Raiders set the right tone with outstanding first half
THE margin of victory tells much of the story – but not quite all of it.
Yes, Westcliff arrived at Footes Lane with five defeats out of five games and rooted to the bottom of National Two East and while Raiders have had their own problems in this still-young season, the hosts were definite favourites.
But that in itself adds a certain amount of pressure to a side who had only won once before this campaign, yet the manner in which Guernsey approached the first half and executed their game-plan practically to the letter for those 40 minutes was both impressive and, importantly, confidence-boosting.
When they trotted down the tunnel at half-time, they were 33 points to the good having scored five tries to secure the bonus point and had prevented Westcliff from producing any attack of note, let alone not allowing them to get on the scoreboard.
Having opted to play into the stiff wind on a greasy surface after the morning rain, Raiders were on the front foot right from the off and it did not take them long to start building a score with prop Sam Steventon getting the ball rolling, twisting and turning from close range to dive over and give his side a fifth-minute lead.
There was a brief scare moments later when Luke Sayer was nearly caught out by Gregory Bannister as the fullback was shepherding a Westcliff punt forward over the dead-ball line, but the referee adjudged the ball had indeed gone dead before the visiting fly-half got his fingertips to it.
After that, though, it was all Guernsey for the rest of the half.
The second try rightfully drew applause from an appreciative crowd as a series of offloads in the backline, each more sumptuous than the last, resulted in Anthony Armstrong having a walk-in while the third was made by the strong work of the forwards before Tom Teasdale forced himself over from close range.
The bonus point was secured just 25min. in when, after a turnover in midfield, terrific acceleration from Ciaran McGann set up Ethan Smith.
McGann himself joined the party on the stroke of half-time, gathering a loose ball when Ross Gladdish tried to trap Charlie Davies’ kick forward with his boot and motoring away to touch down in the corner.
That was the only try of the first half Davies failed to convert.
With the job virtually done, Raiders did not hit the heights of the first half after the break, but they did score more tries.
The visitors got the first of the half, though, with Will Morrant receiving the congratulations when a whole host of bodies managed to ground the ball at the base of the post.
The response was swift with Tom Ceillam popping up out on the wing to score after Charlie Simmonds caught Westcliff off guard with a quick tap penalty and the lead was extended by Teasdale getting his second try after a neat interchange between McGann and Owen Thomas.
Matt Creber showed a good turn of foot to support McGann’s break and get on the scoresheet a couple of minutes later before Sam Boyland’s exquisite kick ahead set up Armstrong for his second and Guernsey’s ninth.
There was still time for Jack Hogarth to get another consolation for Westcliff, but it was Raiders who finished with a flourish as Thomas’s skilful chip-and-chase sparked a move that Simmonds continued before Smith finished it off and the last play of the game saw Simmonds get the try he deserved at the culmination of a set-move off the back of a scrum.
‘I thought our backline were excellent,’ said coach Jordan Reynolds.
‘We have been working really hard and people only see what happens on the day. When things go wrong for us, it takes us seven days to get over it. We’ve been working on a lot over the last three months to get where we are, that’s just a snapshot of what you can see from us.’
