New boys to kick off Raiders' campaign
NEW boys Adam Nixon and Owen Thomas will make their competitive debuts for Guernsey Raiders when the National Three London & South-East season kicks off tomorrow.
There are also starting places for the Armstrong brothers, Anthony and Matt, in the backline for the trip to London Irish Wild Geese as the growing depth in Jordan Reynolds's squad becomes ever-more apparent, after the GRFC director of rugby was able to name a strong XV despite the absence of several big names.
Regulars Lewis Hillier, Malcolm Barnes, Ned Brown and Luke Sayer are all unavailable for the season opener, as are Dale Martin and Dom Rice, but Reynolds was handed a major boost when Thomas was passed fit to play after picking up a knee injury in the pre-season match with Colchester.
'It was great that while the Cornish Pirates were here their medical staff got to assess him along with a couple of our specialists and it was a meniscus strain,' Reynolds said.
'He started running again, then did a full session on Tuesday and there did not seem to be any problem, which is good for us and him because he is keen to get out there,' added the coach, who has selected Thomas at outside centre for this weekend but could move him to fly half or fullback during the season.
Nixon will start at scrum-half after looking sharp having replaced the injured Barnes against the Pirates a fortnight ago.
More in today's Guernsey Press.
