THE Channel Islands rugby team faces the biggest challenge in their fledgling international history tomorrow when they welcome Poland to CoinShares Park, set for a 3pm kick-off.
Fifteen months on from a memorable 66-28 victory over Sweden in the combined side’s first-ever international, Jersey and Guernsey’s finest reunite for another historic occasion – this time against a nation on the rise.
Poland arrive on the island full of confidence after securing promotion from the Rugby Europe Trophy to the Rugby Europe Championship, the highest level of European rugby outside of the Six Nations.
Captained by Piotr Zeszutek, the visitors amassed 263 points while conceding just 45 during their promotion campaign, including a commanding 72-3 victory over Sweden in April, and now sit 30th in the world rankings.
Adding another layer of intrigue is the inclusion of Jersey’s own Eryk Swiech, with the exciting young back set to line up for Poland against many familiar faces.
Despite the scale of the challenge, belief within the Channel Islands camp remains high.
“We’re all really excited for this one,” said co-captain Scott Van Breda (right).
“I think we slightly underestimated the timings of this fixture with the end of our respective league seasons and then, of course, the Siam Cup, so both sides only got back into pre-season training about a week ago.
“But jumping straight back in has been great. The Guernsey lads came over last weekend for some training and some team bonding, which was good fun.”
With Jersey captain Evan Whitson still recovering from bicep surgery, Van Breda will share the captaincy with Guernsey Raiders flanker Dom Rice, who surpassed 150 appearances for the Raiders last season.
The 23-man squad features 12 Jersey RFC players and 11 from Guernsey Raiders, bringing together two clubs that are normally fierce rivals but tomorrow will combine their strengths once again.
Jersey head into the fixture after a remarkable campaign that saw them win the Regional 1 South Central title, losing just one league match all season.
Their powerful scrum, led by front-row trio Huw Owen, Jack Macfarlane and Tom Wilson, has become one of the club’s trademarks, while Toby Osborne adds ballast in the second row and Tim Grey’s experience at No.8 provides leadership and a genuine attacking threat.
Behind the forwards, Harry Cochrane returns at scrum-half to direct play, with Dan Barnes and Van Breda forming a formidable midfield partnership. Aaron Penberthy’s outstanding goal-kicking and the prolific scoring of both Van Breda and Macfarlane offer further attacking weapons.
Meanwhile Guernsey bring plenty of quality of their own.
Rice’s leadership is backed up by the physical presence of locks Charlie Wilkinson and Josh Poullet, while brothers Matt and Anthony Armstrong provide genuine game-breaking pace and power out wide. (Above) Charlie Simmonds‘ blistering speed from full-back makes him another player capable of changing a game in an instant.
“It’s a cool way to bring together the strengths of both the islands and see what we can produce,” Van Breda added.
“We know those guys pretty well now from last year’s fixture, but it was cool to have them back over and spend some more time together as a group.
“Myles put on a brilliant day for us and we ended up spending quality time together off the field afterwards, which has really helped the group bond.”
Jersey RFC director of rugby Myles Landick believes his squad has embraced the opportunity despite limited preparation time.
“We’re really excited about the game ahead,” he said.
“It’s all come together really nicely in the training session we had last weekend, despite us not having had long to prepare.
“We have a really exciting group and they’re buzzing after that session to tackle this game head on.”
Landick knows the visitors will pose a stern examination.
“Poland are going to be a tough side, very physical, with lots of confidence in them after their recent promotion into the next tier of international rugby, so we’re going to have to be on it.
“What a challenge we have ahead of us and what a unique experience this is. There are lots of players throughout their careers who don’t get to play international rugby or be involved in a side like the Channel Islands.
“It’s about making the most of the experience and giving it your all.”
Van Breda expects a physical battle but believes the hosts have the quality to ask questions of the Polish defence.
“We know Poland will be a bit of the unknown for us, but what we do know is they’re going to have some big boys up front, so we’ll focus on nullifying their set-piece.
“The sun will be out, the boys will be blowing, but we’ll look to move the ball around and create some nice passages of play.
“We’ve got some serious talent amongst the group, the likes of the Armstrongs will be causing havoc out wide and we have a pack more than capable of matching theirs.”
The Channel Islands also have plenty of firepower in reserve, with Guernsey quartet Michael Cantle, Martinas Dromantas, Matt Creber and Dale Rutledge joined on the bench by Jersey’s Joe Ridgway, Luke Bowles, Mark Boarer and Dylan Stocks.
Landick added: “We’ve got a hell of a squad out on the day and hopefully they can do a job.
“Personally, it’s an absolute pleasure to be involved in the group. Fingers crossed we can recreate the fantastic day everyone enjoyed in Guernsey last year.”
With more than 2,000 spectators expected at CoinShares Park, the stage is set for another landmark afternoon for Channel Islands rugby as the islanders bid to claim a second international victory against their highest-ranked opponents to date.
