04:38
rugbyunion, Greene King IPA Championship
The Reds saved a get-out-of-jail card until the final minute of the match, celebrating wildly as TJ Harris steered a 12-man maul to the Hartpury line and touched down for the winning score. There was relief for the visitors in claiming the points from a match they could have won in the first half, but missed opportunities meant a far tighter conclusion that was harsh on the home side after a plucky effort. The game was another weather-affected affair, with wind blowing down the Alpas Arena accompanied for the most part by a steady drizzle. The conditions were in the Reds’ favour and enabled them to dominate territory and possession in the first half. Several opportunities involved penalties kicked to touch inside the Hartpury 22, but winning lineout ball proved elusive on occasions. A series of attacking phases eventually culminated in a try in the corner from Janco Venter as the ball was worked quickly out from Will Homer and Brendan Cope. Otherwise the Reds were unable to get points on the board, and their frustration was magnified in the closing stages of the half when Hartpury finally managed to get out of their half. Pressure on the Red defence eventually led to a penalty in front of the posts and a yellow card to Charlie Beckett for killing the ball. Josh Bragman slotted the kick, and was again on target soon after the break after Leroy Van Dam was pinged for failing to release the ball after running back a kick. Hartpury used the conditions to control the game during most of the second half. The home side rarely looked like scoring, but their one-point lead meant the onus was on the opponents to try and claim the next score. In fact it was another Bragman three-pointer that stretched the lead with five minutes to play, and to make matters worse the Reds were down to 14 men after Venter saw yellow for a clumsy no-arms challenge. But a collective determination in Jersey ranks was evident in the dying moments, retaining possession during a series of lineouts, mauls and penalties that eventually saw replacement Tom Jubb sin-binned for bringing down a maul. At the next lineout Hartpury appealed for a knock-on as Jake Upfield momentarily lost the ball after catching it at the lineout, but another penalty was the verdict as ex-Jersey back row player Seb Nagle-Taylor was ruled to have entered the breakdown from the wrong side. After a losing conclusion to 2019 when crucial lineout ball was lost in the dying moments of the home game with London Scottish, Harris held his nerve to help his side win four consecutive lineouts, including the last one which set up the winning score.
2021-05-22
OXyWIOU58O0
