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Jersey missed out on a place in the British and Irish Cup final in the cruellest of fashion, as Leinster A showed great character to grab three late tries and clinch the game 29-27 with the last kick.
The Reds looked to be cruising to a second consecutive final when they led 27-8 going into the closing stages of the semi-final. But a stunning comeback from the visitors piled further cup disappointment on Harvey Biljon’s side, a year on from their heartbreaking one-point defeat to Munster.
Jersey bossed territory and possession at Stade Santander International, and clearly had the dominance at the scrum. With Leinster temporarily down to 13 men the Reds ran in two tries at the end of the first half, through winger Tom Pincus and scrum-half Kieran Hardy, to deservedly lead at the break. At 14-3 up there was little sign of the drama to come.
The opening minutes of the second-half were overshadowed by a serious-looking injury to Reds centre Apakuki Ma’afu, who was stretchered from the field, before two Brendan Cope penalties stretched the advantage further for the hosts.
Leinster hit back through Peadar Timmins’ try, but the hosts looked to be back on course for a spot in the final when Jason Worrall went over after a solid maul and quick backs play, helping the Reds open up a 27-8 lead.
There was plenty of time to be added on, following Ma’afu’s earlier injury, but most in the crowd would have expected Ciaran Frawley’s self-converted try for the Irish to have been a case of too little, too late.
The home nerves were jangling when Hugh O’Sullivan went over from close range to further narrow the deficit to 27-22, before Will Connors’s decisive last-play try from a maul levelled the scores and gave Frawley the chance to win it with the final kick, which he calmly slotted through to stun the crowd into an eerie silence.
“It’s similar memories to last year, I’m just distraught,” said an emotional Jersey front-rower Jake Armstrong, after his last home game for the club.
“I thought with ten minutes to go that we were going to win that game, and to come away on the losing side is just so frustrating.
“We were the better team for 75 minutes and then had five minutes of absolute madness. We’ve gone away from our game plan, we’ve made some very uncharacteristic errors and in cup semi-final rugby you can’t make them.”
Leinster will now face Ealing Trailfinders in the final on the second weekend of May, with the venue still to be confirmed.
Unbelievable news from Jersey!
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) 21 April 2018
Despite trailing 27-8, Leinster 'A' have made a remarkable late comeback to win 27-29 and claim a place in the British & Irish Cup Final against @ealingtfrugby! #BICup #JERvLEI
Pictures: with thanks to Jonathan Huelin.
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