There are now only two weeks to go before
the Greene King IPA Championship starts with Jersey's first battle
against Plymouth Albion live on Sky Sports, and the team are
planning the 2013/14 campaign to be the most exciting
yet.
As preparations step up another gear with
the excitement almost tangible for the big double header kick off
approaching quickly the Jersey lads yesterday set off for their
final pre-season training camp in France. The trip is hoped to help
fine tune skills, game plans and team play ahead of the new season,
whilst the boys may also have extensive time to bond ahead of a
hectic campaign. The short break will culminate in a fixture
against local side Le Rheu on Friday evening.
While last Saturday heralded a win for
Jersey over Coventry, Director of Rugby Ben Harvey feels that the
result wasn't as important as the progress in performance and that
a lot has been learnt from both pre-season fixtures.
Harvey said: "We were a bit disappointed
that we didn't get as focused for Coventry as we should have done,
but some of the performances were very good and there were bits and
pieces that were a big improvement from the week before.
"The young lads came off the bench and did
well which we thought was great. There were patches in the first
half that were really good, but overall it was just a pre-season
game that we won."
Reflecting on the days ahead in training
camp in France and the next fixture at hand, Harvey
added:
"They're going to be training very hard
because they have a tough fixture around the corner with Plymouth,
before back to back home fixtures with Bedford and
Bristol.
"We just can't wait to get on with the
season now. It's tough to know exactly where you are in pre-season
or predict where that leaves you for the campaign, but I'm more
than happy with the unit we have. Plymouth are a good outfit and
with a new coach you never know what new ideas they'll
have.
"We need to be at our best at all times in
every single minute of the match, but for now our focus lies with
putting in a massive shift in this training camp and getting the
lads in the best shape possible to compete in the Championship this
season."
