions: Van Breda 27; Mitchell 58, 70
Penalties: Van Breda 6, 16
JERSEY Reds made an impressive statement in their opening game of the Championship season, with an emphatic away win over London Scottish.
Scottish, who were playing their first Championship match in 567 days after missing last season, struggled to contain the powerful forward pack of the Channel Islanders.
Seven tries for Jersey, and a hat-trick for No.8 Guy Thompson reinforced their strength up front.
Scottish's DoR Matt Williams highlighted this: “Four scores from driving line-outs, remove those and it's a very different game.”
“Defensively, I think we did really well. Ironically, if you ignore the scoreline, their attack didn't threaten us. We gave away silly mistakes, silly penalties in our attacking red zone, and their driving line-out brought them the victory today.”
London Scottish came out of the gate on fire, and scrum half Dan Nutton was over to score after just two minutes. Nutton was played into space by centre Hayden Hyde, for a clean break to the try-line. Laurence May calmly converted for a 7-0 Scottish lead.
Scott Van Breda responded with two well struck penalties for Jersey, and closed the gap to 7-6 after quarter of an hour's play.
Jersey took the lead after 27 minutes. A textbook rolling maul from five metres out saw Guy Thompson and the forward pack power over to score. Van Breda extended the away lead to 7-13.
Jersey continued to show why their pack is considered as one of the league's best.
Thompson showcased his football skills to keep the ball at the back of the scrum, and then dived to score his second try on the final play of the first half. Van Breda missed the conversion, and the teams left for half-time with the score-line reading 7-18.
The Reds re-started the scoring after 52 minutes. An imposing rolling maul locked up the Scottish forwards, which freed up space across the park. Winger Ryan Olowofela hit Van Breda on a well-timed hard line, and he was over to score. The former Worcester Warriors player picked up an injury when scoring, and could not convert his own try (7-23).
Jersey yet again utilised their impressive forwards, with a devastating display of ruthlessness from the set-piece. Three tries from rolling mauls came in a blitzing 10 minutes, with Thompson grabbing his hat-trick on the hour mark.
The Reds then drove over again from seven metres out, (Macfarlane, 64 minutes, 7-35) before replacement lock Zak Farrance scored their sixth on the 70th minute (7-42). James Mitchell took over kicking duties and successfully converted two out of the three.
With just two minutes left on the clock, Jersey utilised their rolling maul once again. Scottish were able to keep the pack from piling over the line, but the ball was popped up to centre Dan Barnes who exploded through to score.