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DOR Harvey Biljon's reaction to the loss to Newcastle Falcons.

Hope that the Reds might repeat their habit of upsetting unbeaten Championship leaders, as in recent seasons, were swept away after a powerful display by Newcastle Falcons. The visitors defied treacherous conditions to score five tries and stretch their lead over Ealing Trailfinders at the top of the Championship table to 13 points. The Falcons remain on course for promotion back to the Premiership, and could become the first side to complete an unbeaten season at level two since Northampton in 2007/08. The gale force winds had an impact right from the kick-off and for the last 25 minutes of the first half were accompanied by lashing rain on an already saturated surface. The visitors were playing into the wind and managed to string together a series of phases before winning a penalty which Brett Connon stroked over. It took a while for Falcons to work another potential scoring position, but when they did so George McGuigan forced his way over from close range. The Reds had some brief periods of attack – one was sparked by a Kyle Hatherell charge-down and when the ball was cynically slowed down Brendan Cope took the opportunity to stroke over a penalty. The Falcons tightened their grip in the closing stages of a half in which they played almost flawless rugby. Two more tries came from forward drives, McGuigan crossing again and then Greg Peterson powering over. Second half possession was more evenly split, but when the Reds had the ball they were trying desperately to attack out of their half and met teak-tough Falcons’ defence. Eventually Aaron Penberthy tried a grubber through midfield, but the ball was picked up by Micky Young who ran through for a try in the corner. Play was never more than 10 metres inside the Falcons’ half, and usually a lot further forward, thanks to some excellent tactical kicking by Connon. He also set up the final try with an inside pass to Johnny Williams and converted it to complete a perfect day with the boot.

Championship Cup Quarterfinal Highlights. Ealing Trailfinders 36 17 Jersey Reds

The Reds suffered a third defeat of the season to Ealing Trailfinders, who remain on course for a hat-trick of cup titles after an eventually comfortable win in the Championship Cup quarter-final at Vallis Way. The home side struck early when a Craig Willis kick bounced cruelly for the Reds, but kindly for Peter Lydon, who touched down. A conversion and subsequent penalty by Willis made it 10-0 before the Reds had settled. The remainder of the first half was more attritional, with the only other score being an intercept by Alex Morgan for the Reds. There were further chances from both sides, notably from attacking lineouts, but these came to nothing. An early yellow card after the resumption for Rodney Iona for a high tackle had a significant impact. Trailfinders scored twive in his absence: Harry Sloan in the corner after Nathan Fowles took a quickly-tapped penalty, and then Reon Joseph picked up a loose ball near halfway, kicked ahead and chased at pace to claim the touch-down. The visitors went back to 15 men after Iona’s sin-bin period ended, Aaron Penberthy replacing the Samoan at this point, but the wave of points continued with Fowles finding Rayn Smid to power over by the posts. The Reds rallied in the closing stages with tries from Auguy Slowik – a 90-metre intercept – and TJ Harris from a close-range penalty. But Lydon had the last word, crossing for his side’s fifth try in the final play. Director of Rugby Harvey Biljon said: “I don’t think the scoreline was a fair reflection on the game. We gave ourselves opportunities but there were two or three big moments – a lapse of concentration and they score, then a yellow card and they scored two tries in that time, then a dropped ball and they score again. If you took those errors away then suddenly we are in a real game. “You can see the power of Ealing and the quality of players they have, but we made them earn their scores. “Reece Marshall [new loan signing] had two training sessions, so I thought he did pretty well – there were one or two moments at the set-piece, but we also saw his ability to contribute in open play.”

Greene King IPA Championship Highlights. Doncaster Knights 38 10 Jersey Reds

The Reds suffered their heaviest league defeat of the season, conceding six tries to go down 38-10 to Doncaster Knights. In very windy conditions, but ahead of the worst of the rainfall of Storm Dennis, the hosts got an early try through Kyle Evans, but promptly lost centre Jack Roberts who was yellow-carded from the restart for a high tackle. Midway through the first period, TJ Harris burst down the wing for his eighth league try of the season, and at 7-5 with around 15 minutes to play the visitors were very much in the game. But the Knights seized control and had secured a try bonus point before the break thanks to a second try by Evans plus efforts from veteran prop Colin Quigley and wing Tyson Lewis. Joe Sproston went over for the Knights’ fifth while Auguy Slowik was in the sin-bin, but then James Newey added a second try for the visitors shortly before being sent to the sin-bin himself for a deliberate knock-on. The 14-man Reds conceded a final try at the death as Evans completed his hat-trick. Director of Rugby Harvey Biljon said: “First and foremost you have to give Doncaster credit, they were emotionally charged on the occasion of Matt Challinor’s 250th appearance. That’s a hell of an achievement and all the Knights’ players really fronted up and put in a shift for him. “We can have no complaints and lost to a team that played the conditions considerably better than we did. The latter stages of the first half were huge – Doncaster capitalised and that was where the game was won and lost. “Our bench brought some energy in the second half, and even when it looked like we had too much to do to win the game we were aiming to score four tries and take a bonus point – we had the opportunities to do that, but we didn’t take our shots. “We’ll just have to lick our wounds and come back for a really big quarter-final game [at Ealing] next weekend.”

Greene King Championship Highlights. Jersey Reds 24 - 28 Ealing Trailfinders

A magnificent game in which the lead changed hands seven times finished with a narrow defeat for the Reds against the division’s second-placed side. For the second straight week the Reds had to be content with a losing bonus point, plus a certain satisfaction at knowing they’d pushed big-spending Ealing Trailfinders all the way. Brendan Cope gave the home side the lead with an early penalty that went in off the upright. Steven Shingler replied in kind three minutes later and the Londoners were soon ahead as they built a strong set of phases which ended with skipper Rayn Smid finishing powerfully. A decision to kick to the corner paid dividends for Jersey when a rolling maul pressed inexorably across the field towards the posts, with TJ Harris eventually breaking off and crashing over. The Reds soaked up considerable pressure in the closing stages of the half and eventually conceded a penalty which allowed Shingler to give his side a single-point lead going into the break. Another Shingler penalty, following a good break through midfield by centre Harry Sloan, extended the lead soon after the resumption but the Reds then upped their levels in a bid to get back into the game. On-loan Dragons centre Connor Edwards made a hole in the Ealing defence and after Kyle Hatherell took the ball on, Will Homer picked up from the base of the ruck and sniped his way to the line. The visitors responded within two minutes, replacement scrum-half Nathan Fowles finding Pat Howard with a scoring pass. An impressive counter-attack sparked by Samoan international Rodney Iona led to the Reds’ third try, with Cope finding Homer for a 35-metre sprint to the line which restored his side’s lead. With 12 minutes to play, replacement fly-half Craig Willis fed prop Elliot Millar-Mills who ploughed over from close range for what turned out to be the winning score. Willis also landed an important conversion which meant that the Reds needed a try to win. There were chances for the Reds in the dying moments, and Arwel Robson almost set up replacement scrum-half Luc Jones for a try, but two strong scrums brought a penalty that ended Jersey hopes. “I’m disappointed to have lost although I thought my players showed a huge amount of character today and I’m chuffed that they responded to the challenge of playing a quality outfit,” said Jersey Director of Rugby Harvey Biljon. “We were in position to win the game but we couldn’t see it through – it probably came down to two or three critical moments when it would have been very different if we’d managed to convert.”

Will Homer's 2nd try against Ealing Trailfinders

Post match reaction from DOR Harvey Biljon to Saturday's loss to Ealing Trailfinders

Final score - Jersey Reds 24 - 28 Ealing Trailfinders

Greene King Championship Highlights. Bedford Blues 27, Jersey Reds 25

The Reds suffered an agonising late defeat and had only a solitary bonus point to bring back from Goldington Road after an exciting match. Just as they had done so in the Boxing Day thriller in 2016, the home side scored a try with the last play of the match to level the scores, and then converted to seal the win. Brendan Cope took three points after some early pressure from the visitors, who then fell behind as Blues’ skipper Will Hooley flighted a cross-kick that was caught by Ryan Hutler, who touched down. The Reds enjoyed a purple patch of 15 points in seven minutes. Alex Morgan took a pass from Will Homer after a lineout and powered through, Jake Upfield finished a rolling maul and Cope added a conversion and a penalty. The only downside was an injury to Janco Venter which caused the Namibian to be replaced by Upfield. The Reds had the benefit of both the slope and a strong wind and needed to maintain an advantage up to the break, but in the end it was a lead of just a single point as Blues added two tries and a conversion in the closing stages of the half. Greg Dyer scored the visitors’ third try soon after the break following a quick lineout, and the scoreboard otherwise remained unmoved going into the last 10 minutes. Hooley opted to take a penalty to narrow the deficit to five points and then the Blues cranked up the pressure. Frantic Jersey defence kept the home side at bay – twice they were held up over the line – but eventually replacement number 8 Huw Worthington picked up from the base of a scrum and powered over. The Reds used both new loan signings in the second half, Connor Edwards replacing James Newey at the break and then Arwel Robson coming on in the 49th minute after an injury to Leroy Van Dam.

Greene King Championship Highlights. Jersey Reds 56, Yorkshire Carnegie 17

The Reds scored eight tries in chilly conditions under the Friday Night Lights at Stade Santander International to send their supporters home happy. It was a comfortable win for the home side against a game but outclassed Yorkshire Carnegie side who remain winless at the bottom of the Greene King IPA Championship table. The Reds were on the front foot straight from kick-off and Brendan Cope soon broke through to score against his former club. Samoan international Rodney Iona scored his first try for the Reds from a well-worked scrum move and within three minutes had added another. Ryan Shaw slotted a penalty but then Leroy Van Dam crossed in the corner after the ball was quickly spread wide, with Cope handling twice. To their credit, and deprived of the services of former England wing Tom Varndell after a failed head injury assessment, the Yorkshire squad managed to stem the tide and put their opponents under pressure either side of half-time, resulting in three more penalties for Shaw and a yellow card for Iona for preventing quick ruck ball. After making several changes the Reds recovered their poise and added four more tries in 18 minutes, starting just before the hour. Lock Kyle Hatherell cantered over after Will Homer’s break and scoring pass, Van Dam added his second from an Auguy Slowik assist and then two rolling mauls brought a penalty try and a score for Nick Dolly. There was plenty of exciting running rugby to keep the crowd warm, with Slowik, Alex Morgan and James Newey prominent in attack, and impressive efforts from the forwards who were efficient at the set piece, with Zei Alexis putting in a solid 68-minute shift on his first start for the Reds. Cope and his replacement Greg Dyer were flawless from the kicking tee, nailing seven conversions between them including several from wide out. Although they lost replacement hooker Ben Sugars to the sin-bin for the maul offence that caused the penalty try, Carnegie kept going until the final whistle and a powerful break by James Hasson set up a chance in the corner that was well finished by Alex Humfrey. Director of rugby Harvey Biljon was happy to see his side atone for disappointing home defeats to London Scottish and Cornish Pirates in recent weeks. “I’m pleased that we could put on a show in front of our home supporters,” he said. “Our power and speed in the first 20 minutes were excellent, but there was a period in the middle third of the game where we didn’t stick to task and showed a bit of ill-discipline. “There were opportunities for a few players to put their hands up tonight and create some challenges for me in selection for our games in February and it was good to see them take that chance. Five points ahead of a weekend off – I’m happy with that.”