SIAM DAY

But, had Kenny Hellier's last-gasp conversion not swung just outside the posts, it would have been Guernsey's day and a 2,000 plus crowd at St Peter would have witnessed just the second draw in the long, long history of the main Siam Cup clash.

Despite the wet, it really was a cracking day, a fantastic spectacle for amateur rugby in a couple of offshore islands.
And the drama only ended with that last kick.
Jersey had sneaked home by 20 points to 18 and the win squared the day's spoils.
Did we deserve better?
Arguably we did and, certainly, poor Kenny did.
In his final game for the club before returning home to New Zealand he produced a man of the match display.
His kick was crisp and looked good, but to the agony of every Guernsey follower watching, it was not quite straight enough and Jersey had won a ninth Siam in a row.
But boy they got a scare and if they didn't know already, every follower of Caesarean rugby will now be fully aware that what Raiders are building is something to admire and The Reds once again have opponents who are more than capable of wresting back the old cup.

Jordan Reynolds hid his disappointment well at the final whistle, saying: 'Under the conditions I thought the boys played well'.
And, just as valid, was this view: 'Today's result doesn't take the shine off what's been a great season for us.'
In a nutshell, Raiders were arguably the better side, although the Jersey scrum was impressive.
We dominated the lineouts but Jersey, perhaps, had the better bounce of the ball.
That said, they are a side to admire also and Reynolds' only groan was that his men had not put away their chances.

Each team scored a couple of tries, but Guernsey's only came at the death when the home side, down to 14, could not prevent Cameron Craine and Tom Ceillam going over.
Until then Guernsey, 7-3 down at the break, were 20-6 down and staring down the barrel.
But Lewis Hillier's side have heart and pushing to the end came so, so close.
They often say the result is down to small margins.
If Kenny's early penalty had not hit a post and fallen back, Raiders would have led 6-0 instead of three and we might have won by one.
Sport is often about ifs and we'll be wondering about that one for a long while.

Earlier, Chris Griffiths' ladies achieved their objective of winning well and keeping a clean sheet in the process.
All 43 points came in the first period and Jemma Crouse converted four of the seven tries, two of which were scored by herself.
Tanya Scholtz also had a double in a typically powerful individual display.

We also won the Nash Cup with Carl Johnson's old boys proving too good for their counterparts, winning 19-10 with tries from the skipper, Jim Elliott and Andy Bailey.

The Fallaize stays with Jersey after a fairly comfortable victory for the home side, but our ever so young team will have learned so much more about senior Siam day and they will be better off for it.

All in all, a great day of rugby, however we are left pondering the one that got away.