JERSEY REDS’ head coach, Rob Webber, believes his side have become ‘the masters of playing away’ after a scintillating display saw the Islanders win in record fashion at Richmond.
A relentless all-round performance in both attack and defence allowed Jersey to achieve their biggest ever league win in the Championship, beating 11th-placed Richmond 64-0 on their own turf in what can only be described as an emphatic statement victory.
Rob Webber took hold of the reins for the occasion, with Harvey Biljon absent due to personal reasons, and he was clearly delighted post-game.
‘To come anywhere in this division and “nil” the opposition, at their ground, is superb, and obviously the attack functioned really well, so I’m really chuffed across the board,’ said Webber.
‘On the whole we executed what we set out to do 90% of the time to the level we wanted, so of course we’re really happy, particularly with quite a few changes from last week, guys being rotated in and putting their hands up. It’s a really good squad effort, with several guys still at home.’
The stand-out display from the Reds was Welsh fly-half Ben Burnell, who made his first start since signing mid-season from Cardiff Blues, scoring a try and setting up winger Ben Woollett’s score while also kicking six points from the tee.
On the playmaker’s performance and how he’s settled in, Webber added: ‘Ben’s a really good player. He’s come in with a lot to learn and he’s thriving in our full-time environment.
‘He’s really enjoying himself, and playing well today means he’s really put his hand up when we look at some of the key games coming up.’
While Jersey are on a good run of form, league leaders Ealing Trailfinders are going equally as strong and the Islanders are conscious that they don’t want to relax, while having enough in the tank to put in a similar performance at home to Nottingham this coming weekend.
Webber added: ‘We didn’t want to ease up, not at all – it’s all about sticking to the job for the full 80 minutes, something we talk about quite a lot.’
On the side-note of Harvey absence, Webber light-heartedly concluded: ‘The last game Harvey wasn’t at we lost, so I suppose it’s one-all now. Of course, we’d have loved for him to be here – he usually is – but that’s just how it is.
‘We work hard on travelling well and mastering playing away, and we support each other at Jersey Reds, so we know Harvey will be no doubt delighted.’
