Jersey Reds ready for Scottish

Jersey Reds captain Lewis Wynne made 49 caps for London Scottish, who travel to St Peter tomorrow as Jersey look to get back to winning ways Picture: GARRY BOWDEN

A POLAR opposite challenge awaits Jersey Reds tomorrow, as they prepare to welcome a London Scottish outfit rooted to the bottom of the table.

Following a 19-19 draw against Coventry, the RFU Championship’s form side, the Islanders are set to come up against a side who are progressing through the season in splendid isolation. They have amassed just eight league points from 12 games, carrying a point differential of -230.

Despite the visitors’ record looking rather bleak, the Exiles do appear to have turned a corner of late and their first-half displays in particular are something that former Scottish forward Lewis Wynne is wary of.

‘It’s always special playing against Scottish again, whether it be home or away,’ said the Reds captain.

‘I have some great memories of my time at the Athletic Ground and there are still some familiar faces around.

‘It hasn’t been easy for them following the year they took off through the pandemic, but things are looking up for them. They have formed a great collaboration with Harlequins, which has given them access to some great players.

‘After a challenging period they have started to push some of the stronger teams and games against them are no longer a forgone conclusion.

‘We don’t take any game in this league for granted.

‘There have been some hard lessons learned after the Coventry game, but credit to them, we were well off it and they really came out the gates quickly. From our side, the most important thing is to get back to winning ways straightaway, beginning with Scottish.’

Wynne, who made 49 appearances for Scottish, is not the only Red in the starting XV with a connection to the club.

Centre Dan Barnes was at the club with Wynne before making the switch to the Island in July 2020.

Harvey Biljon’s squad sit five points adrift of promotion hopefuls Ealing, who have issued a stern warning to the RFU that they will seek legal action should they again be denied promotion to the top tier.

The London outfit have long been a force in the Championship but suffered their first loss recently, in shocking fashion, at the hands of Caldy, prior to edging past 11th-placed Ampthill last weekend.

Ealing are not faultless, but the Reds might have to be if they have real aspirations of lifting the Championship trophy.

Jersey Reds squad to face Richmond (1-15, provisional): Greg McGrath, Eoghan Clarke, Stevie Longwell, Hamish Bain, James Scott, James Dun, Lewis Wynne (c), Tim Grey, James Elliott, Russell Bennett, Will Brown, Dan Barnes, Charlie Powell, Ryan Hutler, Brendan Owen. Replacements: James Hadfield, Huw Owen, Monty Weatherby, Sean O’Connor, Hallam Chapman, Josh Gray, Jonny Law, Jordan Holgate.

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