Siam Cup: Jersey clinch fifth straight win over Guernsey

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Dave McCormack in Siam Cup 2013

Scrum-half Dave McCormack marked his final match before retirement with one of Jersey's seven tries as they beat rivals Guernsey 41-8 at St Peter.

Skipper Blair Campbell touched down to put the visitors in front, but Jersey hit back through McCormack, Dave Felton and Ashley Maggs to lead 17-8.

Nathan Hannay and winger Ed Dawson crossed the whitewash after the break.

Teenager Chris Levesley then ran in his first senior tries late on to wrap up a fifth straight Siam Cup win for Jersey.

The hosts had plenty of early pressure but Guernsey broke the deadlock after 12 minutes when Campbell capitalised on some loose defence to put his side 5-0 ahead against the run of play.

It took until past the half-hour mark for Jersey to get on the scoreboard, when Dave McCormack rounded off a 13-year career in the national leagues in style, beating a couple of players before crossing the line.

Dale Rutledge briefly put the Green and Whites back in front with a penalty, but soon after man-of-the-match Felton touched down in the corner to put the Championship outfit back in the lead.

With half-time approaching centre Maggs breached the Guernsey defence and raced through to further open the gap to 17-8 at the break.

Hannay, making his last appearance before joining Leeds in the summer, rounded off his time with Jersey with his team's fourth try before Dawson went over in the corner.

There was still time for Levesley to show his pace out wide and grab two tries at the death to put a gloss on the scoreline.

"It's been an unbelievable four years," said McCormack, who was taken off in the second half with a torn hamstring.

"I think as an island we'll go forward now and get even better and stronger.

"I had a hat-trick lined up in my dreams last night so when I got that first one I thought dreams might come true."

The win was Jersey's 56th Siam triumph, while Guernsey have lifted the trophy on 15 occasions.

"I thought it was a fantastic match," reflected Guernsey coach Jordan Reynolds.

"There wasn't much we could do about it at the end of the day, we were playing a Championship side.

"We got on with the job and I think we did it justice."

In the women's encounter Guernsey Ladies beat Jersey 17-0, while the clash of the second teams finished 17-17.

Guernsey's veterans side beat their Jersey counterparts 28-12.

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