Jersey Reds recall home hooker for Pirates trip

Jersey Reds travel to the Mennaye Field in Penzance this weekend to face Cornish Pirates Picture: Mitch Holmes/EyeOnHigh

HOMEGROWN hooker Harry Doolan has been recalled for the first time in eight months as Jersey Reds make the arduous journey to Cornish Pirates.

Director of rugby Harvey Biljon has watched his injury list grow further this week, with Eoghan Clarke joining fellow front-rower Antonio Harris on the treatment table, so Doolan’s return from a spate of ‘niggles’ has proved timely.

An increase in squad depth this season, thanks to deeper investment following the club’s split from Jersey RFC, has already paid dividends but the value of ‘strength in numbers’ has perhaps not been realised fully until now. Biljon has over a quarter of his squad ruled out for their latest league test, with no fewer than ten players penned on the short- and long-term injury whiteboards in Reds HQ.

However, the matchday 23, as a unit, is far from undercooked.

Doolan may be on his way to Penzance without a single minute of rugby to his name since May, but the rest have all played considerable roles in paving a sturdy path since the opening game at Ampthill in September.

Victory tomorrow would take the Reds to within one game of their club record number of league wins in a Championship season – with eight games still to play.

‘It’s the nature of the beast in sport,’ said Biljon, discussing the latest injury plight.

‘It will be a big moment for Harry if he gets an opportunity to come off the bench and play, and in the coming weeks he could get a run of games to prove his worth. He has had a difficult season with niggles and bumps but when an opportunity presents itself players have got to be ready to take it.’

After losing three on the bounce in December Pirates had started 2023 well. Victories over Doncaster Knights and Nottingham helped drag them into mid-table earlier this month but their form hit a Bedford-sized roadblock last week as Michael Le Bourgeois and Co plundered points for a 55-13 success.

‘I’m expecting a reaction from them,’ Biljon added. ‘They have got an opportunity to get themselves back on track at home and for us it’s tough in every aspect. The travel, the pitch, the support … we have to be ready to embrace it.’

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