Jersey will be seeking to take a 2-1 lead in their four-match
'test series' against Cornish Pirates this season when the two
sides meet at St Peter tomorrow.
The British & Irish Cup tie, which kicks off at 3pm, follows
a Greene King IPA Championship match at St Peter four weeks
earlier; this game was won at the death by the Islanders, with
Niall O'Connor's penalty clinching a 27-25 victory. Pirates gained
revenge with a late comeback of their own in the B&I game at
the Mennaye Field last weekend, winning 31-20 thanks to two tries
in the last four minutes.
Tomorrow's match will be the first at home for Steve Boden since
he was made Jersey's Interim Head Coach following the departure of
Director of Rugby Ben Harvey.
Boden has picked a strong squad for the Pirates' visit, although
he remains without some key personnel in the back division. While
David Bishop and Grant Pointer return to the starting XV, Nicky
Griffiths and Ed Dawson remain unavailable alongside long-term
absentees Tom Cooper and Aaron Penberthy.
While the likes of Nick Selway, Tom Fidler (pictured below
claiming a try against Ayr in October) and Dave Markham are handed
chances to impress in the starting line-up, Jersey's bench boasts
some real forward power, including a number of players who have
been first choices during the season to date.
The JRFC preview to the match is available HERE
Jersey squad v Cornish Pirates (British & Irish Cup)
(H) - December 14th 2013, k-o 3pm
Backs (15-9)
Drew Locke
Grant Pointer
Mark McCrea
David Bishop
Mark Foster
Niall O'Connor
Joel Dudley
Forwards (1-8)
Tom Fidler
Dave Felton
Nick Selway
Dave Markham
Alex Rae (capt)
Latu Makaafi
Fred Silcock
Ben Maidment
Replacements (16-22)
Elvis Taione, Sean McCarthy, David Young, Nick Campbell, James
Voss, Jimmy Williams, Jack Burroughs
