Layton marks 300th with two ‘meat pies’
RAIDERS returned to the summit on a day to remember for their fans’ favourite on Saturday.
Layton Batiste marked his 300th appearance for Guernsey with two tries as they battled through the wind and rain Storm Dennis threw at them to register a 31-3 bonus-point win over Sevenoaks at Footes Lane.
With Rochford Hundred unable to pick up a bonus point in their 21-12 victory at London Irish Wild Geese earlier in the day, Raiders leapfrogged the only side to have beaten them this season on points difference to take over top spot in London & South-East Premier.
‘Rochford thought they would get away with playing early and ended up not picking up a bonus point,’ said the man-of-the-hour Batiste after being presented with a memento to mark his remarkable milestone.
‘We set the target for the last 10 games of keep picking up bonus points, but with the conditions we thought it was going to be tough today.
‘Jordan [Reynolds, the Raiders coach] said it was going to be a forwards game, which is how it turned out and we had to work hard for it, but our fitness and perseverance paid off.’
The 32-year-old tight-head prop added on a personal note that it was a ‘massive’ achievement for him to get to the 300 landmark.
‘I’m so happy it landed on a home game,’ he said.
‘It is a big thing and it’s nice to get the recognition.
‘I have played with a lot of good players, I have learnt a lot from them and I really appreciate the support from the crowd, too. I know from the cheer when I get the ball that I’m well-liked and I always try to do my best out there.
‘Lewis [Hillier] messaged me in the week to say he was not playing [due to illness] and told me to “just grab a meat pie” [rhyming slang for a try].
‘It would’ve be nice to get a hat-trick, but I was happy to get two. One was a “Crainey” special from a metre out and the other was the boys working hard together.’
Match report in Monday's Guernsey Press.
