Rhodri’s six-minute hat-trick routs Reds
JERSEY ambitions to upset league leaders Bristol were blown away by a quick-fire burst of first half tries.
Visiting scrum-half Rhodri Williams bagged a hat-trick as his team crossed four times in 10 minutes to leave his side 29 points in front and all but guaranteed a seventh straight league win.
Bristol head coach Pat Lam was delighted to come away with maximum points.
“We knew Jersey had beaten the likes of Worcester and London Irish here in the past and it’s a difficult place to play,” he said. “The boys showed a lot of character – we wanted to be ruthless, especially while the wind was behind us, and when we scored to go again.”
Jersey lost second rows James Voss and Jerry Sexton after a clash of heads, although both returned after assessment.
By this point the visitors had edged ahead thanks to a well-struck penalty by Ian Madigan, and then gained a man advantage when Reds No.8 Rory Pitman was yellow-carded for a penalty offence close to his try-line.
By the time he returned, ruthless Bristol had flexed their muscles. Steve Luatua finished off a wellworked catch-and-drive, and then Williams struck for his six-minute triple.
Firstly he finished off a 60-metre counter-attack involving Luatua and Chris Vui; then Joe Joyce supplied the scoring pass after another devastating thrust; finally Luke Morahan picked up a loose ball on halfway and tore up the touchline before jinking inside and finding Williams in support.
The Welsh scrum-half might have had a fourth try after bursting through only to be hauled down by Reds skipper Scott van Breda, who had moved from fullback to fly-half following an injury to team-mate Brendan Cope. Van Breda engineered his side’s opening score just before the break when his cross-kick was superbly caught at full stretch by Tom Pincus, who reached over for the try.
Cheered on by a seasonhigh crowd, Jersey hopes
flickered brightest early in the second half after Bristol’s Chris Vui was sin-binned for one transgression too many. The Reds scored two more tries – a rolling maul finished by Nick Selway, and then replacement Joel Dudley touching down after good work from Matt Rogerson and Pincus.
Bonus points seemed achievable for the Reds, but Bristol snuffed out the comeback when replacement Billy Searle broke forward and found Luatua with a deft offload, setting up the All Black for a sprint to the line that included an audacious dummy.
Jersey head coach Harvey Biljon was a frustrated figure at the whistle.
“I thought we absolutely deserved something. It was a difficult first half, a couple of decisions went against us and the players were left to solve problems caused by the injuries we had.
“We recovered well and I think supporters can be proud of the effort put in, but it was still very frustrating – that’s something we need to channel in November, which includes some very important games.”