Raiders pull off comeback win after Ladies beat league leaders

The Ladies served up a lunchtime treat as an outstanding team performance saw them run out 29-12 winners over league leaders Seaford Scarlets with two tries for Aideen Le Prevost and one each for Daisy Travers and Ella Gidney in addition to nine points from the boot of Liv Kenneally.

That gave the men a hard act to follow and Guernsey looked as if they would struggle to do so as they trailed a very good Henley Hawks side by 14 points at half-time.

However, Raiders produced arguably their best second half of the season to turn things around and emerged 45-38 victors.

‘I’ve just said to them, “if you did that for the whole game, there wouldn’t be a team in this league that would touch you”,’ said Jordan Reynolds of his Guernsey side’s impressive second half.

‘Henley are a good side and that first half, you probably thought this was going to be 50 points their way – and it absolutely could have been.

‘But we stuck at task and I’m really proud of that second half performance.’

While pleased with the turnaround, Guernsey’s director of rugby emphasised it would be important for Raiders to back up this first victory in seven games with another on the road against Oxford Harlequins this week.

‘If we can go away to Quins and, I don’t care if it’s 3-0, we get a win, that will be the turning point. I don’t think this is. I think next week will be the turning point for us,’ Reynolds said.

‘We’ve got to get back-to-back wins because then we’re at home to Dorking, we’re at home to TJs after that, and that’s where it’s going to get considerably tougher. So we’ve got to get these two wins to build that momentum.’

St Jacques Vikings nearly made it the perfect day in Saturday’s triple-header, but a late flourish from unbeaten Counties One Hampshire champions Havant Dolphins saw them win a thriller 45-34 on the Club Pitch.

• Read the full Raiders v Henley match report in Monday’s Press.