Guernsey go from back-to-back games against the top two to start off the new year to hosting bottom side Oxford Harlequins tomorrow, but Jordan Reynolds quickly dismissed the notion that being favourites on paper will automatically translate to a positive result on the pitch.
‘I do not want to see that expectation from us as a group. We did not perform well enough last week and I focus on this as one of the most important games we have had this season,’ he said.
‘Our guys have got to get up for it, fight and fight hard. If we really want to turn this season around, we need a massive 80-minute performance and it doesn’t matter who we are playing against.
‘It is about re-engaging in this league and giving maximum effort. We have not been a million miles away, but if we want to succeed in this league, I do not care where Quins are in the table, we have got to take this game really seriously.’
Raiders won the reverse fixture 37-19 back in October in tough conditions and with the forecast being wet and windy for tomorrow, Reynolds revealed he is more than prepared to play 10-man rugby if it will get the job done against a side who only lost to a late try a week ago.
‘Quins were leading London Welsh, a team who convincingly beat us not that long ago, right up until the end of the game last week before they just got edged out,’ he said.
‘They have certainly not given up and that makes them a real problem for anyone they are up against.
‘They are going to come out flying and they are very loose in the way they play, completely and utterly unstructured, so are very difficult to defend.
‘If we can hold a real strong set-piece in the scrum and the line-out, engage through our kicking game, then we can control the game. Where Quins have joy is when the game becomes erratic, so we have to be really on it and not allow them to play the high-tempo game they want.’
Guernsey Raiders against Oxford Harlequins kicks off at 2pm tomorrow at Footes Lane as part of a double-header as Vikings face Millbrook at noon. The pitch for that game is yet to be confirmed due to the weather.
Provisional Raiders team
Dromantas, Ceillam, Currie, Webb, Culverhouse, Welch, Rice, Creber, Rutledge, Simmonds, Smith, Dawe, C McGann, A Armstrong, Roberts.
Replacements: Cantle, Steventon, Poullet, Boyland, Teasdale.
