Jersey Rugby Club: Women beat Beckenham to secure the title
Jersey Rugby Club celebrated winning the Women's NC 2 South East (South) title and earnt promotion after a 43-5 victory over the division's bottom side Beckenham 2nds.
First-half tries from winger Georgina Ruellan, back-rower Kerry Bisson-Mercury and prolific fly half Laura Turpin were countered by full back Lucy Mills' score for the visitors, as Jersey led 19-5 at the break.
Captain Katie de la Cloche and then Turpin, again, went over in the space of two second-half minutes to extend the advantage before replacements Saskia Martins and Charlie Cornwall crossed the line to ensure Jersey ran away with it and could celebrate top spot.
Simon Le Moignan's side had gone into the game in the knowledge they were already pretty much guaranteed top spot regardless, as long as they didn't scratch either of their last two fixtures, which under league rules would carry an automatic points deduction.
In reality, it was already done, but a win over Beckenham would mean even the stickler mathematicians and their calculators would have to shuffle to one side for the trophy lift.
Beckenham actually started the season well and were top themselves in late November, but arrived at CoinShares Park having won just once in the league since then. Despite that run of form, their points difference heading into this game was just -2, scoring pretty much as many as they concede. Jersey would have to work for their win.
Ruellan crossed in the corner after 10 minutes to put them ahead and perhaps steady some early nerves, with Ashling Magner's conversion hitting the right upright. Beckenham responded well, though, and Mills bounced off a tackle to score in the corner and deservedly level the scores at 5-5.
It took until the 34th minute for the hosts to lead again. Number eight Bisson-Mercury crashed over after a period of pressure inside the 22, and Magner's conversion made it 12-5.
Turpin, the second top scorer in the division, claimed her 13th try of the campaign on the stoke of half-time to send her team in at the interval in a commanding position.
Skipper de la Cloche showed great strength and then reached for the line to grab Jersey's fourth try, and in the blink of an eye the contest was pretty much over moments later when Turpin sprinted in to the left corner to give Jersey a 31-5 advantage.
With teenager Seren Coombs excelling in the forwards, and quarter of the contest to go, the job was done, and two replacements had their moments to shine with Martins and then Cornwall going over for Jersey's sixth and seventh tries respectively to really kick start the celebrations.
Jersey's women now travel to Sutton and Epsom 2nds next weekend (13 April) for their final league outing of the season, with the Siam Cup still to come in Guernsey in early May.
The women's league success follows on from the club's men's side winning their title and also earning promotion just three weeks earlier.
Jersey Rugby Club: Tina Davies; Georgina Ruellan, Taye Boakye-Yiadom, Emily Hart, Lisa Saout; Laura Turpin, Ashling Magner; Amber Hopwood, Hannah Le Moignan, Lucy Hart; Abbie Syvret, Emilie Langlands; Seren Coombs, Katie de la Cloche (c), Kerry Bisson-Mercury. Replacements: Kirsten Slatter, Becka Hunter, Franky Vautier, Helen Papworth, Charlie Cornwall, Saskia Martins, Claudia McGuigan.
Beckenham 2nds: Lucy Mills; Suzie Groves, Toni West, Hannah Martin, Chloe Graves; Steph Mills, Grace Fentiman (c); Olivia Roberts-Adamson, Anna Gilmour, Emma Rastall; Benedetta Makanju, Laura Harvey; Eno Emefe, Jas Palmer-Garrick, Katie Skelly. Replacements: Tiffany Coleman, Jo Jones, Ellen McGinley, Olivia Kelly, Anna Brown.
Player of the match: Seren Coombs
