Colchester held off a determined Guernsey fightback to register an outstanding 38-36 win on their day trip to the Channel Islands to lift them off the bottom of the National 2 East league table.

After their fruitless visit to Guernsey in December, when Storm Darragh forced the postponement of the match, the club opted for a flying visit for the rearranged game.

The squad set off from Raven Park for the airport at 6.30 on Saturday morning, touching down in Saint Peter Port less than two hours before the scheduled kick-off.

But in what amounted to a smash-and-grab raid, Colchester benefitted from a lightening start. Two tries by Haydn Sykes – starting in the second row – and one for Ross Taylor, plus two Gabe Jones conversions put them 19-0 up inside the first quarter.

Having begun the match in some disarray, the hosts then dominated the rest of the half, scoring two tries, and it would have been three but for a timely tackle by Louis Martin.
A third try early in the second half saw Guernsey cut the deficit to two points but back came Colchester with two scores of their own.

Ed Parry, starting at scrumhalf, ran in a superb try from half-way, leading in no small part to his later naming as coach’s player-of-the match, then Ashton Webb touched down to make it 17-33 to the visitors.

Any hopes that Colchester were home and hosed were soon dashed.

Guernsey pulled a score back, then with the visitors reduced to 14 men as Charlie Friend was sent to the sinbin the referee awarded the hosts a penalty try and suddenly it was 31-33.

Again, Colchester regained the initiative, Sykes’s hat-trick try making it 31-38.

But still the drama wasn’t over as Guernsey scored their sixth try. Crucially, though, it went unconverted and after a horribly tense final five minutes, Colchester clung on for a deserved victory.

Head coach Mike Haywood described how the team only arrived at the ground an hour and a quarter before kick-off.

“All our prep and our processes were a little bit quicker this week and I think that added a bit more focus to the guys and they had to be right on it from the start.

“It just goes to show if you get a good start in this league then you can win any game.”

As for the fightback from Guernsey, Haywood knew what was coming.

“Guernsey are a really good team at home. I think they’ve only lost one other game at home this season.

“All the defensive sets meant we kept them out. We kept them going for 20 phases and dropping the ball. So credit to the boys for battling and battling.”

Haywood hopes this is the sort of win which can galvanise the boys for the remaining seven matches.

“We’ve been working really hard over the past four weeks to get that win. It’s been the bounce of a ball or someone dropping the ball, or a kick or a high tackle. It’s small margins in this league.

“So it was great to get over the line and I’m really pleased for the boys.”

The tough challenges keep coming as next week Colchester head to third-placed Dorking (Saturday 3pm).