Catch us if you can
BARRING one injury concern, Raiders could hardly have had a better day.
While the ‘Beast from the East’ kept mainland Britain in its clutches to such an extent that no other London & South-East Premier game could go ahead on Saturday, Guernsey beat Guildford 38-7 at Footes Lane with a bonus point to open up an 11-point gap at the top of the table.
Surveying the scene afterwards with the sun shining brightly on a pitch that looked remarkably healthy considering all it had had to cope with both during the week and the 80 minutes that had just been played, it was no wonder that Raiders coach Jordan Reynolds had a twinkle in his eye and, probably, a huge smirk lurking beneath that trademark bushy beard.
‘Five points – happy,’ he said.
‘That’s put us 11 points ahead of everyone and we know they have got a game in hand, but it puts pressure on everyone now doesn’t it? We’ve now got the bonus point, you’ve got to go and get one yourselves.
‘And look at that [gesturing towards the sky] – it ended up being the best rugby weather ever.’
First-half tries from Doug Horrocks and Owen Thomas, who showed no signs of discomfort despite wearing a heavy strapping on his right knee after his injury against Westcliff, put Guernsey 10-0 up at half-time.
Their dominance told in the second half with further tries from Dan Hill, Sam Whitehead, Luke Jones and a second for Horrocks ensuring a comfortable victory well before Guildford grabbed a late consolation.
The one downside of the game for Raiders, though, was the loss of hooker Tom Ceillam to a knee injury after 25 minutes.
Initial signs according to the coach are that Ceillam could miss the upcoming trip to Shelford, but will hopefully be fit to face Barnes on Saturday 24 March.
Full match report in Monday's Guernsey Press.
