Jersey will be looking to stage the rugby equivalent of a FA Cup
giant-killing when Worcester Warriors visit the Island this
weekend. The home side know the odds are against them, but with
extreme tides, a solar eclipse and the Spring Equinox all arriving
in the same 24-hour period, they'll hope there may be something in
the stars.
Worcester are top of the Greene King IPA Championship and have
won 24 consecutive league and cup matches as they seek to bounce
straight back to the Aviva Premiership after relegation last May.
The visitors will also be cheered on by a travelling army estimated
at around 500 supporters, possibly the largest away contingent to
follow their team to the Island.
The Warriors have been undefeated since losing their opening
league match of the season to promotion rivals Bristol, and have a
number of international players, including full-back Chris Pennell,
who is the only member of the current Elite England squad playing
in the Greene King IPA Championship. But Jersey will be hoping to
give their rivals as good a battle as the return fixture in
November, when the home side kicked a late penalty to claim a
narrow 32-29 win.
The two points garnered by Jersey in defeat at Sixways are among
a total of just seven match points given up by the Warriors in the
league this season: Bristol claimed four at Ashton Gate on the
opening weekend, while there was a consolation prize for Cornish
Pirates in January, albeit as part of a 62-26 shellacking.
Head Coach Harvey Biljon has made five changes to his starting
line-up from the 18-31 home defeat to
London Scottish a fortnight ago. The majority are in the pack,
including a new front row unit, made up of Nacho Lancuba, Joe
Buckle and Danny Herriott, while Dave Markham replaces Nick
Campbell in the second row. There's also a change at centre, with
David Bishop coming in for the injured Mark McCrea.
Jersey will be looking for impact from a bench containing the
front row players who have been preferred in the majority of games
thus far: Sam Lockwood, Martin Garcia-Veiga and Harry Williams.
A familiar face is likely to feature in the opposing midfield:
Max Stelling, then 18, joined Jersey on a dual-registration deal in
December 2012 which eventually lasted five months, playing 12 games
and scoring three tries - now he's a first-team regular for
Warriors.
Stelling's last home appearance for Jersey was the nail-biting
13-10 win over Doncaster
in April 2013, the result which effectively secured Jersey's
Championship survival at the expense of their visitors. The match
was watched by a crowd of 3,154, and with drier weather forecast
for this weekend, not to mention the travelling hordes, an extra
corporate marquee and a Six Nations digestif, the host club hope
this weekend's 12-metre tides will coincide with a new high-water
mark for their home matches in the Championship.
A video link outlining Jersey's squad can be accessed at
http://youtu.be/Y_IfDgWwoi4
Jersey squad v Worcester Warriors 'H' - Greene King IPA
Championship, Saturday March 21st, St Peter - k-o
3pm
Backs (15-9)
Aaron Penberthy
Mark Foster
Drew Locke
David Bishop
Fautua Otto
Lewis Robling
Samisoni Fisilau
Forwards (1-8)
Ignacio Lancuba
Joe Buckle
Danny Herriott
Pierce Phillips
Dave Markham
Alex Rae (capt)
Ryan Hodson
Nick Haining
Replacements
Sam Lockwood
Martin Garcia-Veiga
Harry Williams
Mick Noone
Paula Kaho
Ryan Glynn
Jonny Bentley
Parish Notices
The big crowd expected at St Peter means spectators are urged to
buy tickets in advance and allow extra time to get to the ground.
Double-deckers will serve the route 9 to the club, with extra
services as required, and there should be plentiful car parking as
too, albeit with a wee bit of traffic around.
The 6 Nations games will be available on a range of screens
(except Brian Screen), with a rousing climax to the day in prospect
when England host France at 5pm.
See HERE for further
details of match-day at St Peter
Worcester: a potted history
Founded: 1871, when their first game was against the
Royal Artillery (see below). The club was subsequently disbanded in
1896, but reformed in 1908
Back in the Day: the club played opposite the New Road
ground of Worcestershire County Cricket Club in the 1890s
Ground: Sixways was opened in 1975 by the esteemed Irish
international Mike Gibson
Famous Sons: plenty of well-known names, especially
during the Premiership years. How about a sample seven? Ben Clarke,
Matt Kvesic and Craig Quinnell in the pack; Andy Gomarsall, Ben
Gollings (well it is sevens), Rico Gear and Chris Latham as the
backs
Jersey Connections: Max Stelling was mentioned above,
while at the end of last season physio Julie Snow jumped ship and
left the Island for Sixways. Not quite as recently there's John,
King of England from 1199-1216: history does not look kindly on the
monarch of 800 years ago, mostly because he lost large parts of the
Angevin Empire in what is now Northern France. However he did keep
hold of the Channel Islands, which have remained linked to the
British Crown to this day... if Carlsberg did consolation prizes.
Oh, and he's buried in Worcester Cathedral
Director of Rugby: Former Saracens, Wasps, Newcastle and
Bristol back row man Dean Ryan was appointed in April 2013, having
formerly spent seven seasons in coaching roles at Gloucester
League History: Worcester started in North Midlands
League 1, Level 8 of the league pyramid in 1987/88. In 1997 and
1998 successive promotions saw them reach Level 2, and promotion to
the Premiership eventually followed in 2004. Relegation in 2010 was
followed by promotion back to the top at the earliest opportunity,
but last season the Warriors were relegated again after a miserable
season that featured just two wins, both at the tail-end of the
season.
The Greene King IPA Championship this
weekend
Plymouth Albion could move off the bottom of the table with a win
on Friday against Yorkshire Carnegie, who have new Boss Bryan
Redpath i/c for the first time. Bedford host Cornish Pirates on the
same evening.
10th-placed Doncaster travel to play London Scottish on Saturday
and will be looking to move towards safety a week after qualifying
or the final of the B&I.
The team beaten by Donny in last Saturday's semi, Bristol, will
return to Yorkshire to take on Rotherham on Saturday, who are
battling with Nottingham for the final Play-Off spot - Notts host
Moseley at Lady Bay on Sunday.
The full preview is HERE
And Finally
There's plenty of other rugby this weekend, not least the annual
Wilkes Cup match between Jersey Athletic and the Royal Artillery.
Spookily, the Gunners are reputed to have been Worcester's
first-ever opponents in November 1871. To be played at St Peter at
2pm, there'll be a chance to tuck into some roast cow before the
match - details of the eventHERE
Talking of props, England's Dan Cole may only be 27, but already
he risks being swept aside by the modern world, alienated from his
social-media savvy team-mates by his choice not to have a presence
on Twitter. This rather mucked up the England squad announcement
(pictured above), when the non-handle 'D.Cole' markedly
failed to go viral in the build-up to the Calcutta Cup. Poor old
Dinosaur Dan - what happened to the days when props sank pints of
Guinness and wrestled large farm animals rather than retweeting the
observations of their favourite popstars? One wonders what a great
prop of yesteryear like Paul Rendall would have made of it all -
one suspects 'The Judge' would have imposed heavy drinking
penalties on his 22 team-mates while throwing their i-Phones in the
i-Ce bath...
Enjoy your weekend's rugby!
Tom Innes
