Worthing Raiders beat Storm Eunice - and get better of Barnstaple

With ten games to go Raiders are clearly in the mix at the top of the table. With games against the top three sides to come they have everything to play for in the final third of the season.

Although the home side are near the bottom of the league, they are always a difficult side to beat in front of the large, loyal crowd that supports them at their Pottington Road ground.

The main talking point in the week leading up to the match had been ‘Storm Eunice’ and if it would cause the postponement of the fixture. Fortunately, the storm abated and the game was played in strong winds and on a very, heavy pitch.

Raiders selection was restricted by the unavailability of several players but the selected squad still had fifteen who had played against Dings Crusaders the previous week. Rhys Litterick and Will Beer returned to the starting line-up and Rob Cuffe, Josh Tusler and Tom Gwyther were selected on the bench. In the absence of Kemp Price, Frank Taggart took on the captain’s role.

In memory of Jack Jeffrey, who sadly passed away after playing for Evesham RFC the previous Saturday, the number 11 shirt was removed from all league games for this weekend.

Raiders kicked off playing into the wind and settled quickly into their attacking game. It was obvious how difficult the players were finding the conditions as passes went astray and knock-ons occurred frequently. However, in the first fifteen minutes the visitors were able to play some exceptional rugby before the pitch made open, fast rugby impossible.

With less than ten minutes on the clock Raiders opened the scoring after an impressive multi-phase play that eventually gave Jack Forrest the chance to break free near the right touchline, his pass to Cassius Cleaves left only one defender to beat and Cassius timed the inside pass back to Jack perfectly for him to run in unopposed. Matt McLean converted confidently into the wind. 0-7 to the visitors.

Raiders scored their second try only a few minutes later. This one was built patiently from a lineout on their own twenty-two metre line. After many phases the ball was moved to Liam Perkins on the left wing, his typically rampaging burst left defenders desperately attempting to bring him down. With one defender to beat Liam released the ball to Cassius Cleaves who ran in to score under the posts. With McLean adding the extras the visitors stretched their lead to 0-14.

At this point it looked as if Raiders would score many more tries, but the pitch was turning into a ploughed field and causing players to look like cartoon characters as they attempted to get any traction or change direction. The pace of the game got slower and slower and the ball even more difficult to control. The home side found this to their advantage as Raiders couldn’t impose their fast, open style of game on them. Conditions were a great leveller.

Barnstaple were able to defend successfully and more knock-ons were evident from both sides. Barnstaple strangely didn’t use the wind to gain ground as might have been expected, however twice when they worked their way into Raiders’ territory, they were awarded penalties which they kicked to make the score 6-14 after twenty minutes. The visitors were the dominant side but although they created chances mishaps occurred and the points tally didn’t grow.

The quality of rugby was no longer as good as at the start of the game before the pitch cut up. Frustratingly the pace and guile of the Raiders’ players was negated by the mud and the spirited defence put up by the home team. There was no further score prior to the half time break. Half time score: Barnstaple 6 Worthing Raiders 14

Within a minute of Barnstaple restarting the game Frank Taggart made a break up the blind side from the base of the scrum. Cassius Cleaves was in support and carried the move on down the touchline, the pass inside was perfect and the try was scored only to see the Assistant Referee raise his flag to indicate Cassius Cleaves had made contact with the touchline.

During the next thirty minutes of the game Raiders tried to play with tempo but invariably after a few phases mistakes happened as the ball became more and more difficult to hold onto in the tackle. The visitors were finding it difficult to break the defence even though they spent plenty of time with possession deep in the home side’s territory. On the other hand, the Raiders’ defence was very strong right across the field and Barnstaple made very little progress against it.

Raiders used their bench during the half to bring fresh legs on to replace tired ones. Players coming off reported to the coaches just how energy sapping the pitch was. Tom Gwyther, Fraser Bruce, Josh Tusler, Rob Cuffe and Tom Young replaced Matt McLean, Ken Dowding, Kieran Leeming, Will Scholes and Elliott Luke respectively during this period.

The flow of the game was further interrupted by the many, often quite inexplicable penalties the referee kept awarding. As in the first half Raiders were still creating good chances but it was easier than usual for defences to smother them out as the chances created were not at the usual pace. With Raiders desperate for a bonus point win they pushed harder as the game drew near to its close. At last, the home defence was tiring and not making the first up tackles they had earlier.

With thirty-seven minutes played the pressure eventually told and Jack Forrest rounded off a move to score in the corner. Josh Tusler slotted the conversion to extend the lead to 6-21. With only three minutes left Raiders had enough time to seek the bonus point try. They attacked from all angles and distances and in effect were playing the best rugby of the game since the opening ten minutes. Full time eventually came after fifty minutes had been played in the half but the visitors had been unable to prise open the defence one last time.

Referee: Ricardo Sant’ Anna

Scorers: Tries: Forrest x 2, Cleaves; Cons: McLean x 2, Tusler

Team: Ken Dowding 2. Elliott Luke 3. Rhys Litterick 4. Will Scholes 5. Jack Lake 6. Liam Perkins 7. Elliott Quinton 8. Frank Taggart – Captain 9. Cam Dobinson 10. Kieran Leeming 21. Will Beer 12. Harrison Sims 13. Jack Forrest 14. Cassius Cleaves 15. Matt McLean. Bench: 16. Tom Young 17. Fraser Bruce 18. Rob Cuffe 19. Josh Tusler 20. Tom Gwyther