Andover 32 Guernsey Raiders 15
A sparkling hattrick of tries from flying wing Isaac Demesi gave Andover a thrilling win over Guernsey at the Goodship last weekend.
In a man of the match performance the Demesi also set up the excellent Jake Kane for an unbelievable try as Andover ran away with the game in the final quarter.
Until that point though it had been a relatively even affair with Andover dominating possession, but the visitors showing they had an eye for a try when they got the chance.
Playing up the slope Andover attacked from the outset. Enjoying plenty of lineout ball where Kieran Bush was superb and utilising the boot of skipper CJ Feirn they gained plenty of territory.
Before long a slick handling move saw Bryn Waite set Demesi away and he needed no second bidding to outpace the defence and open the scoring.
Guernsey showed why they gave Andover such a tough game in the controversial away fixture however scoring a fine try of their own to draw level.
Andover pressed hard and from a short scrum, props Wayne Jones and Samson Earle were too much for their opponents and Jake Dixon had the task of completing a push over score.
It was now Andover’s turn to defend as the visitors enjoyed their best spell of the game. brilliant tackling from Dixon, Stan North and Callum Barber Starkey did much to stem the flow, but in the end Guernsey managed a second try to go into half time level.
During the break Andover brought on the returning Fergus Burtt to add even more pace in the backs, but again it was up front where damage was caused.
From a fine catch and drive lock Tom Erskine spotted a gap and crashed over to put Andover back in front, but before long the visitors once again pegged them back with a score of their own.
By this point however with the slope in favour, Andover began to utilise the space out wide that was appearing.
Demesi looked vey threatening but missed a couple of opportunities before suddenly readjusting his radar, as first Waite and then North set him away to score.
Then came that try. From half way Waite and Demesi again combined, but this time instead of going for the corner, the electric winger set off on a mazy cross field run, beating four defenders before offloading to Feirn, who produced a sublime offload to Kane. With still plenty to do the standoff showed all of his considerable sevens skills to finish superbly and send the home support wild, before Evan Roll stepped up to convert with his one kick of the day.
Afterwards Director of Rugby Andy Waite said ‘On a lovely day for running rugby we didn’t disappoint. The forwards were also very good, George Watson and Jake Dixon were both outstanding, but outside, prompted by Sean Higgins, the backs were a joy to watch in the second half.’