Match Preview

LATE FITNESS TEST FOR CAPTAIN LEWIS

SKIPPER Lewis Hillier will undergo a late fitness test today for Saturday’s all-important trip to Westcliff, another must-win game on this exciting road to - hopefully - the London and South East Premier title.
Hillier pulled up in training on Tuesday and a final decision on his availability won’t be made until after Thursday’s follow up session and his leg’s reaction to that later today.
If the skip misses out there will be a back row recall for Luke Skovronek who has been ticking over in the Vikings side in recent weeks.
Head coach Jordan Reynolds has no doubt Luke will slot in well if needed and has no doubt Nick Merrien will be an able replacement leader in the line outs.

Other than the doubt surrounding Hillier and the unavailability of Cameron Craine and Ned Brown, everyone else is available.
Charlie Currie is set to step in for Craine and the backs will be unchanged from the slaughtering of Sidcup last time out.
While Raiders were resting up last weekend Westcliff were hosting Hertford in a rearranged fixture.
The result was a tight 19-12 win for Hertford who just could not afford to lose if they wished to remain in the promotion chase.
By all accounts Westcliff were a tad unlucky to lose and Reynolds knows this will be a massive test for his men who, historically, have not done well at their place, losing two of their previous three meetings away.
‘Playing Westcliff at Westcliff is just as hard as Barnes at Barnes,’ said our coach who sees this and the reverse game with Hertford as the last really big away tests.
‘The fact that we’ve had a rest could work for us, but on the flip side it might work against us,’ he added.
As for Raiders iffy record at Westcliff, Reynolds says there are mitigating circumstances.
‘Every single time we have been there our squad has been completely obliterated the week before.
‘This will be the first time we take a strong squad there.
‘But at the same time they are a better side than before.
‘Hopefully, having the rest will have helped us, although Lewis probably wouldn’t agree.’

On his free weekend the head coach popped along to see the Colts scrape hard-earned win over Heathfield and Waldron at KGV.
he left impressed by the performance of several and revealed that fly half Tom Teasdale is the latest to step up into first XV training.
‘I think there are some really good players down there in the Colts and there are two or three that could be playing with us next year.’

SQUAD
Currie, Steventon, Ceillam, Merrien, Hillier or Skovronek, Martin, Hill, Horrocks; Barnes, Thomas, Armstrong, Jones, Campbell, Sayer, Whitehead.
Replacements: K. Brown, L. Batiste, J. Batiste.