Jersey Rugby Club's squad has been boosted with the arrival of two backs who will be on loan from Aviva Premiership side Bath Rugby for the rest of the 2015/16 season.
Rory Jennings and Max Clark have both played for England at Under 20 level and featured in the 2015 World Rugby U20 Championship. The pair of 20-year-olds will now have the opportunity to gain experience with Jersey over the next three months, providing additional options for the Island side, who currently lie fifth in the Greene King IPA Championship table.
Jennings (pictured above) is a fly-half who won nine England U20 caps, scoring almost 100 points from the kicking tee, and featured in Bath's LV Cup campaign in 2014/15. Clark's primary position is at centre (he is pictured below) but he can also play at full-back; he won six England U20 caps, scoring two tries at this level, and made his Premiership debut for Bath last October.
"It's great that we have been able to add two really exciting young players to our squad going into the final three months of the season," said Jersey Head Coach Harvey Biljon. "Max and Rory will provide some real competition for places with our existing squad members, which will help towards our aim of maintaining or improving our current league standing.
"We've had to work hard to consolidate our position in the Championship, raising standards on and off the pitch, to a level where I can talk to my counterparts at Premiership clubs and secure players of this calibre. I'm grateful to Bath Rugby for allowing Rory and Max to join us on loan and believe all parties will benefit from this arrangement."
The two new arrivals at St Peter link up with another loan signing, Tom Howe of Wasps, who was also part of the England Under 20 squad who won the 2015 U20 6 Nations title and then reached the final of the 'Junior World Cup' in Italy in June, losing 21-16 to New Zealand.
Jennings and Clark joined their new team-mates in training for the first time this week and are in contention to make their Jersey debuts as part of the squad for this weekend's British & Irish Cup tie against Doncaster Knights. The Islanders are seeking a win at Castle Park which would guarantee a quarter-final place in the B&I. Later in January, Jersey return to league competition with a trip to Bristol, and will next be in action on home turf when Moseley visit St Peter on Saturday February 5th.
Max Clark (left) playing for England U20
Rory Jennings in action for Bath
