Jersey 29 Coventry 3 by John Wilkinson.

Facing the elements in the first half, Cov took an early lead through a Luke Myring penalty and battled manfully to limit their deficit to seven points at the change.

But it was a different story after the break with Cov unable to take advantage of the wind and Jersey playing a tight, driving game to steadily take a firm grip on proceedings.

Two tries in the space of five minutes at the end of the third quarter sealed Cov’s fate – the second with lock Liam Mather in the sin bin – and although the visitors mounted a strong finish in an attempt to retrieve something from the game, Jersey’s well-drilled defence gave nothing away and they went back upfield to claim a bonus-point fourth try in the dying moments.

In the end, Cov would have to concede that they were beaten by a better side who outscrummaged and outrucked them for most of the opening hour, made better use of the wind and made fewer mistakes on a day when handling was at a premium.

Myring’s penalty came after Cov had worked their way into a good position from a line-out, but Jersey posted a quick reply when Michael Le Bourgeois found touch ten metres out from a penalty, his forwards drove forward from the line-out and referee Terry Hall awarded a penalty try when the maul was pulled down.

Le Bourgeois converted and added a penalty nearing the half-hour mark but Cov defended well to keep the score to 10-3 at half-time.

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