Slick Sarnians in need of win

GUERNSEY go into tomorrow's game against Winchester undeterred from their continued determination to play an expansive game. Captain Andy Bailey said the team were sticking to the new approach despite losing their most recent game against Chobham, which will go down as another squandered opportunity to chalk up some points.

Bailey expects the same grinding approach from Winchester as Chobham, but still thinks the way to take on the league is with a back-centred game.

'Under our new coaching system, we play an expansive game and move the forwards all around the pitch to tire them out and hit them in the second half,' he said.

Guernsey beat tomorrow's opponents, currently mid-table, at Foote's Lane 22-13 in the early part of the season.

'They're not too dissimilar to most teams in this league: they play a very structured 10-man game, they kick for the corners and go for the territory,' said the captain.

Unusually for him, Bailey will be playing at fullback in a re-jigged line-up.

Again, running and passing will be the order of the day.

'We're not the biggest team in the league but we must be one of the quickest,' he said.

While the mood in the camp had been down straight after the loss against Chobham, the players are once more eager to play a freeflowing game.

'We are looking forward to Saturday and want to play our expansive game and we were disappointed after the game that we had had to play it with 14 men,' said Bailey yesterday.

The reinvigorating approach cannot alter the fact that Guernsey have lost 10 games this season, many of which were missed opportunities.

'It was a game we should have won,' Bailey said.

H. Morgan's sending off against a crafty but less talented Chobham team at a freezing Foote's Lane two weeks ago proved the turning point of the match. It came after a first half hour full of exhibition rugby and attacking promised from the Sarnians.

But the red card reduced any chance of adventure in the second half as a battling Guernsey could not stop Chobham turning the conditions, refereeing and game pattern in their favour.