ROYALS RFC hit the road again tomorrow for another tough away test, this time to East Grinstead II, a team with significant history for the Islanders who sit just one place below them in the league.
This fixture is a rescheduled contest, after the original clash between the two back on 11 January was cancelled due to cold weather and a frozen pitch.
“We’re really excited to face another challenging away day,” said Royals skipper Joao Tomas.
“East Grinstead was our first ever game in the English league structure, so to head back there a few seasons later is just a testament to how far we’ve come as a club.”
The Royals come into this game with confidence away from home, after an impressive 29-0 thumping of Newick on the road last weekend.
In the two fixtures they have had so far this year, Tomas’ side have looked like a side on the up.
They produced a superb performance at home against table-topping Eastbourne II on 18 January, just missing out on a win thanks to a last-gasp try condemning them to an 18-19 defeat.
They will travel tomorrow knowing they have the credentials to secure their eighth win of the season against an East Grinstead side who they have already faced way back in October, where they secured a solid 31-18 home victory.
Tomas continued: “The lads have been working hard in training recently and I think we are really progressing well.
“Our communication and togetherness is excellent at the minute and I think we have enough quality to beat any side in this league.
“After the win last weekend, we are looking forward to building on that and coming back with another win tomorrow.
“Doing the double over them would be very satisfying and we want to keep charging forwards with this momentum coming into the back end of the season.”
Adding to his skipper’s thoughts, vice captain Pearse Moloney commented: “We’re definitely pumped for it this one.
“There’s a couple of lads who are playing in positions they haven’t played in before and I know they’re looking forward to the challenge.
“We had a strong win against East Grinstead when they came here earlier on in the season so our aim is definitely to do the same on Saturday.
“I think strategy was something that let us down a bit in the Eastbourne game in that we turned down a few opportunities in front of the posts.
“This was something we have discussed in training and we definitely played smarter against Newick last week, so that’s a big focus for us going forward into tomorrow and for the rest of the campaign.”
Including tomorrow, just six games remain for the Royals in this season’s Harvey’s Brewery Counties 3 Sussex Division, and they will be wanting to put as much pressure on those above them as possible in their remaining fixtures.
A three-week break follows tomorrow’s game, when they will travel again for another heated contest against Midhurst.
Action tomorrow, however, is set to commence at Saint Hill Road in East Grinstead at 12pm.
Royals RFC squad: [1-15] Sam Dillon, Jack Lowe, Joao Tomas (c), Harvey Evans, Cameron Spencer, Lewis Ham-Howes, JJ Le Feuvre, Cam Halliwell, Will Dawson, Ben Pearson, Corne Visagie, Hugo Reid, Will Hodgson, Pearse Moloney (vc), Jake Stanton
Replacements: Jack Scambler
