GRUFC chairman called into action

ADIE LE PAGE has questioned the commitment of some players in the JRA Emeraude Lines League. The Guernsey Rugby Club chairman, who had to play for the club's second side in a heavy defeat to United Banks in Jersey on Sunday, said it seemed to be a perennial difficulty within the league that teams travelling to the sister isle struggled to put out full-strength sides.

'We always get this problem with away games,' said Le Page, chairman of the Guernsey RUFC.

'Jersey clubs come over here with a weaker team than when we go and play them over there.

'And we cannot expect to go and get a win with a team with four veterans - I'm 50, we had a couple of guys who are 45 and one who's 48.'

Guernsey ended up on the wrong end of a 40-5 drubbing just a week after defeating league leaders Beeches at Foote's Lane.

It turned out to be a dismal weekend for the two Guernsey sides in the JRA League because at the KGV, St Jacques succumbed 11-0 to Jersey Wanderers.

St Jacques captain Stef Bampton was understandably disappointed with the result against their fellow strugglers and said 'we are wondering what we have got to do to get a win'.

'They were very street-wise and we gave away far too much ball in the tackle.

'Basically we were running into tackles without adequate support. We should have played it closer,' Bampton said.

Having played against Wanderers many times before, Bampton was frustrated that his side did not adapt to the Jersey side's typical style of play.

'They were very good at spoiling the ball and you tend to expect it of a veterans side, but we did not counteract it as well as we should have done. They were lying on the ball and we were not rucking them away,' he said.

'In the last 20 minutes we lifted our game but they defended well and we had too much left to do.

'When we were 5-0 down we were really pushing them but then they got a penalty which made it more than just one score for us so we were vulnerable and they got an opportunist drop goal to complete the scoring.'

St Jacques' next fixture is against Banks at home on Sunday, while Guernsey seconds have a rest weekend.