AS the Jersey 1st XV dip their toes into unchartered waters, in the form of London Division I, having won promotion at the end of last season, coach Ben Harvey can scarcely disguise his excitement.
His body language alone tells you that he wishes the game could be now, rather than tomorrow. And away to Tring, with a 2 pm kick-off, he explains why he believes Jersey will win, and will continue to win, if they keep to this season’s game plan.
‘Only once, in training, have I been able to put out the team I want to play in their first competitive match – and even then there were two players missing,’ he said. ‘But the players have responded well to pre-season training, including the captain, Talite Viaoleti “V”, who’s probably fitter now than he has ever been before.
‘I’ve been delighted by his progress and by his attitude. In the past, the captain did everything from driving the bus to making all of the decisions on the field. That’s not the case any more. The captain should lead by example. The half-backs make the decisions. I believe that, if we play the kind of rugby we’ve shown we can play in training – which is using every member of the team and playing a 15-man game – we’ll do exceptionally well this season.’
• Picture: Mitch Burton, one of Jersey RFC’s new faces this season
