THE clock on the scoreboard had only hit 63 minutes when the referee called a halt to proceedings – immediately after Jersey had scored their 13th try.
If it was an act of mercy, Guernsey might have wished it had been offered a lot earlier. They could even have been forgiven for wishing they had not turned up at all, although their captain, Jimmy Elliott said magnaminously that it was an enjoyable outing for his team.
Even for a veterans side, Jersey Reds Wanderers fielded a strong squad for the 2022 Nash Cup on Saturday – bolstered by the star homecoming, at outside-centre, of former England international Matt Banahan.
As soon as another ex-international, Tongan Talite Vaioleti, touched down for the first of the 13, the match became not much more than an exhibition in the manner of Harlem Globetrotters against their perennial stooges, the Washington Generals.
It delighted the partisan crowd, which had arrived early and in numbers for the 10.30am kick-off, as Jersey showboated to a procession of tries against their hapless opponents. Like the Romans at the Colosseum, they bayed for more blood, revelling in the brutal torment of their Sarnian rivals.
In the middle of it all was a beaming Banahan, showing a childlike joy at playing with his mates again. Playing at quarter pace, happy to just play a part in the fun. Though he did not score a try himself in the game, with 17 minutes played he showed how easy it would be for him to do so at will – bursting through an obliging Guernsey defence and across the goal line, before handing the ball back to Daniel Butler-Hawkes to touch the ball down. A couple of conversions, late in the truncated second half, ensured the former Bath and Gloucester wing had his name on the scoresheet.
With Jersey 12 tries to the good, Guernsey eventually had something for themselves to cheer about when they scored a well-worked consolation. They could be forgiven for celebrating like they had scored the winning try, much as they had spent the whole game hopelessly trying to defend against a continual onslaught. A three-figure scoreline for the hosts was seemingly well in their grasp, until the referee felt he had seen enough.
‘It felt like a family reunion,’ said Jersey player-coach Steve O’Brien, who captained the Island to Siam glory in 2006.
‘Everyone was absolutely pumped and I’ve had messages since the game from people saying how good it felt getting everyone back together.
‘We were a little bit fitter than Guernsey and the skill level of our players made a difference, but, credit to them, they never stopped tackling or trying to play the game.’
The occasion was made all the more special by the bumper crowd and the feel-good factor appears to have resulted in further plans for the future.
‘The atmosphere was incredible,’ O’Brien added. ‘One of the most pleasing aspects of it was that everyone came along and bought into it. It was a fun day.
‘We had a chat after the game and the plan now is to play in the veterans 10s tournament over here in October. It’s about time the home side won it. And the team that played on Saturday have already said they want to play against Guernsey again next year, along with a few others who weren’t quite sure about dusting the boots off this year.
Elliott said: ‘We did enjoy it. When we saw their team sheet we knew it would be a long day but sometimes it’s like that in the vets. We won by quite a bit last time but this was way more enjoyable. There was a lot more heart from the boys and we kept going and scored towards the end. We were always going to struggle but it was a really good day.’
On Banahan’s inclusion, he added: ‘There was excitement about it. Jersey were nice enough to ask if we minded him playing and we can’t complain – they were all Jersey players and all over 35. We had no problem with it at all and we looked forward to it. And it actually put more interest into a vets game than ever before. We were really happy with it.’
