Smiler gets the nod to make Guernsey debut

The ex Super Rugby player has been named at blindside flanker for Guernsey’s home clash with old rivals Barnes having had his first taste of the Footes Lane atmosphere last week as an imposing water carrier in the narrow 27-25 defeat to Old Albanian.

‘It is a selection we’ve been excited to make for a while now and we are hoping he becomes a regular face in the team and a big figure here,’ said Raiders coach Jordan Reynolds.

‘We were pretty keen to put him in last week, but noting the players we had available we just felt it was a good opportunity for him to see how things run on match day and now it’s great to be able to select him this week and we hope he will complement the others in the back row.’

Reynolds has an embarrassment of riches in that department this week, with Dom Rice back after being unavailable for the season opener last weekend. He will make an impact off the bench.

‘In round one we were a little bit lighter because we had a fair few away, but having Dom coming off the bench means physically we will be able to keep the tempo high.’

There is a whole new starting front row in the absence of props Sam Steventon and Jacob Pinkney, while hooker Tom Ceillam took a knock last week.

In come Darrin Bellingham, Dan Morgan and Tom Bray to start, with James Burger the replacement hooker on the bench along with new prop James Beck.

There is no change to the starting backline, but there is a welcome return for Tom Teasdale among the replacements.

‘He was injured in August 2021, so he’s been out for a long time, but he has worked pretty hard on his rehab with Steve Melbourne and trained with us all pre-season,’ Reynolds said.

‘We limited him on the contact training early doors, but we have been looking at opportunities to put him in now that everything has been signed off and we saw this as a good week because he can cover multiple positions.’

Seldom has there been more than one score between Raiders and Barnes, who have enjoyed some great battles in recent years, and Reynolds forecasts something similar once again.

‘It’s always tight, but we’ve got to get a lot right after last week while they’re coming off a confident win over Worthing so the form guide would put them as favourites,’ he said.

‘Their game play is very much centred around applying pressure and building points off that pressure and they are very physical defensively, but we have a certain game-plan we want to bring against them this week.

‘We need to make a few improvements on last week, particularly finishing off our opportunities, then it will be interesting to see what we can produce this week.’

Guernsey Raiders v Barnes kicks off at 2pm tomorrow at Footes Lane.

Guernsey Raiders team

Bellingham, Morgan, Bray, Hillier, M Thomas, Smiler, Creber, Horrocks, Simmonds, O Thomas, Smith, Davies, McGann, Armstrong, Roberts. Replacements: Burger, Beck, Dom Rice, Teasdale, Sayer.