Horrific injury inspires Raiders to historic win

Guernsey coach Jordan Reynolds revealed that the horrific ankle injury suffered by tight-head prop Charlie Currie during the first half of the game at Barnes, which caused the match to be moved onto a different pitch for the rest of the half, was used to galvanise the team and inspired them to a come-from-behind 26-21 victory.

‘There was not a person at that game who was not in shock – it was horrendous,’ said Reynolds of the injury.

‘We were not really even in the game at that point – we had shown little glimpses, but we had been scored on twice in the opening 10 minutes.

‘After the injury, when we moved pitches, we said we had to put it out of our minds and make sure Charlie’s efforts had not been in vain because he was playing really well. We said we had to gear up and get some reward out of this game for him.

‘After the restart, we got a penalty, scored a try from that and after that, whatever pitch we were on, we were absolutely dominant.

‘The boys really pushed on to a different level – it was outstanding.’

Reynolds reported that as well as dislocating his ankle, Currie has a break in his fibula and requires surgery, meaning that he is set to be sidelined for several months.

‘It’s a real shame because he was in really good form and had worked so hard in pre-season to get himself into shape,’ he said.

‘It was one of those things – he made a break on the blindside, broke a tackle, then someone latched onto him and his ankle just got caught underneath him.’

• More in Tuesday's Guernsey Press.