AWAY to Portsmouth tomorrow in London I, third-placed Jersey begin the second half of the season aiming for a victory good enough to put a smile back on the face of their captain Talite Vaioleti.

For ‘V’, as he is affectionately known at the club, would be playing if he hadn’t been taken so low by pneumonia last weekend that he was taken immediately to hospital and has only recently been allowed home.

‘A decent captain leads by example,’ said coach Ben Harvey on the eve of his side’s flight to the UK.
‘I’ve spoken to V since he’s got out of hospital and he’s devastated that he can’t play. A good captain doesn’t have to say much in the changing room but he brings out the best by leading by example. Graham Bell will captain the side and he’s similar to V in playing first, talking afterwards.

‘And Portsmouth won’t be an easy game for us. We beat them comfortably in the first 40 minutes when we played them at St Peter but we put on a poor show in the second half and although they’re beneath us in the league, they’ve recruited new players and every side in this division is capable of causing an upset, if given half a chance.’

Pictured: Flanker Graham Bell, who will captain Jersey tomorrow