TABLE-TOPPERS Jersey RFC are set to resume their sensational Regional 2 South Central league campaign on Saturday by welcoming seventh-placed
Farnham to St Peter, as part of an eagerly anticipated double-header with Jersey RFC Women.
Myles Landick’s men concluded 2023 in spectacular form, occupying top spot with a 100% win rate and comfortably the league’s highest scorers.
Although dominant over most who have stood in their way so far, Farnham provided a stern test in the reverse fixture with the Caesareans only edging the game 38-33.
The head coach said: “2023 saw a massive squad improvement, but we know if we want to achieve our goal of playing at the highest levels we need to keep progressing.
“We took a young side over to face them [Farnham] when we played away and picked up a few injuries in the first half.
“But no excuses, they gave us a really tough match.
“They pulled off a great win in their last game to beat Newbury 68-10, so will be full of confidence. We will need to be on our game.”
The former Jersey Red has not been afraid to rotate through the campaign, offering starts for younger players such as Sam Harvey, Eryk Swiech and Anushan Elanco.
“We are always looking to the future,” added Landick.
“We know where we want to go as a team and we will need these young players to be ready when that step up comes.
“We have a fantastic academy and you can see in the young players’ performances that they are already at a good level.
“The more exposure we can give them to league rugby, the better prepared they will be in the future.”
Of this weekend’s 18-strong squad, 12 have progressed through the academy.
Alongside are a host of experienced players, including joint leading try scorer Jack Macfarlane and former Doncaster and Jersey Reds professional Jerry Sexton.
Landick continued: “Our squad is well balanced. We still have guys like Scott [Van Breda] out injured, but having the likes of Jerry [Sexton] in the team is a massive boost for us.
“Aaron [Penberthy] is a pivotal player for us. His ability to score points, as well as finding space down field with the boot is a crucial aspect of our game.
“To potentially reach 100 points so early in his RFC career would be a great achievement and testament to all his hard work and professionalism.”
“We don’t want take our foot off the pedal.
“There is a desire to be ruthless and continue our hard work from last year.
“We are well-placed, but still have to take it one game at a time.”
nKick-off is set to 2.15pm at Jersey Rugby Club tomorrow.
