Off the back of a last-gasp British & Irish Cup defeat in south Wales on Sunday, the Islanders return to Championship action this weekend with a challenging trip to Rotherham Titans.
Few would question how hard it is to take points from Titans at Clifton Lane, indeed they have won their last three home league matches on the bounce, but the Reds have good reason to be confident.
| P | W | D | L | BP | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 34 |
| Yorkshire Carnegie | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 33 |
| Doncaster | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 31 |
| Bedford | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 29 |
| Rotherham | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 26 |
| Nottingham | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 23 |
| London Scottish | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 20 |
| Jersey | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 20 |
| London Welsh | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 19 |
| Moseley | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 16 |
| Ealing | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 13 |
| Cornish Pirates | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 11 |
Although only ten of the selected match-day squad contested that fine draw in February – Jersey’s best ever result at Rotherham – those that were present will be buoyed by the memory that they could well have gone on to win.
Discussing his targets, Biljon (pictured) said: ‘Last season we went to Clifton Lane, a very difficult place to get a result, and we came away with a draw … we want to do one better.
‘We’ve spoken about the pitch, the conditions, their style of play. We’ve addressed that in our own way, put together a game plan and if we can execute that I’m confident we can do well away from home.’
Having made mass changes for the trip to Newport last weekend, Biljon has reinstated many of his regulars to tomorrow’s squad, including joint top try scorer Tom Howe.
The Wasps loanee has touched down five times in 10 appearances so far this term, four in Championship matches. His record is matched only by Australian back row forward Nick Haining.
Commenting on his start to the season, Howe said: ‘As a winger you want to get on the score sheet every week but it is not always the case so to get a few down already has pleased me.
Feb 2015: Titans 20-20 Jersey
Sept 2014: Jersey 29-32 Titans
Jan 2014: Jersey 22-35 Titans
‘We talked about our pitch being narrow at the beginning of the season – that was one concern for a few of the guys but it really hasn’t affected us.
‘As a winger the ball is not just going to come to you, you have to work off your wing and get in the right places, and get a bit lucky as well. That’s what I’m trying to develop; my work rate, and feeding off the inside shoulders of the inside centres.’
Forwards: Sam Lockwood, Martin Garcia-Veiga, Oliver Tomaszczyk, Pierce Phillips, Will Rowlands, Alex Rae (capt), Gary Graham, Nick Haining.
Backs: Sami Fisilau, Brendan Cope, Ross Adair, Lewis Robling, Tua Otto, Tom Howe, Aaron Penberthy.
Replacements: Nacho Lancuba, Nick Selway, Danny Herriott, Uili Kolo’ofa’i, James Freeman, Jack Moates, Mark McCrea.
