Match Preview

PINKNEY STARTS - SKIPPER RETURNS

AUSSIE Jacob Pinkney comes back into the Raiders front row for tomorrow's vital game at Tring as one of two changes to the pack after the exertions of last week's London and South East Premier game with Sevenoaks.
He starts ahead of Layton Batiste who drops to the bench, while skipper Lewis Hillier returns in the back row for a totally rested Courtney Raymond.
Tring have moved the game to nearby Aylesbury Rugby Club’s 4G and forget the league table they will be dangerous says Raiders head coach Jordan Reynolds who says he is absolutely amazed they are near the bottom of the table.
In fact, they have some of the best players in the division.
‘Their lock is one of the best in the league and their No. 8 too – and their 12 and their winger are very powerful players’ said Reynolds who points out that this weekend’s opponents have may have lost 13 times but five of their defeats have come by just five points or less.
In the match back at Footes Lane Raiders won 33-7 in one of Raiders most physical games this season and it was only in the last 20 minutes that Reynolds’ men stamped their authority.

While the Raiders backline will look forward to a surface bereft of clingy mud it is likely that Tring, too, will be happier with the 4G.
This will be the third time Raiders have played on an artificial surface this season, having previously triumphed at Bedford Athletic and Tunbridge Wells.
‘At Bedford and Tunbridge, when kicking the ball away you find there is not as much bounce on the ball as you might expect. Bedford actually did not kick the ball very much and it took us a while to make the necessary adjustments.
‘When we went to Tunbridge Wells, the biggest advantage we got was through our forwards, especially in the scrums and line-out drives, which might seem surprising [on a 4G] but defensively it is easier for teams to really push off when you have got a good pitch underneath you.
‘We are selecting the same backline which hasn’t happened often this season,’
Incidentally, the game kicks off early at 12.15pm so keep an eye on Twitter a couple of hours earlier than usual.

The full side is: Sam Steventon, Tom Ceillam, Jacob Pinkney, Brad Webb, Nick Merrien, Lewis Hillier (capt.), Dom Rice, Douglas Horrocks; Jake O'Connor, Owen Thomas, Joe Andresen, Tom Teasdale, Matt Armstrong, Anthony Armstrong, Luke Sayer. Replacements: Layton Batiste, Cameron Craine and Lucas Barker.

Meanwhile, the Guernsey Raiders Ladies return to home action on Sunday lunchtime.
It’s three weeks since they played and key flanker Rachel Merrien is back from injury against an Ashford side who are bottom of the table, without a win so far this season.
GRL won by 50 points to 22 at their place bur for the return clash GRL are missing some established faces and have three debutants in the squad all itching to prove themselves.
They are Kirsty Gallienne and Linsey Burnard, both are relative newcomers to the sport and Alice Hunt who has come up through the Guernsey Rugby Academy pathway.
Kick off is at 1pm at the Garenne Stand, Footes Lane.