Coach Mark Stone had mixed emotions after the loss to Les Quennevais.

Our preparation for the game didn’t get off to the best start as we lost Harry Finch to illness the day before meaning a rejig of the team to bring Giles Quigley in from the wing to the back row and Dave O’Hanlon moved from the bench to the No 12 position with Callum Gladstone at 13.

Things went from bad to worse when we arrived in Jersey at 9am to be informed by the Blue Islands ground staff that they had taken half the teams bags off the flight due to the weight and that they would not be leaving Guernsey until 10am which then proceeded to be delayed by a further 15 minutes.

Shambolic doesn’t cover it…

In the end we made it to Les Quennevais for a 11.40 KO (delayed from 11am) with minimal warm up and preparation time.

Given this situation it wasn’t surprising that Les Quennevais started the stronger team.

They were a good few stone heavier than us up front and some direct rugby had them making inroads into the young Guernsey defence from the off and were only denied a try in the opening few minutes due to a forward pass.

This early scare was the wake-up call Guernsey needed and we finally started playing some rugby in the Jersey half due to a combo of good running from O’Hanlon in the centre and our more agile back row picking the gaps around the Les Quennevais fringes.

The first score of the game came eight minutes in from some slick play out to the left wing 10 metres into the Les Quennevais half set up a ruck and No 8 Dale Martin picked up and set off on a 30-yard run beating three or four covering defenders, only to be stopped 10 metres short, but a deft offload to the supporting No 9 Joe Mooney put him in under the posts.

O’Hanlon added the conversion and we were 7-0 up.

Les Quennevais hit back five minutes later in a pattern of play that was to repeat itself during the game.

Constant pick and drives from the home pack had the Guernsey defence on the back foot and discipline at the offside line was not good enough.

Les Quennevais eventually battered over the Guernsey line with 15min. on the clock, but the conversion was missed.

Discipline at the offside line was a problem for both sides and possession was switching hands on a regular basis with the Les Quennevais strong driving game contrasting with the young Guernsey lads looking to move the ball about, but both sides were tackling well. Unfortunately on the stroke of half time it was the Guernsey defence which cracked first.

A missed tackle in the 10 channel allowed the Les Quennevais standoff to make a clean line break and offloaded to his supporting runner for a score under the posts.

The conversion was successful and that meant we trailed 12-7 at half time.

Les Quennevais were also to score first in the second half.

On 50 minutes their fullback taking advantage of an overlap to score out on the right wing and with the conversion added it was 19-7.

At this stage a young side would have been at risk of capitulating but Guernsey hit back almost immediately.

Guernsey won the turnover from the kick off in the Les Quennevais half and strong running from Smith brothers and patient play at the ruck area 10 metres out allowed Guernsey to suck in enough defenders to allow the ball to be swung out to the left wing where 17-year-old debutant Matt Armstrong was on hand to finish the move off. O’Hanlon converted and we were five points adrift with 18 minutes left.

Guernsey were to continue to have a purple patch and with Quigley and Rice tackling anything that moved in a red shirt and working hard to retain Guernsey possession, while Joe Mooney was doing a great job in allowing Guernsey to dictate the pace of the game.

Another Les Quennevais infringement at the ruck area allowed a quick tap penalty from Russell Roberts to set an attack going and once offloaded to Mooney the youngster dived to the line under pressure from several Les Quennevais defenders.

Again O’Hanlon was flawless with the kick and the conversion was added for a 21-19 Guernsey lead with 10 to play.

Les Quennevais had still been causing problems with their direct rugby and strong ball carriers in both the forwards and the backs and unfortunately they were to have the final say.

This direct running had Guernsey defending for their lives deep in their own half and when Ben Honour strayed offside at the fringes of a ruck it was the final straw for the referee and the young winger was sent to the sin bin for the final eight minutes of the match.

Les Quennevais were able to work the extra man to their advantage twice in the final period to score one try from short range after the penalty that cost Guernsey Honour, and another try with the final play of the match where the numerical superiority allowed their fullback to offload to the supporting winger for a try in the corner.

‘Whilst the result was disappointing, every single Guernsey player can hold their head up high after their performances,’ said coach mark Stone.

‘We have a phenomenally young side and as they gain more experience in the senior game they will learn how to close out games such as this. In the end Les Quennevais played to their strengths slightly better than we did but I am still greatly encouraged by the performance.

‘We still have four games to play in this league including Les Quennevais in Guernsey, and I expect them to be our closest challengers.

‘Tom Veillard showed maturity beyond his 18 years at number 10, Callum Gladstone is turning into a classy player and Matt Armstrong was outstanding, particularly in defence, in his first game of senior rugby.

‘Dale Martin showed the benefits of his involvement with the 1st XV.

‘He has been a real find for the club this season.

‘Credit also must go to the evergreen O’Hanlon in the centre, and veterans Russell Roberts and Jack Webber who helped keep things calm when the pressure was on.’

The 2nds next game is Westcliff 2nds at home on Saturday 11.30am, followed by away to Banks in the JRA the following week.