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Sport<br />
‘But it’s a really talented team, one of the strongest<br />
we’ve had. A lot of boys have been playing for a while<br />
now and we have a lot of colts coming through<br />
the academy - three of them played in the Siam<br />
and they really stepped up. All of the boys did.’<br />
Despite coming hot off the heels of their historic 38-<br />
23 win over Bournemouth in their promotion play-off,<br />
the team didn’t enjoy a great training session prior to<br />
the Siam Cup. In fact, passes were going on the floor<br />
and the team looked sloppy, but Vice Captain Tom<br />
Ceillam knew the boys would deliver on the day.<br />
‘THIS YEAR, WE<br />
WERE COMING OFF<br />
THE BACK OF A<br />
SUCCESSFUL SEASON<br />
AND PLAYING AT<br />
HOME IN FRONT OF<br />
A PACKED CROWD,<br />
AND THEIR BELIEF IN<br />
THE TEAM REALLY<br />
INSPIRED US’<br />
‘It wasn’t our<br />
standard Siam<br />
training. The intensity<br />
wasn’t there but I<br />
knew come Saturday<br />
we’d be raring to<br />
go, and we were.<br />
The Siam is a special<br />
match for us. For the<br />
guys who come in<br />
and play for a season,<br />
it doesn’t seem like<br />
a big deal, it’s not a<br />
league game. But<br />
they play and then say, “I want to play that again next<br />
year.” It has a special atmosphere and there’s a hunger<br />
for it, you can see it in the boys’ eyes,’ said Tom, 27.<br />
‘Knowing that was my tenth Siam Cup match, I felt<br />
we were due a win. It seemed like everything was<br />
falling into place. Everyone knew their role and did<br />
their jobs well. We were a tight-knit team and after<br />
Bournemouth, the pressure was on. We knew that this<br />
had to be the year, or it was never going to happen.’<br />
TOP: ACTION FROM THE SIAM CUP<br />
ABOVE: GUERNSEY RAIDERS CELEBRATING PROMOTION<br />
TO THE NATIONAL TWO SOUTH<br />
ALL PHOTOS © MARTIN GRAY<br />
– GUERNSEY SPORT PHOTOGRAPHY.COM<br />
And the pressure doesn’t end there. Newly<br />
promoted, the Raiders face 15 clubs next season,<br />
ranging from Redruth in the far west of Cornwall<br />
up to Birmingham and Solihull in the Midlands, and<br />
across to Canterbury in the east. It’ll be a tough<br />
challenge as the team tries to stay up in the league.<br />
‘We have some targets, like improving our physical<br />
approach to the game, our strength, and tweaking<br />
our mindset to help us develop,’ said Jordan.<br />
‘But this is one of the best squads I’ve been able to<br />
assemble. They’ve got a lot more to show and this will<br />
be the opportunity to prove what they can really do<br />
122 <strong>En</strong> <strong>Voyage</strong> | Aurigny’s Magazine