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Jersey celebrated a comeback victory to retain the squash and racketball Inter-Insular.
The contest was tied going into the deciding men’s squash A games, but Guernsey were only able to pick up one win in that round of five as Jersey took the overall contest 15-12 on home soil.
“While the final scoreline suggests a comfortable win for Jersey, at various stages during the day it was not looking so,” said JSRC secretary, Susan Turpin.
The ladies’ racketball and men’s veterans squash events were comfortably won by Guernsey, leaving the Sarnians 6-1 to the good early on.
Jersey’s men’s racketball B team hauled them back on track, winning 5-0, while their A team won 4-1.
Guernsey won the Men’s squash B 4-1, the Ladies Racketball 2-0, the Veteran’s Squash 4-1.
With the contest tied at 12-12, it was over to the men’s squash players.
Caesarean number one seed Charlie Griggs produced an outstanding performance to overcome his opposite number Janick Radford 3-0 [11-5; 11-5; 11-7] and put Jersey in the lead for the first time and on their way to victory.
Griggs said: “It was such a good feeling to retain the inter-insular on home turf.
“The inter-insular is always a big rivalry and a contest that both Islands always want to win.
“I love having the opportunity to represent my Island and always try to take every chance I can to do so with pride.
“Guernsey are a tough opposition, who have had some outstanding players over the years so they’re always a tough test for us.
“The contest offers our young players great experience at competing at a good level under pressure and we had a great crowd in, too, which always adds some extra nerves.”
Pictured: Guernsey's Patrick Josey.
The final match of the contest saw the current Jersey squash champion, Matt Boote, produce a classy 3-1 win over Guernsey’s number one seed, Henry Birch.
Boote said: “You can see the passion for the inter-insular from both sides is so infectious.
“Although this is an individual sport, this format is set up like the Ryder Cup style where the whole team is pulling in the same direction.
“You have the chance to cheer on your teammates and then have them all behind you when you play yourself, which is amazing.
“Wherever you are seeded, every game counts and, crucially, counts for the same value to the team’s overall score.
“The nerves were jangling. We had a good crowd in but that’s all part of the excitement of the occasion.
“The standard is really good on both sides and when you add in the rivalry it makes for some really exciting matches.
“We showed some brilliant character and fight to turn the score around and get over the line.
“We have retained the trophy on home soil and we’re absolutely delighted about it.”
Pictured top: Jersey's Stanley Tanguy and Guernsey's Patrick Josey. Picture by Rob Currie
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