THE Sugden Cup finalists will be decided tomorrow when Beeches play Jersey 2nds and Jersey United Banks play Guernsey 2nds.
Both semi-finals will be played at St Peter and both are hard to predict, although on the back of their 12-0 defeat to Jersey Wanderers last Sunday, Guernsey are determined to come onto the pitch with all guns firing.
Meanwhile Jersey 2nds have brought in some old-campaigners, including Richie Griffiths at stand-off and Steve Byrne on the wing as their younger players are with the U18s in Wales.’Jersey 2nds will be a good side, a mixture of youth and experience,’ said JRFC head coach Dai Burton.
‘We’ve brought one or two of the Wanderers into the side, with the Youth players away on tour, although they might be back in time to sit on the bench for the second half.’With the likes of Scott Spencer and Paul Maltby in the back row, and John Larose, Ken Moore and Wayne Andrieux in the front row we expect it to be a game in which the pack will have the final say.’The players will have to graft.
But I’m hoping to be there to watch the game, even though Wales will kick off around the same time, because some of the 2nds’ players could be in line for the 1sts’ game against league leaders, Guildford, next Saturday.’Meanwhile, for the Beeches, team captain Peter Stockley is still living off memories of finishing top of the league last Sunday.’Apart from our regular scrum-half, Mick Pankhurst, we’ve a full team,’ he said.
‘Against Jersey in the past our strength has been in the pack.
In our last game we drove them back, and I reckon this will be more of a forwards’ game.
Even so, our threes have improved with every game they’ve played this season.
Our defence has been outstanding.’In the other game Jersey United Banks meet Guernsey 2nds, out for revenge after losing to Wanderers - a defeat that cost them the league.’We’re going to take this game very seriously,’ said Guernsey captain Jason Brouard: ‘Our 1sts took 21 players with them for the Hampshire Cup last weekend, which meant we had to bring in some of our veterans.
We lost because we dropped too much ball and missed tackles.
The side we’ll bring over against the Banks will be very different .
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.’So, too, will the Banks’ team, for their regular 2nd row players are missing.Into the equation comes James (’Brummie’) Moore (who has played every position in the side apart from tighthead prop) plus Peter Howarth, normally a flanker.This could be a where the game is won or lost in a Banks’ side which has, on its day, the best set of backs in junior rugby, with winger Richard Finch averaging, since the New Year, three tries a game.As Banks’ captain Julian Gruchy, himself an integral part to the Banks’ three-quarters’ line-up, said: ‘Richard is a try-scoring machine.’First, though, Finch has to be given the ball.
And in this game, as in the other semi-final, a great deal will depend on whichever pack dominates.All four teams have swapped wins over the last two years, a prime example being when Banks lost to Guernsey 30-0 earlier this season but beat them 51-0 the season before.So in both semi-finals it could be the team that wants the win most thatwill make the final which, in turn, should prove a cracker, for this year’s JRA Emeraude Lines’ games have been some of the most fiercely contested for years.Guernsey v Banks, 1 pm; Beeches v Jersey 2nds, 3 pm.
Article posted on 6th March, 2004 - 12.00am
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