Only recently, head coach Jordan Reynolds spoke of targeting fourth spot and while that seemed a long shot at the time with 10 points separating Hertford and Raiders in fifth, it now no longer looks such a daunting task. The gap has closed to six and behind us the gap has widened to five.

Reynolds said he was not surprised by the Hertford defeat at Chichester, 'I wouldn't say I was surprised because anyone playing Chichester at home is in for a tough time. They are a team that can pull out a result at home.'

But before Raiders fans get too carried away, it is worth bearing in mind that they have a tough away game at Dorking this Saturday, the date of the rearrangement coinciding with many of Guernsey' backline having booked holidays.

The upshot is that young Ben Holland is set for a baptism of fire at scrum half and several Colts are likely to be used in attack. The good news is that our impressive set of forwards are going nowhere other than Dorking this weekend.

But back to Saturday... Sutton and Epsom were blown away by Raiders increasing attacking prowess in the opening quarter. It was a boisterous Garenne Stand lifted by a big contingent of Guernsey Rugby Academy youngsters, who were treated to a flying start by the home side.

Raiders ran in a try in the fourth minute, Sam Steventon forcing his way over from close range after scrum-half Adam Nixon had taken a quick tap penalty 5m out. Owen Thomas added the first of his four successful conversions. Even with Layton Batiste in the sin-bin the Raiders defence stood firm and doubled their lead.

Sam Whitehead’s turnover won possession deep in their own half before Hill’s strong carry got them off to halfway, before Luke Sayer produced a brilliant offload as he was about to hit the deck while being tackled and right-wing Dave Davison was in for the try.
When French flanker Romain Mercadal exploited a big gap on the fringe of a ruck on the Sutton & Epsom 22 to burst clear and score an opportunistic try on 20min., Guernsey were virtually out of sight.

It took a professional foul to prevent a further score in the opening half-hour and the yellow card he received for not releasing Davison in a tackle just short of the line proved worth it for his team.

Shortly afterwards, one sharp move off a line-out from the visitors saw centre Stefan Cooksammy get them on the scoreboard with an unconverted try on the brink of half-time, but it was not until the dying moments when Dan Hill’s telegraphed pass was spotted and the intervention try reduced the deficit.

‘I thought our defence was really good,’ said a satisfied Reynolds. ‘We fell off a couple of tackles, but that’s me looking for perfection,’ he added. 'The thing that shone through for me big time is that now regardless of the conditions we want to pay rugby and we are finding those wider channels,' said a delighted coach.

Team:
Guernsey Raiders: Steventon, Ceillam, L. Batiste, Hillier, Merrien, Hill, Mercadal, M. Thomas, Nixon, O. Thomas, Campbell, Jones, Whitehead, Davison, Sayer
Replacements:
J. Batiste, Martin, Craine

Sutton & Epsom:
Bruce, Gardner, Skoumbourdis, Colclough, Harwood, Caddy, London, Whitaker, Munford, Murray, Faaatuatu, Cooksammy, Matthews, Watts, Knott
Replacements:
Ionica, Ridgley, Madadangoma