Raiders run riot to beat Weybridge Vandals 68-7

The As were back on the road for the third consecutive week, but this fixture presented a very different challenge to the previous weekend. Instead of a top-of-the-table clash, the Raiders faced the side at the bottom of the league. However, the visitors were forced to make late changes on Friday night, with Dave Winsor and Eli Akehurst called up to the First XV.

Fortunately, the early-morning cancellation of the third XV’s fixture, due to the extreme weather forecast, allowed Adam Clarke, Dom Phillips, Nick Choate and Max Tullett to bolster the travelling squad. The changes meant a reshuffle in the backline, with Jake Knowlton moving to fly-half, Ethan Coombe to inside centre, Tullett slotting in at outside centre and Emerging Raider Ed Middleton promoted from the bench to make his first senior men’s appearance at full-back.

With a strong wind at their backs and rain falling throughout, the Raiders A kicked off determined to make the conditions count.

The visitors immediately pinned Weybridge back in their own half, applying relentless pressure through a series of powerful carries from the forward pack. Their efforts were rewarded when Sam Crockford crashed over to the right of the posts. Tom Sanderson added the conversion to give the Raiders A an early 0-7 lead.

Just three minutes later, the As struck again. A turnover from Dom Phillips near halfway forced Weybridge into conceding a penalty for a high tackle. Coombe found the corner, but an overthrown lineout appeared to have wasted the opportunity. Sanderson, however, had other ideas, stripping the ball from a Weybridge attacker before releasing Matt Palmer. Showing tremendous strength, Palmer powered through three attempted tackles to score beside the posts. Sanderson converted for 0-14.

The pressure continued to mount, and the Raiders A soon extended their advantage. With Weybridge struggling to escape their own half, Max Ravaudet spotted an opportunity to take a quick penalty tap and caught the defence napping, powering his way over the line to make it 0-19.

At the 20-minute mark, the Raiders A were firmly in control, with all three members of the front row having crossed the whitewash.

From the restart, the forwards worked the ball towards their own 10-metre line, where Sanderson used the wind to good effect with a well-judged box-kick. Coombe and Tullett chased hard, putting the Weybridge full-back under immediate pressure and preventing him from clearing his lines. Another penalty followed for not releasing, and the Raiders A opted for a scrum rather than risk a lineout in the treacherous conditions.

From eight metres out on the right, Sanderson picked up from the base and darted down the blindside before feeding Matt Bell, who finished in the corner. Sanderson produced an excellent conversion from the touchline to stretch the lead to 0-28.

The relentless pressure showed no signs of easing. Whenever Weybridge managed to make ground, the As either forced a turnover or capitalised on handling errors. Another breakthrough in midfield resulted in a penalty, and Coombe found touch just 10 metres from the Vandals’ line.

This time, the forwards executed their driving maul to perfection, marching the opposition pack backwards before Ravaudet grounded the ball at the base. Sanderson added the extras, taking the score to 0-35.

Despite the appalling conditions making clean handling difficult, the Raiders A continued to search for opportunities out wide. The backs worked the ball deep into the Weybridge 22 before the forwards took over, linking a series of powerful carries and mauls that eventually created the space for Ethan Stone to crash over.

The final score of a remarkable first half belonged to debutant Middleton. Having already impressed with his willingness to run the ball back whenever Weybridge attempted to clear their lines, he finished off an excellent attacking move.

From a scrum 15 metres inside the Vandals’ half, Coombe fed Tullett, who burst through the defensive line. With the full-back to beat, Tullett attempted to step his opponent but was held up. Rather than surrender possession, he produced an audacious offload out of the back of his hand. Middleton collected the pass and raced clear to score. Sanderson converted to complete a devastating first-half performance.

Weybridge began the second half with just 13 players available, and in the spirit of sportsmanship, the Raiders A also reduced their numbers to keep the contest even. With seven first-half tries already on the board, the second period proved a much tighter affair.

The slippery ball, stop-start play and increasingly cold conditions made it difficult for either side to establish any rhythm. Nevertheless, the As continued to find ways through the home defence.

Their first try of the half came courtesy of Coombe, following an excellent break from Pat Apantaku. From a lineout on halfway, the Raiders A moved the ball infield before sending it back down the blindside. Apantaku burst down the wing and was stopped just short of the line, but Coombe was on hand to gather the recycled ball and power over. Sanderson converted to make it 0-54.

Within 10 minutes, the As struck again. Weybridge attempted to use the wind to clear their lines, but the kick was charged down, sparking a frantic scramble for possession. Once the Raiders secured a ruck near halfway, Knowlton, now operating at scrumhalf, spotted a gap and darted through.

Although Knowlton was brought down, the supporting Raiders kept the attack alive and moved the ball wide to Apantaku, who was again stopped just short of the line. Two powerful driving mauls later, Alex Perry finished the move by diving over near the posts.

Weybridge refused to surrender and eventually earned a deserved score of their own after sustained pressure on the Raiders’ line.

The As were struggling to clear their lines when Perry was shown a yellow card for sealing off, leaving the visitors down to 13 players. With the numbers even, Weybridge began to gain momentum and looked increasingly dangerous.

The home side moved the ball across their backline and appeared to have an overlap when their full-back dropped possession. However, with an advantage already being played, the referee brought play back to the original infringement.

Sensing an opportunity, Weybridge opted for a scrum, where their pack was beginning to gain the upper hand. They moved the ball from side to side before attacking down the right, creating an overlap against Apantaku. The Raiders winger stepped in and made a high tackle on Weybridge’s number 13. The referee deemed the tackle dangerous and ruled that it had prevented a certain try, awarding a penalty try and showing Apantaku a yellow card.

With two players in the sin bin, the Raiders were temporarily down to 12 against 13. The situation became a little more complicated when the referee initially refused to allow the player withdrawn at the start of the half to return. After a further five minutes, discussions between both captains and the referee resulted in the Raiders being permitted to restore their numbers.

With 13 players on each side once again, the game became a more even contest, with possession and territory changing hands but neither team able to create a clear scoring opportunity.

With around 10 minutes remaining and the Raiders back up to 14 players, the visitors found themselves with a scrum on the right-hand side, inside the Weybridge 22.

The scrum provided a solid platform, and the ball was moved into the backs. Coombe punched forward before Choate delivered a well-timed pass to Crockford. The forward shrugged off the attempted tackle and powered over beneath the posts to complete his second try of the afternoon.

Sanderson calmly added the conversion, rounding off an outstanding kicking display of nine successful conversions from 10 attempts.

Shortly afterwards, Choate brought proceedings to a close by kicking the ball out from a scrum.

Full-time: Weybridge Vandals 2nds 7 Worthing Raiders A 68