Red-hot Jersey make most of big freeze

By TOM INNES

Jersey Reds…. 45pts

Tries: Clarke (5, 14), Lewis (27), Longwell (40), Grey (49), Cook (55), Brown (66) Conversions: Bennett (14), (27), (40), (49), (66) Penalties: None

Bedford B…………. 5pts

Try: Garside (80) Conversions: None Penalties: None

Jersey Reds took advantage of the postponement of Ealing Trailfinders' game at Caldy to move to the top of the Championship as they swept past Bedford Blues.

As well as scoring seven tries, the Reds kept a clean sheet until the final play of the match – and left director of rugby Harvey Biljon purring.

“That was as close as we've come this season to delivering an 80-minute performance – perhaps it was 79, and I'll settle for that,” he said. “The whole squad brought a real focus to this game. We created a huge amount of pressure from our defence, our set-piece and our work at the breakdown, and all the players who came on added something.”

The home side's ability to put the Blues under pressure was evident from the early stages, and when Russell Bennett fired two penalties into opposite corners – the second with a 65-metre kick – the Jersey maul rumbled over the line to set up a brace of tries for Eoghan Clarke.

Persistent offending brought a yellow card for Bedford's Robin Williams, and wing Tomi Lewis then sliced straight through for his side's third try.

The bonus point came right on half-time after Brendan Owen had raced towards the corner, but then found Bedford's Matt Worley when he passed inside. Worley had no option but to ground the ball after his momentum took him over the try-line, setting up the first scrum of the game, and the Reds used a penalty advantage to mount a series of attacks that eventually saw Steve Longwell cross from close range.

A handling error two minutes after the resumption invited more pressure on the visitors and, after a series of scrums, Tim Grey claimed a pushover score. Thereafter, the home side were able to attack with more flair, including an eye-catching run and dummy from Hamish Bain that led to fellow second row Macauley Cook scoring from Owen's pass, and then Will Brown crossed in the corner after Blues were shoved off their own scrum ball.

Biljon was excited at the prospect of the Christmas Eve summit meeting at Vallis Way, when the Reds will have the chance to test themselves against Ealing, who claimed a ‘full-house' of 45 points from their first nine league games prior to the intervention of the weather yesterday. “It'll be an incredibly tough challenge for us, but as players and coaches these are the games you want to be involved in,” he said.