Hawks opt for a settled squad against Guernsey

HENLEY Hawks the long trip to the Channel Islands tomorrow (Saturday) to take on Guernsey Raiders in their latest National 2 East clash, kick-off 3pm.

Following last Saturday’s bonus point victory over bottom-placed Worthing Raiders, Henley face a Guernsey side who currently sit in ninth place in the league table having had a season of fluctuating form.

The Channel Islanders started the season in impressive style, sitting within the top four for pretty much the entire first half of the season, which included notable triumphs over Canterbury and Barnes.

However, their form since the start of the year has struggled to hit the same heights, and they have now gone winless in six games.

The two sides met at Dry Leas back in November when Henley came out on top, 26-15 in a bruising encounter which featured four
yellow cards.

But it was Henley’s physicality that gave them the edge on that particular day. In terms of team selection, Luke Allen and Rob Cain have named a settled squad from the one that beat Worthing with the only change being Dan Wallis-Downham starting in place of Liam Goodison in the second row.

Morgan Poiner comes back into the squad and takes his place amongst the replacements.

Elsewhere tomorrow, with both the 2nds and 3rds having had their promotions confirmed, the 2nds are at home to Marlow while the 3rds make the short trip to Reading Abbey, both games kick-off at 2pm.

On Sunday, Henley Hawks Women face off against London Irish, kick-off is also 2pm.

The provisional Hawks side to face Guernsey Raiders is as follows: Kadeem Collins, 2. Spencer Hayhow, 3. Rory Mason (captain), 4. Dan Wallis-Downham, 5. Sam Lunnon, 6. Marcus Lowe, 7. Scott White, 8. Will Benning, 9. Aidan Pugh, 10. Toby Howe, 11. Lailand Gordon, 12. Leo Webb, 13. Callum Jones, 14. Jamar Richardson, 15. Max Titchener. Replacements: 16. Louis Bailey, 17. Ivor Langley, 18. Roan Noone, 19. Morgan Poiner, 20. George Wood.