LISTEN: First five games ‘crucial’ for Raiders says Rice
RAIDERS want to raise the bar once more as they prepare to kick off their new National Two East campaign on Saturday.
The competition may have a subtle new name following the restructuring of the RFU which has seen another division introduced at step four, but the first opposition will be familiar to Guernsey as Old Albanian visit Footes Lane on Saturday – and the home side want to carry forward the momentum of the double Siam success of May as they embark on their next challenge.
‘Last season in general was a pretty big year for the club,’ said flanker Dom Rice.
‘We had our highest ever finish in the National Leagues as well, which is always a massive positive, but we spoke a few weeks ago and I think it’s about how we kick on from there and use last year’s success as a real launchpad to move forward and take this club on to bigger and better things.’
Rice reported that pre-season training has been ‘really intense’ at times, but it has the squad well prepared to come out of the blocks quickly on the opening weekend.
The 25-year-old added that having two homes games to start the new season, with Barnes coming to the island on 10 September, should prove beneficial.
‘Last year we started with four games on the road because of Covid, so I think the boys are really looking forward to it,’ he said.
‘It’s a nice start to the season, but two really tough teams to play at home as well who have been around the league for a few years.
‘Obviously, the second one being Barnes, our old rivals, as well, it’s definitely a good way to start the season and hopefully the supporters will enjoy it as well.’
The restructuring of the leagues has brought with it a reduction of games from 30 to 26 for Raiders with guaranteed weekend breaks during the season, something which Rice called ‘a big positive’.
‘We are using it in our planning as well, so we are tackling five-game blocks and then we’ll reassess where we are.
‘It’s gives us time to rest and recover from fixtures, but also be looking forward and keep reassessing where we are because it still is a long season as well.’
So what would make it a successful season?
‘As a collective the most important thing at this stage is to be better than where we were last year,’ Rice said.
‘Then, like I said, with those five-week blocks we can constantly be reassessing, we can push the boundaries out a little if we want to, but for me the first five games are really crucial and it gives us a chance to see where we’re at and where other teams are in the league, then we could maybe reassess the longer-term future for us.’
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