Fortress Foote's Lane tag remains a valid one

Guernsey 21, London Irish Amateur 8

TWO tries and two cards - life is seldom dull for James Regnard on the rugby field. Another immense performance was soured in the 82nd minute when Guernsey's influential No. 8 was sent off for a dangerous tackle.

Knowing his fate after having previously spent 10 minutes in the sin bin, Regnard marched off without looking back and, just before play restarted, the referee flashed the red card in the direction of the Garenne Stand, which the player had already reached.

Given the haste of the action, it was unclear whether it was actually a straight red or his second yellow card offence.

It could make a significant difference to a suspension as to which it was.

Unsurprisingly, Guernsey captain Andy Bailey was anxious to find out after the match because he does not want to be without his talisman for any longer than absolutely necessary.

'It was very disappointing to lose Jim right at the end like that. The referee said it was a dangerous tackle, and it was high, but the guy got straight up and in these conditions I thought it was a tough decision,' Bailey said.

That was the one downside to another crucial win for the Sarnians, who maintained their season's unbeaten home record.

London Irish Amateur were more than decent opposition with fly half Liam Prescott particularly impressive in the way he directed their play.

But Guernsey's own number 10 Jordan Reynalds also enjoyed another excellent outing while the whole team showed bags of character and never looked in danger of losing the lead which they patiently built up in a first half when they had the strong wind assisting them.

The set pieces - the Laurence Hill-Tout to Peter Miers line-out in particular - were also functioning extremely well.

Nick Barton gave the hosts an early lead with a penalty from right in front of the posts when Irish were guilty of holding on in the tackle.

Regnard then took centre stage in the 13th minute as he bulldozed his way downfield after having picked up from the base of a scrum on his own 10m line.

He was eventually brought down just inside Irish's 22 before the home side worked the ball through a few more phases as they closed in on the line and then the big No. 8 popped up again to crash through the defence for a try. Barton converted to make it 10-0.

Irish responded well, but their efforts were not rewarded with points as Prescott saw the wind hold up a penalty attempt from on the Guernsey 22, such was its strength.

On the half-hour, Reynalds' jinking run ended in another penalty which Barton slotted over and the New Zealander made no mistake five minutes later from long distance following good defensive work from Will Wyatt and Peter Miers.

As the half came to a close, Guernsey scored a vital second try. Again it was Regnard who barged over after Dylan Chatterton had been heavily involved in a prolonged attack during which the hosts also demonstrated some neat handling.

Turning around 21-0 to the good, Guernsey knew Irish would pile on the pressure with the wind behind them at the start of the second period.

Within eight minutes they had come up with a try and it was beautifully worked with Prescott spotting an overlap to the left and delivering a neat chip kick which fullback Ben Kitching gathered at pace before diving over.

The conditions then worsened as rain started to teem down and the wind moved around so that it was virtually straight across the pitch, not favouring either side.

Regnard received his first card on 62min. and spent 10 minutes in the sin bin along with an Irish substitute following a fracas and moments later Prescott's superb penalty narrowed the gap to 21-8.

That, though, was to be the final score of the match as Guernsey faced up brilliantly to their opponents.

With five minutes remaining, the Sarnians won a scrum against the head near halfway and Reynalds drilled a low kick right into the corner. It was the moment that ensured Guernsey would be picking up two more league points. Unfortunately, the sending off that was still to come would take some of the gloss off the day.