As pre-season tests go it promises to be a hard one for the home side, with the visitors in the Nationale league which is the third tier in France, but that is exactly what director of rugby Jordan Reynolds is after.
‘We’re probably looking for a much tougher opposition this year, and I guess when we’re looking at England, you’ve probably got to start stepping up to the National One clubs and we just thought for something a little bit new, with the links with Brittany Ferries now in France, it can make a pre-season game a lot cheaper.
‘So obviously Rennes are a quality opposition, they’re full-time, so it’ll be Guernsey against the French on Saturday but we just thought it was just another great way to prepare for a season, something a little bit more exciting than just playing the same old sides that we probably see fairly regularly throughout the year.
‘We know it’s going to be super tough. This is their last pre-season, their season starts next week, and we’re starting ours later so we’re probably on different ends of the spectrum. But in terms of preparation, I just think it’s going to be a great way for us to start the season.
‘A couple of years ago, we brought Bracknell over here and I think we ended up putting like 50 or 60 points on them. People come down, they engage, but I think people want to see a contest, they want to see some French flair, so if this one runs successfully, I think our aim will be to probably bring a few more French teams in and we would travelling to them.’
While Raiders have yet to name their squad to take on Rennes, Reynolds revealed that new signings Iwan Shenton and Gwyn Parks are set to make their first appearances for Guernsey and they arrive with impressive credentials.
‘Iwan Shenton’s come in as our new development officer. We’ve taken a change where it’s a lot more focused on our junior section and running a more of a high-performance zone around our 14, 15, 16 and Colts, which will be fantastic. He’ll be doing some stuff in schools as well, but he’s obviously got a good pedigree,’ said Reynolds.
‘He’s played for Scarlets in the URC, he’s been with Ampthill in the Championship and he’s still young as well, I think he’s 26 at the moment. He was playing for Swansea down in Wales, so to have him on board will bolster our squad, which will be great.
‘Gwyn Parks has great pedigree playing in the Championship [with Ampthill and Nottingham]. He’s a fly half and it’ll be great to see him pulling the strings in National Two for us.
‘Both of them have locked in over the last probably three or four weeks in training and really made a difference.
'We’re fortunate that we’ve got these guys in the island.’
Raiders against Rennes kicks off at 2pm tomorrow at Footes Lane.
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