Thanks to beating three sides below them in the table, Guernsey have edged away from the relegation zone and are up to ninth with the potential to climb a couple more places this weekend when they come up against seventh-placed Westcombe Park.
While their hosts are just five points above them in the standings, Raiders are up against a side who have a habit of rising to the big occasion, as Westcombe Park have beaten league leaders Old Albanians this season and recently completed the double over third-placed Bury St Edmunds.
‘They compete really well, especially at home. If you look at wins and losses, we are not too far apart, but they have had the ability to score more bonus points, which has been an Achilles’ heel of ours,’ said Guernsey director of rugby Jordan Reynolds.
‘They are always tough contests against Westcombe Park. They have probably one of the bigger packs in the division, but most other teams would define us as having a big pack too, so it is likely going to be a big arm-wrestle on Saturday.
‘Westcombe Park like to kick a lot of possession attack-wise, looking to turn defences, but if you can deal with that and their physicality, you can find opportunities around that. We did that successfully at home, but this weekend will be a big challenge.
‘We have got a few guys out this week, but we have got guys coming back like Joe Wrafter, who got 40 minutes last week, and we will have Nick Selway available to us, so we have got a little bit of size ourselves.’
Among those unavailable are Lewis Hillier and Germany international John Dawe, who will be playing against Belgium in the Rugby Europe Championship.
Ciaran McGann will sit out this game due to a niggle in his knee while a couple of players will undergo fitness tests before the team is finalised.
On a positive note, Tom Teasdale returns to the midfield while on-loan Nick Selway is set to start in the front row, allowing Michael Cantle to shift to flanker.
‘Ciaran is not too bad and should be back next week, but we can afford to make that switch because we have got quality players who can come in,’ Reynolds said.
‘We have a hooker moving to the back row, but Michael Cantle is a pretty dynamic player and with Nick Selway and Tom Ceillam also available, it is about keeping everyone active and playing until the end of the season and managing them.’
Reynolds also revealed that the current winning streak which has seen victories over Oxford Harlequins, Esher and Sevenoaks has come amid changes being implemented by the coaching team.
‘If you take Esher, which was a tough game against an energised side, out of the equation and look at the Quins and Sevenoaks matches, there were opportunities to kick on in those games and not managed to do it,’ he said.
‘There are certain elements as to why we are not putting on bigger scores, but one of the major factors is that we decided to completely change our attack system around January and our players are getting used to that. It will probably not be bedded in properly until April.
‘While the players are getting to grips with that, we are not really playing free-flowing rugby at the moment, but we are finding ways to win.
‘We had two tries from launches last week, which we have not done for a while and it was previously our biggest asset. Against Esher we had to find a lot more phases to get through, so it is pleasing to see we have got tries across the board.’
Raiders provisional team
Wrafter, Selway, Currie, Welch, Webb, Cantle, Rice, Creber, Rutledge, Simmonds, Smith, Teasdale, M Armstrong, A Armstrong, Roberts.
Replacements: Ceillam, Dromanatas, Boyland, N McGann plus AN Other.
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