Match Preview

FINDING A NEW IDENTITY

‘WE have to find our own identity and what works for us.’
A simple message from the head coach, but easier said than done, as Jordan Reynolds knows only too well as he prepared his side for their opening National Two South home game on Saturday against Worthing Raiders.
Bouncing back after conceding so heavily against Old Albanian is vital, said the coach.
‘We had a good chat on Tuesday and looked at some of the problem areas and I think the biggest thing was, as I said to the boys, is that we are trying to play the rugby we played last year and we have a different squad now.
‘There’s a lot of good leadership but there’s also a lot of youth and a lot of new guys, so it’s about trying to find that identity and what makes us play well? Is it the physicality, is it the speed of the game?
‘If you look at last year we seemed to have the physicality, but we don’t seem to have so much of that this year, so we need to find what our niche is. But the big for one for us, is completed tackles because we are still missing too many. That’s something we are desperate to correct.’
Reynolds expects the Worthing Raiders to be lively about the park.
‘They have a quick backline, which is the last thing we need at the moment.
‘They look like they want to play high tempo rugby while at the moment we are still in second gear.
‘So we need a pretty decent wake-up call, because after last week that comes through.
‘They are going to come over thinking that this is a great opportunity to get a win and we’ve got to look at this an opportunity as well.
‘Just for morale, we need to pick up a win here.’

As for team news the injury list remains a long one but Dale Martin is back but will have to settle for a spot on the bench, while the other main team news is that Elia Morisio moves to fly-half with Jason Batiste returning at inside centre to partner Alex Gow.
Reynolds said that Gow had a good debut at Old Albanian, enjoying a strong carrying game and was decent in his kicking.

Guernsey v. Worthing kicks off at 2pm. Free entry for members and under 16's. £9 entry for non-members.

Guernsey team:
Steventon, Ceillam, Currie, Hillier, Merrien, Rice, Horrocks, M. Thomas, Alexandre, Morisio, Quate, J. Batiste, Gow, Aremu, Armstrong.
Replacements: L. Batiste, Shannon, Martin, Holland, Teasdale.