Raiders were on the road for their final game of 2024 against local rivals Havant and hoping for a much-improved performance on the last couple of games. Injuries and availability meant the line-up had to change; however, this did mean a return to the Raiders for Tom Derrick and Sam Cook and debuts for Josh Taylor and George Gatford who came on to the bench.
The predicted strong wind didn’t really materialise, and Raiders played with it in the first half.
The early stages of the game were tight with both sides kicking a fair amount, defending well and forcing turnovers. Both sides were testing each other up front and the Raiders backs looking dangerous when they were given the ball, Jack Forrest and Tom Derrick were starting to work well together. The line out and scrummage were working well with Frank Taggert and Jack Lake working hard. The team were winning their fair share of penalties however little details meant they were also conceding too many penalties as well.
And it was this that allowed Havant to have their first real attack of the game. From a scrum in the Worthing half, Havant were able to put a number of phases together which drew in the Worthing defence and meant an overlap developed and Havant were able to cross for the first try on fifteen minutes.
There then followed a period of Havant pressure with Raiders defending well, Elliott Powell tackling well and the backs on their toes. The pressure mounted though and resulted in a penalty to Havant in front of the sticks and Havant elected to take a kick at goal and extended their lead to 8-0 after 21 minutes.
Straight from the kick off Havant collected the ball and moved it across their twenty-two and their winger made forty metres but was tackled by Jack Forest and they knock on in the tackle. From the scrum Jack Forrest again collected the ball and evaded several tackles before the referee gave a penalty to Worthing, Tom Meyer kicked the team deep in to the Havant half. The first time Worthing put sustained pressure on the Havant defence and have big carries from Fraser Bruce and Elliott Powell. The pressure led to a high tackle from Havant number 12 and the referee awarded him a yellow card. Continued attack from Raiders and more penalties followed. From one of these Sam Myles took a quick tap and was able to force himself over for the first Raiders’ try of the game after thirty minutes, Havant 8 Raiders 5.
Raiders were taking full advantage of the extra man and went straight back on the attack for the rest of the half showing great patience in their forward play. However little mistakes kept allowing Havant to clear their lines. From a lineout Jack Forrest was again able to make a break into the Havant twenty-two but Havant defended stoutly. From a Havant scrum Sam Myles managed to get hold of the ball and again Raiders built an attack with multiple ‘pick and goes’ from Fraser Bruce and Frank Taggart. From a metre out Elliott Powell performed a miraculous pass off the ground to Jack Lake who had to reach behind him to catch it and he then fell over the line and to put the ball down to score. Dillon Worsley kicked the conversion, and the referee blew for half time. Raiders had played well and led 8-12.
Half time score: Havant 8 Worthing Raiders 12
Havant kicked off in the second half and backed by a large and vocal crowd went on the attack. The Raiders’ defence was good but again too many penalties allowed Havant to maintain pressure and inevitably their pack recycled the ball multiple times and with the Raiders’ defence being drawn in allowed the Havant full back to score in the left hand corner which they converted well to retake the lead after four minutes of the half; Havant 15, Worthing 12.
For the next ten minutes both teams played enterprising rugby and tested each other, realising the next score would be crucial. The Raiders’ scrum was working well the team couldn’t convert this into meaningful territory and, with the slightly stronger wind behind them Havant were spending more time in the Worthing half. With fifty-nine minutes gone this pressure led to Havant scoring their third try. From a lineout they moved the ball from right to left and their winger finished well in the corner, and he then converted to make the score 22-12 to Havant.
This galvanised the Raiders and they started to run the ball more and getting rewarded with a series of penalties over the next 10 minutes. Havant defended well and managed to disrupt line outs and mauls in their own twenty-two as Raiders weren’t quite as accurate as it should be. Havant came back into the game and after a series of mauls led to infringements from Worthing and the referee decided that Raiders had conceded too many penalties and yellow carded Elliott Powell. From the resulting line out Havant mauled towards the line however Raiders held them up and managed to clear their lines multiple times and Havant were not able to make their extra man count, Sam Myles making a try saving tackle to keep Raiders in the game.
Raiders then stepped up again and pushed in to the Havant half with a series of punishing carries from Fraser Bruce, Tom Derrick and Frank Taggart. Form a penalty Sam Myles again took a quick tap and after a ten-metre run kicked the ball deep in to the Havant twenty-two and they kicked the ball out to give a lineout to Worthing. Raiders kept moving the ball even though they were a man down. And with five minutes to go Sam Myles scored his second try and Raiders’ third try of the game in the left corner, and Josh Taylor kicked the very difficult conversion to bring the score to 22-19.
The last five minutes were a bit frantic; Havant attacked well and were rewarded with a penalty in from of the Raiders posts however the referee overturned it due to some dissent from Havant. Raiders were able to go back on the attack and managed to get Will Gearing-Grief in to space on the right-hand flank. Havant scramble back well and forced him out. That was the final action of the game and a final score of 22-19 to Havant. Raiders come away with a vital bonus point however it could have been five points with a bit more patience and accuracy in the Havant twenty-two. A very encouraging display that promises much for the second half of the season.
Referee: Jack Sutton
Scorers:
Tries: Sam Myles (2), Jack Lake
Conversions: Dillon Worsley, Josh Taylor
Team: 1. Fraser Bruce 2. Will Gearing-Grief 3. Ben Featherstone 4. Jack Lake 5. Elliott Powell 6. Ollie Crow 7. Ray Jardine 8. Frank Taggart 9. Sam Myles 10. Tom Meyer 11. Jake Rutherford 12. Jack Forrest – Captain 13. Tom Derrick 14. Bruno Perry 15. Dillon Worsley
Replacements: 16. Sam Cook 17. George Gatford 18. Leo Ravaudet 19. Alex Havers 20. Josh Taylor
