Raiders concede ‘we were beaten by the better side’
RAIDERS were unable to climb the mountain they had left themselves facing on Saturday afternoon, despite finishing their year in spirited fashion.
Having arrived to -6C temperatures at Gatwick before driving to a Rosslyn Park 3G pitch that had been cleared of snow for games to go ahead, Guernsey paid the price for a slow start against a quality Barnes side, who came flying out of the blocks and scored a converted try within 5min. of the kick off.
It quickly became a double blow for the visitors as Doug Horrocks had to leave the field with a head injury, making their task all the more difficult.
Barnes were not about to let up and soon doubled their lead.
The home side continued to look stronger in both attack and defence for the remainder of the half and eventually they got their just rewards with a third converted try making it 21-0 at the interval.
Up to that point, Raiders had been unable to apply any pressure with little flow in their game and things were about to get worse as, from the second half kick off, Guernsey stumbled into giving away a penalty and their hosts took advantage with their bonus-point try, although the conversion attempt hit the post on this occasion.
With a potential drubbing on the cards, Raiders woke up and with a few substitutions – in particular the introduction of the evergreen Malcolm Barnes – their attack sparked into life as they tried to battle their way back into the game.
As always, the home side proved a tough nut to crack and Barnes put in a great defensive shift, but eventually a drive from the Guernsey pack resulted in Hugo Culverhouse lunging over the line and Charlie Davies added the conversion.
The Raiders forwards were now in the ascendancy and another drive down the pitch laid the platform for the backs to attack, but it was Dom Rice who popped up to dive in at the corner for their second try.
Davies slotted over an impressive conversion and the silence from the home crowd suggested that mission impossible just might be possible.
However, the gap proved too big to overcome as the Barnes defence held tight under plenty of pressure for the rest of another exciting game between the sides.
‘We were beaten by a better side,’ said Guernsey director of rugby Jordan Reynolds, who picked out Matt Creber and Sam Boyland as standout performers for his side.
‘Barnes dominated the first 50 minutes in all parts of the game, which made it a difficult task to come back from 26 points down. But the boys didn’t give up and fought hard to claw it back to 26-14.
‘Barnes put us under loads of pressure through their kicking game and this is something we will need to develop.
‘For now, we will enjoy the break and come back next year to start again fresh and ready.’
Raiders return to action on Saturday 7 January at home to Henley Hawks.
