RUGBY: Raiders leave it late to beat Henley

In their final home game of the season, Raiders touched down the winning try 10 minutes into injury-time and they can no longer finish any lower than seventh place.

Their target is to stay in the top six now and they hold a seven-point lead over seventh-placed Canterbury, with both teams having three matches to play.

Worthing team manager David Hinchcliffe said: "It wasn't the greatest game of rugby on Saturday but it was a win for our supporters, who have been great this season.

"It was a nice way to wrap things up at home with a late try and we're still in sixth place and our target is to stay there.

"We'd had a couple of chances before the try as we'd worn them down and spent a lot of the second half in their half.

"The game just didn't flow and we didn't play our flowing rugby but we've proved this season that we can dog it out and go to the wire when we need to.

"We've got three away games now and we've got to target doing well in all of them. A win on Saturday at Shelford will push us a long way to getting sixth.

"The team know we didn't play well this week '“ possibly because we got such a good win the previous week at Rosslyn Park '“ but we'll be working in training this week to put on an improved performance at Shelford."

It was the eighth time this season Raiders have scored late on to either win or draw a game, and that has added 23 points to their total.

Worthing finished their home campaign with four successive wins, and eight victories from nine matches, while only Clifton, Ealing and Barking left Roundstone Lane with victories.

In a see-saw first half, the lead changed hands several times.

James Comben's penalty kicked Henley ahead before Worthing's Raynn Bruce touched down for the second successive week on 16 minutes to make it 5-3.

Two more Comben penalties moved Henley back ahead before Matt McLean kicked over a Raiders penalty to cut the deficit to one point, 9-8.

Comben kicked his fourth penalty of the half soon afterwards but Raiders' Charlie McGowan went over to regain Worthing's lead and Matt McLean kicked the conversion to make the half-time score 15-12.

In the second half, Worthing put Henley under continous pressure but Henley earned a penalty, following a line-out, on 54 minutes and Comben struck it over to level the scores.

Worthing soon got back on the offensive but three long-range penalties were pulled wide.

Greg Walker was then held up on the line on 67 minutes before Raiders got the late winning score. A scrum was awarded to Worthing five metres out and the drive took McGowan over between the posts for his sixth try of the season, with McLean kicking the extras.

Raiders have no new injury worries ahead of Saturday's game at Shelford. Worthing then travel to fifth-placed Southend on April 24 and fourth-placed Clifton on May 1.

WORTHING: Mclean, Govett, Dunckley, Meddings, Walker; Dudley, Metters; Emmett, Pointing, Bruce, Launchbury, McGowan, Arthur, Redmayne, Taulava. Subs: Ryle (Meddings 47), Cleveland (Pointing 59).

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