They had to come from behind once again to steal victory in the final 10 mins of the match, relying on their forwards driving maul dominance to secure the victory.

Winchester frustrated the Vikings for much of the match, as they defended with real resolve and caused plenty of mistakes from the Guernsey side. That is something Ray Smart and his coaching team will want to address, if they are to continue progressing this season.

Wearing their new away kit colours of green and white, St Jacques started brightly, showing their superior dominance in the scrum and producing a good start to the game. The home side however were quick to attack the breakdown, and this forced turnovers that disrupted the Vikings momentum at key moments.

Winchester got on the scoreboard first through a kick at goal, following a Vikings penalty that was awarded when defending a maul.

The visitors quickly struck back and scored the first try of the game through Joe Le Roux. This came after Tom Yarwood had turned the ball over in the lineout, the ball was spun wide after several phases and Le Roux touched down in the corner. Lomas missed the conversion.

With ball in hand the Vikings were playing some good rugby, attacking at space and came close to extending their lead. Unforced errors and mistakes at the breakdown continued to halt their progress though, and Winchester soon pounced on this.

Having turned the ball over in their half, they soon kicked ahead over the top, they caught Matt Lomas out of position and a fortuitous bounce saw them regather possession and run in under the posts for a converted score.

They soon extended their lead with another try which was spun wide after a series of phases in the Vikings 22 to add to the Sarnian woes. The conversion was added.

From the restart the Vikings secured a turnover at the breakdown through James Mroch. Matt Lomas added the penalty kick but the Vikings had more to find to get back in the match.

They very nearly had that chance after they were knocking on the door close to the Winchester line, but another turnover from the home side saw the chance wasted.

They took the next chance decisively though. Following securing a penalty, the Vikings found themselves on the Winchester 22 with an attacking lineout. They secured the ball and impressively marched the home side back all the way over their line, with Phil Le Noury being on the end of it. Lomas converted to end the half, with the Vikings trailing by two points.

The second half very much saw both sides trade blows early on, but neither could convert it into points. The match had turned into a scrappy affair, as both teams sought the next score knowing it could be crucial.

JP Phelan and a Winchester player were both then yellow carded after a scuffle broke out, reducing both teams to 14 men for the next 10 minutes.

Winchester did eventually break the deadlock, after they produced a good maul from 7m out, that the Guernsey side could not halt effectively. They added the conversion.

The Vikings needed to score next to get themselves back in the match. Whilst Smart’s side were not performing to their best, they have built up a brilliant resolve over the past 18 months and they believed they could get themselves back into a match.

They did just that, after securing a penalty they kicked to the corner. From 5m out they caught the ball and drove over with Phil Le Noury once again touching down from the back of the maul.

The home side scored another penalty to extend their lead to five points, with 10 minutes remaining.

The Vikings needed to find the vital score. They had their tails up and were hunting a chance, and they had found their way into the hosts 22. From there they went through several phases before Niall McGann ran a good line to force his way over the line, to the delight of his teammates. Matt Lomas converted and the Vikings were two points ahead with less than 5 minutes remaining.

Winchester threw everything at the Vikings in the dying minutes, and were eventually awarded a penalty inside the visitors 22. They lined up the kick that would have defeated the Vikings, but it sailed just wide as the referee blew for full-time.

This was another close escape for St Jacques, mistakes nearly cost them dearly, but they showed brilliant resolve to pull themselves back into the match, and they can pleased with that.