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Sat 30 Sep 2017 · London & SE Premier
Dorking
Guernsey Raiders 1st XV
24
20
Tries: D Horrocks, K Brown, O ThomasConversions: O ThomasPenalties: O Thomas
LOOKING BACK AND AHEAD
Katie Daunt3 Oct 2017 - 19:51
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WE only have ourselves to blame was the head coach’s view after the narrow defeat at Dorking where we also lost last season.
But, as he explained, had the side not had four tries ruled out the Raiders could have potentially still be holding a 100% winning record. But we all know we can't live with 'what if's?'
And while it’s never nice to lose, with Sidcup and Tring also losing for the first time and Westcliff also going down, it was not a disastrous day for the day-trippers. Far from it.
'To have four disallowed tries was a little bit extreme – you can have one or maybe two in a game but I cannot remember four before – but if you have that many, you are obviously leaving room for doubt in the referee's mind and that's responsibility we have to take, not just the players but all of us as a collective,' he said.
Three of those ‘tries’ came before half-time and Raiders led just 7-3 at the break as a result.
Even if one had counted it may have made all the difference.
Raiders' tries came from Doug Horrocks, Kyle Brown and Owen Thomas, who added a conversion and a penalty to the points tally.
Sadly, in the end the squad were guilty of its downfall, with the late home scores emanating from defensive lapses,'
'We had possession and lost it twice in the last couple of minutes.’
It simply wasn’t good enough, was his summing up.
Meanwhile, Chris Griffiths has announced his side for the Ladies’ third Championship 2SW game of the season, away at Reading Abbey.
The good news is that the side welcomes back regular skipper Jemma Crouse who missed the home defeat recently.
With Crouse back Guernsey will have its regular first-choice 9, 10, 12 combination for the first time this season, which should make a difference, particularly in attack.
‘Up until now we have really had to play with a highly adapted back line, meaning a lot of players playing out of position, so this weekend we would hope for more fluidity going forward and a better understanding between players defensively,‘said Griffiths.
Other changes see Ellie Whittles at No.8 and Fiona Power back into her usual role at 7.
Chloe Williams will make her first league game in the starting XV, playing on the wing and Andrea Harris comes back in to the starting front row with Justeen Baker fitting in at 13 outside Hannah Guilbert who finally gets to play at her more familiar inside centre role having done a great job filling in at both fly half and scrum half in our opening two games.
And while it’s never nice to lose, with Sidcup and Tring also losing for the first time and Westcliff also going down, it was not a disastrous day for the day-trippers. Far from it.
'To have four disallowed tries was a little bit extreme – you can have one or maybe two in a game but I cannot remember four before – but if you have that many, you are obviously leaving room for doubt in the referee's mind and that's responsibility we have to take, not just the players but all of us as a collective,' he said.
Three of those ‘tries’ came before half-time and Raiders led just 7-3 at the break as a result.
Even if one had counted it may have made all the difference.
Raiders' tries came from Doug Horrocks, Kyle Brown and Owen Thomas, who added a conversion and a penalty to the points tally.
Sadly, in the end the squad were guilty of its downfall, with the late home scores emanating from defensive lapses,'
'We had possession and lost it twice in the last couple of minutes.’
It simply wasn’t good enough, was his summing up.
Meanwhile, Chris Griffiths has announced his side for the Ladies’ third Championship 2SW game of the season, away at Reading Abbey.
The good news is that the side welcomes back regular skipper Jemma Crouse who missed the home defeat recently.
With Crouse back Guernsey will have its regular first-choice 9, 10, 12 combination for the first time this season, which should make a difference, particularly in attack.
‘Up until now we have really had to play with a highly adapted back line, meaning a lot of players playing out of position, so this weekend we would hope for more fluidity going forward and a better understanding between players defensively,‘said Griffiths.
Other changes see Ellie Whittles at No.8 and Fiona Power back into her usual role at 7.
Chloe Williams will make her first league game in the starting XV, playing on the wing and Andrea Harris comes back in to the starting front row with Justeen Baker fitting in at 13 outside Hannah Guilbert who finally gets to play at her more familiar inside centre role having done a great job filling in at both fly half and scrum half in our opening two games.
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