Three changes for “crucial” Reds game tonight

Friday 23 September 2016

A first defeat of the season last week has prompted coach Harvey Biljon to ring the changes from the Jersey Reds side which narrowly lost at Ealing.

After the season kicked off with back-to-back victories over Richmond and Bedford, it was down to earth with a bump as the Reds lost their unbeaten record in west London via an injury time try.

It was a cruel blow for Biljon’s boys, who are fourth in the Greene King IPA Championship and could briefly go top tonight if they can beat Nottingham by enough points. 

Out go George Watkins, Brendan Cope and James Doyle, with skipper James Freeman returning at flanker having missed last weekend’s defeat at Ealing. Sam Katz will make his debut this season in place of Cope at fly-half, while Rich Lane has been given the nod on the wing. 

It is the choice of Katz will will raise most eyebrows as Cope was an integral part of the side which opened the season with those two victories, as well as three pre-season successes. 

Coach Biljon said: “Sam has been knocking on the door for a while now and although Brendan Cope has done absolutely nothing wrong, I just felt Sam deserved a chance to stake a claim.

“Sam has been pushing for a place since pre-season and he has exceptional skills kicking out of the hand and from the floor. For the type of game I want to see us play against Nottingham I felt he was the right choice, but Brendan has also had a really good start to the season. Sam has pushed him all the way and deserves his opportunity.

“James Freeman’s return has yet to be 100% confirmed as he will need to pass a fitness test, but we are pretty sure he will be OK. He is a big, tough lad and he leads by example. It is great to have characters like him in the team and I’m looking forward to him having an impact.”

The Reds are hoping for a big Friday night crowd under their new floodlights against a Nottingham side who have had a mixed start to the current campaign. 

The east midlands outfit won their opening game 25-22 at home to London Scottish, but were narrowly defeated at Yorkshire Carnegie 26-24. 

Last weekend Ian Costello’s team crashed to a 19-35 home loss to Cornish Pirates, a surprising defeat following their two previous results.   

Biljon said: “We saw the result last Sunday at Nottingham and we know what happened, but we have to focus only on ourselves. Nottingham are a very good side and they will be smarting after a defeat like that and desperate to turn it around against us. We have to be ready for that reaction.

“I’ve been pleased with some aspects of our play this season but there have ben a few small areas which have to work on. We need to be a bit more accurate in everything we do. This is a crucial game for us. We were disappointed with the result last week and we all want to see how the players react. It should make for a fantastic atmosphere under the lights.”

Jersey Reds XV v Nottingham - Greene King IPA Championship, tonight, St Peter. KO 7.45pm.

Jack Cuthbert, Ross Adair, Regan King, Jordan Davies, Rich Lane, Sam Katz, Sami Fisilau, Marc Thomas, Nick Selway, Simon Kerrod, Nick Campbell, Dave McKern, Max Argyle, James Freeman (capt), Nick Haining.

Subs are: Joe Buckle, Jake Woolmore, Jake Armstrong, Uili Kolo'ofa'i, James Doyle; Kieran Hardy, Lewis Robling.