For although coach Barry George will start with a fairly recognisable 1st XV, included in his squad are Tom Faulkner, Joe Ellyatt, Dan Arthur, Toby Clyde-Smith, Mark Le Mottée and regular 1st XV winger, Ryan Morgan, all of whom are either teenagers or players in their early 20s.
‘The game will be a good chance to try to blood some of the younger guys at some time in the game,’ explained George.
‘After all, they’re the future of Jersey rugby, that is if they hang around the Island although I’ve been told one or two will be away next year.
‘Dan Arthur’s been playing for the 2nds at scrum-half while this will be a return to the team for Toby (Clyde-Smith) who scored a couple of nice tries for the 2nds last week after coming back from breaking his hand at the start of the season.
‘We’re still short of front row cover, with Josh (Chamier, also one of the club’s younger players) still not recovered from injury while Jim Brimelow, Graham Bell and James Cooper are all away, off Island.
‘Richard Stevens is also hobbling around, so I expect that he’ll be out for another two or three weeks.
‘I don’t know much about the Royal Artillery, other than they normally have a bunch of Fijians in their back line.
So it’ll be interesting to see.’ While this is a ‘friendly’ game, played against one of the first ‘clubs’ Jersey met way back in the latter part of the 19th century, neither side will want to lose.
It will also be a new experience for the affable New Zealander, who will then be travelling away with the Jersey RFC’s under-15 side, who play on Sunday in the Isle of Wight.
So far, his league record is impressive – nine wins at an average of 39 points a game.
However, in a one-off game like this, no-one can be certain of the outcome, although for those players on the cusp of the 1st XV, this could be a turning point in their season.
At the moment Jersey boasts some of the best young players in the south of England.
As for Saturday’s result? Who knows – but come 4 pm, almost certainly there will be a bagful of points and tries, from either side, to talk about.
