Guernsey are making the familiar journey to Sevenoaks – a ground they have yet to win at in the fourth tier of English rugby – and although they have build good momentum in recent weeks, including their first ever win over Esher last weekend, Jordan Reynolds has warned his side that another bruising encounter awaits.
‘It is always a tough game over at their place and they are always tough to beat,’ he said.
‘We have got excitement in the group at the moment, which is great, but we know whenever we face Sevenoaks it is going to be really competitive and a challenge for us.’
Sevenoaks have won two of their six fixtures so far, with the victories coming against sides higher than them in the table, and currently ninth-placed Raiders are two places above tomorrow’s hosts.
‘It is really hard to label Sevenoaks and what they are good at because they just seem to be consistent right across the park.
‘What the boys who have played against them before tend to say is that they just stay in the fight. It is always a battle when Sevenoaks are playing, no matter who they are up against.
‘We have had games against them before when we have been three tries up and it has still been a close encounter going down to the wire by the end of the game – that is typical of the resilience Sevenoaks have.’
Raiders came through their impressive 45-19 win over Esher last weekend relatively unscathed, although Tom Ceillam will be given a rest this week, meaning Michael Cantle is promoted from the bench to start at hooker alongside returning prop Joe Wrafter.
James Burger will be the replacement hooker.
‘Rae [Ceillam] was never going to be playing every week – we are happy he has got through three in a row and now he can have a break,’ Reynolds said.
‘James Burger got a full 80 minutes with the Vikings last week and having him back in the squad gives us good physicality, especially coming off the bench.’
Provisional Raiders team
Wrafter, Cantle, Currie, Wilkinson, Webb, Creber, Rice, Poullet, Rutledge, Simmonds, Smith, C McGann, M Armstrong, A Armstrong, Roberts.
Replacements: Burger, Steventon, Dromantas, Welch, Boyland.
You need to be logged in to comment. If you had an account on our previous site, you can migrate your old account and comment profile to this site by visiting this page and entering the email address for your old account. We'll then send you an email with a link to follow to complete the process.