Pivotal weekend in race to be champs

While second-placed Raiders have a simple objective – try to pick up a bonus-point win at CS Stags 1863 tomorrow – they will also have more than merely a passing interest in the huge clash between the two other title contenders as leaders Rochford Hundred host third-placed Wimbledon.

As things stand, Rochford are two points ahead of Guernsey with Wimbledon a further three points back but with a game in hand on both sides above them.

All three sides have lost just twice this season.

‘I have often thought this week, who do I want to win that one,’ said Raiders coach Jordan Reynolds yesterday.

‘I suppose the safer option for us is if Rochford win because that would give us more breathing space to Wimbledon, but if Wimbledon win it could work to our advantage because we still have to play them at home ... a draw would be perfect.

‘But whatever the result of that match, it means nothing if we do not pick up five points at CS. Even a four-point win would be detrimental to us at this stage.

‘Basically, if we can pick up five points I will be smiling, no matter the result of Rochford v. Wimbledon.’

Reynolds has made a couple of changes to the side who laboured to beat London Irish Wild Geese last week, with Lucas Barker starting at scrum-half while Courtney Raymond returns from injury to take a place on the bench.

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‘Jake O’Connor has played every single game so far and he is feeling a bit under the weather, so he will be rested for this game and with the bye week next week, he will get 14 days much-needed rest.

‘It gives an opportunity to Lucas who has been developing well in his time with us so far, taking everything on board and learning a lot. We have been wanting to give him more game time, but recent games have not panned out that way and we will have to manage his match-fitness, hence why we are taking another nine in Nico Alexandre on the bench.

‘Cameron Craine took a knock to his shoulder last week and the medical team advised giving him 10 days rest. He is one of the most important players who have at the moment, but we want him back for Sevenoaks and we have Courtney Raymond coming back in so he will add freshness.

‘We have got to be careful with all these guys. Our games are very physical and it is week in, week out so we have to make sure we look after our players as much as possible and give them a rest sometimes.’

Reynolds reported that his squad had a constructive team meeting on Tuesday night as they look to improve on recent performances, which have not hit the heights they reached before Christmas.

‘It was just about getting a bit of clarity and the general feeling was we are not far off,’ he said.

‘Attack-wise, some of the stuff we have done in the last four games is some of the best we have ever produced, but it has been inconsistent – real Jekyll and Hyde stuff at times.

‘There’s areas around defence and tackle completion that have crept in over the last couple of weeks that need to be addressed, but that is largely a mental thing.

‘A lot of it is just down to the standards we set ourselves. Most other teams would be delighted at having three wins out of four after Christmas, but we are always looking at where can we go now and how can we improve because that’s the mindset of our club.

‘The big thing I took from that meeting was that everybody is still very hungry to be pushing for that promotion spot.’

When Raiders last met the Stags they inflicted a 71-22 defeat on them at a sunny Footes Lane in October.

This time around, Reynolds is expecting a much tighter game against a side who have beaten Rochford this season.

‘When the ball was loose in that first game, we managed to shift it into space quickly and get tries from their mistakes. When we were trying to build tries, it was a lot more difficult.

‘This Saturday we are going to have to be a lot more patient in what we are doing. It’s going to be a lot tighter game, that’s for sure.’

Guernsey Raiders team

Steventon, Ceillam, Batiste, Webb, Merrien, Hillier, Rice, Horrocks, Barker, Thomas, Andresen, Teasdale, M. Armstrong, A. Armstrong, Sayer. Replacements: Pinkney, Raymond, Alexandre.