The 2023 inter insular took place in Jersey on August 26th at the Carrefour club. Following an extremely close result on home soil in 2022, hopes were high as the squad of 15 travelled to Jersey. 14 of the 15 players came from the Guernsey Club de Pétanque with one member from the QEII club making his first competitive appearance against Jersey. The two hour boat trip in choppy conditions coupled with a very early start did not represent the ideal preparation, but the team arrived at the terrains on time and in good spirits.

The first round of singles set the tone for the rest of the day. Many of the team struggled with the unfamiliar pistes, some of which were very damp and all of which had a slight slope and uneven bounces. That said, the pitches were the same for both teams and many of the Jersey team from the Liberation club rarely play on these pitches either. In the singles, Guernsey ended the first round 4-8 down. Vikki, Gi, Shane and Craig all managed to score a point, with only Giles securing a win by a decent margin. Lee and Dave both lost narrowly and so whilst the result was convincing and could have been 1-11, this round could easily have ended all square at 6-6.

Ultimately, the first round was the best round for Guernsey with just one win in each of the subsequent doubles rounds. Lee and Giles won their match in the first round of doubles and could have won their second round match as well, losing 13-12 after being comfortably ahead. Shane and Fred won their doubles match in the next round, beating one of the strongest Jersey teams. Seb and Vikki lost narrowly 13-11 in this round. Seb and Dave Bartram also lost narrowly 13-10 in the first doubles round.

In the Triples round, Jersey won three of the matches convincingly, but Vikki, Iain and Scott fought hard to secure 3 points in the last match of the day.

In the end, Jersey came out 37-11 winners in a well deserved victory. From a Guernsey perspective, Giles, Vikki and Shane each won two matches with all three of them coming close to three victories each. These three were Guernsey’s best performers on a day of few highlights.

For next year on the prospects look better with no boat trip and early start to cope with. On the assumption of a full strength squad, the result should be a lot closer on the home pitches.

Many thanks for Seb for managing the trip and for captaining the team, presenting the winners with their prizes with honour in defeat.