The spectacular try was scored by 25-year-old Auguy Slowik against London Irish in November, with the fullback touching down following a passage of play involving a series of passes between five players and starting with Reds’ scrum-half Will Homer running the ball out from behind his own goal-line.
At the time of writing, Mr Slowik’s try had gained more than 50 per cent of the votes in Sky Sports’ online poll of seven of this year’s wonder tries, featuring the talents of world-class players such as New Zealand All Blacks’ fly-half Beauden Barrett and lock Brodie Retallick. The vote is open until 31 December.
A video of the feat, posted on Twitter by former Bath player Russell Earnshaw, racked up nearly half a million views within a week after the match against London Irish on 3 November.
Mr Slowik went on to seal the 17-14 win against the Championship leaders with a second try in the dying minutes of the match.
Speaking to the JEP, he said that his phone had not stopped ringing since his nomination was announced by Sky Sports on Thursday.
‘Everyone has been calling me up since yesterday morning, when I had around 30 per cent of the votes and the last time I looked I had around 54 per cent,’ he said.
‘It is a bit surreal to have my name up there alongside some of the greatest names in international rugby, like Beauden Barrett. It was a good try but it was in the Championship and I didn’t think it would have much coverage, so I’m amazed that it has gone this far.
‘It was really a great team try and there were
several players involved. I did the easiest part, which was just falling over the try line and I am getting all the credit.
‘If it wins it will be great for Jersey Reds and for me to be able to look back and think that we won Sky Sports’ 2018 try of the year award up against such great international players.’
Jersey Reds head coach Harvey Biljon said that if the try won the award, it would be a great accolade for the Championship division, as well as the club.
‘It would be great not just for Jersey but also for the Championship as it shows the type of rugby that is being played in the second tier of English rugby,’ he said.
‘It was a great team try and that’s what we are all about in Jersey – it’s not about individual performances but about a team that works for each other. It would be great for the club if it wins the award.’
The Reds are currently riding high in the Greene King Rugby Championship, sitting in fourth place.
The side also secured ten consecutive wins during 2018 – a club record since turning professional.
The video clip and online poll can be found at skysports.com/rugby-union/news/12321/11577149/vote-rugby-union-try-of-the-year-on-sky-sports.
