Jarvis looking to expansive Counties
Jun
ENGLAND Counties make eleven changes to the starting line-up in their previous game when they meet Ontario Blues at Oakville Crusaders RFC tomorrow (Tuesday, June 8) in the second game of their three-match tour to Canada.
They also change their captain, with Harrogate centre Kyle Dench taking over from Gloucestershire prop Matt Long, who takes a day off.
One county team-mate of Long, Tom Jarvis, will be hoping that the open game forecast now that the team has moved from Newfoundland into warmer climes will be the order of the day.
Jarvis, who has been playing his rugby in Italy with Firenze in recent months, had an outing at full-back from the replacements bench in the opening 20-6 win over The Newfoundland Rock, but he starts at No 15 tomorrow and is hopeful that a flowing game will allow him to demonstrate his broken play running skills.
"If the weather is as its supposed to be and having played a season in Italy, the game should suit me down to the ground," says Jarvis: "The last time I played for the Counties was two years ago on the America/Canada tour. Prior to that, I played in Russia and then in France in a tournament against France, Spain and Russia.
"Every time I've played for the Counties has been as a winger, but I've been playing at centre all season, so being thrown in at full-back is going to be a bit of a challenge. I haven't played at No 15 for a couple of years, but it's where I played from 16 all the way through and I've played there for Plymouth, so it's still there.
"I'll be looking to hit the line, find the gaps in the defence and play the style of rugby I enjoy, which will contrast with the time I spent on the pitch in our last game. Then I came on in the howling winds and driving rain, which was a big different to what I was used to.
"I'm hoping that on Tuesday we'll have the chance to throw it around."
Key to that strategy will be the captaincy of centre Kyle Dench, who leads the side for the first time.
"This is a massive honour for me, especially when you consider that I only came into the squad at the 11th hour," said the Yorkshireman: "It's a new experience, but it's a challenge and I'm going to look at it that way and try to get the best out of everybody. I've always been in teams where I've had experienced players around me and hopefully I can draw from what I learned from players like Dave Scully.
"I've always believed in trying to play with a smile on tour face. So I'll be doing my best and trying to lead from the front. I wasn't expecting to come on tour and then I wasn't expecting to get a run in the first game, but it worked out that way and it was brilliant to be out there.
"To get on the pitch and wear that white shirt is amazing and to be asked to captain the side is a massive thing."
The tourists opened with a hard-fought 20-6 win over The Rock in Newfoundland and they have now relocated to Toronto, where the temperature has risen by 20 degrees and a less attritional contest is expected.
England Counties XV (v Ontario Blues at Oakville Crusaders RFC, Toronto): Tom Jarvis (unattached & Gloucestershire); James Tincknell (Wharfedale), Kyle Dench (Harrogate & Yorkshire), Henry Staff (Blackheath & Hertfordshire), Charlie Ingall (Tynedale & Northumberland); Paul Humphries (Blackheath & Kent), Will Cliff (Sale Sharks & Cheshire); Gavin Woods (Caldy & Cheshire), Jonny Roddam (Fylde & Lancashire), Nick Flynn (Sedgley Park & Lancashire), Louis McGowan (Coventry & Lancashire), Luke Collins (Redruth & Cornwall), Mark Wilson (Blaydon & Northumberland), Daniel Baines (Macclesfield & Lancashire), Phil Eggleshaw (Nottingham & Durham).
Replacements: Matt Hall (Blaydon & Northumberland), Craig Voisey (Rotherham & North Midlands), Harry Spencer (Saracens/Bedford & Devon), Mark Evans (Moseley & North Midlands), Tom Kessell (Plymouth Albion & Devon), Steve Hamilton (Blackheath & Kent), Fergus Mulchrone (Macclesfield & Cheshire).
