Coyote's Match Report: Raiders vs HK Scottish Bravehearts

Written by Chris Harris with contributions, edits and censorship by JJ and Jez

Scottish despite being winless had managed two draws and a points differential of only -9 indicated that they had been tough to beat in all their matches.

The Raiders sat 3rd on the table going in and were looking to get back to winning ways after a close fought defeat to Valley last time out. The English contingent of the side were also looking for anything morale boosting after the disappointment of the Rugby World Cup Final the previous Saturday.

The Raiders were finally able to field something approaching a full strength side with multiple stalwarts finally returning from long excursions to Japan over the recent weeks and were also able to offer a seniors debut to promising Sandy Bay Juniors product Ted ‘Better than my Dad’ Champion following in his father’s footsteps and playing for the Raiders.

The Raiders started the match very brightly and settled into their structure well with Mark “JJ Who?” Norris taking on the Captains role and Tom “I warm up shirtless” McKenzie controlling the game well from 9 and 10 respectively.

However, some sloppy play and a liberal interpretation of the breakdown laws prevented the Raider’s forwards from developing any sustained pressure and it was left to some quick handling from the backs to draw and pass to the right wing where Ted “Ice Walker” Champion jinked inside once to stand up a defender before burning 2 more for raw pace on the outside to run in from outside the 22 and score on his debut. Tom “stripping off paid off” McKenzie adding the extras with the conversion.

This seemed to settle the Raiders down no end and they were able to develop a bit more sustained possession and territory with the defence also holding firm and making some good hits as well as reacting well to the Scottish imitation of Fiji in attempting to offload everything in the tackle.

An astute tactical decision to bring on fresh legs in the second row early paid dividends with Jasmeet “Baji Rao I” Gujaral Singh carrying so hard he came out of his boot, the ball shifted quickly to Owen “Safe Hands” Pescod to slice through a massive hole and run in straight under the sticks. Tom “this tan doesn't come out of a bottle” McKenzie adding the extras once again.

A quick penalty followed with Tom “Matthew McConaughey” McKenzie slotting over from in front but a fair way back to take the lead out to 17-0.

Unfortunately, some complacency or tiredness started to affect the Raiders game and some strong running and a few missed tackles allowed Scottish to reply in quick order with their winger stepping well and standing up the outside defence to peg the score back to 17-5.

This galvanised the Raiders with good running from the forwards, Will ‘Birthday Boy’ Spence and Ryan “Solid as a Rock” Miller carrying well from the back row and Harrison “Beetroot” Standish contributing well from the second row.

Some swift thinking from 9 and 10 saw the Raiders go down the short side and quick hands from Tom “no shoes, no shirt, I still get service” McKenzie found Ted “Wayne Gretzky” Champion on the left wing with enough pace to beat the last man and finish off the move for another excellent try. After being told to put his shirt back on, Tom McKenzie once again adding the extras.

Despite that tired legs were obviously a factor and Scottish were able to use a scrum platform to setup a simple move and allow their backs to outnumber our defenders on the short side and score right on half-time to make the score 21-10 at the break.

The Raiders began the second half slowly and some lethargic defence allowed Scottish to rumble forward and use their runners to punch multiple holes in the Raiders line and score within 5 minutes of the restart.

That score and some strong words from the Raiders leadership group seemed to finally shake out the half time cobwebs and get the Raiders playing again. The scrum which up until that point had merely been solid became increasingly dominant and the Raider’s front row started to enjoy themselves and generate turnovers and penalties.

The lineout well marshalled by Will “I have an award named after me” Spence was also functioning mostly as it was supposed to with Greg “Brent Gretzky” Scott and Tony “Upstate” Falso throwing accurately.

Dominance at the set piece allowed the backs time and space to do what they do best (and I don’t mean wait hands on hips for the ball and check their hair).

Eventually the pressure told and Owen “Line Destroyer” Pescod was able to take the ball on his usual tight line and step through a couple of defenders to put himself away for a 2nd score of the day.

Pete “Butterfingers” Budd also did some excellent work off his wing to beat players with good footwork and pace and cross the line pretty much untouched… until an attempt to ground the ball casually and one handed resulted in a knock on over the line.

The Raiders were fashioning plenty of opportunities now and Tony “Bruce” Scott felt sure he was about to score in the corner until the ball was sent behind him rather than into his hands as he crossed the line.

Thankfully however the forwards were on hand to rescue the backs from themselves. With scrum pressure forcing a charge down in the dead ball area and a scrum 5 out to the Raiders. Coach Jez “I used to be a 7” Nesbitt sensed an opportunity and rolled fresh forwards into the scrum.

There was some slight confusion when Harrison “my mum’s famous” Standish insisted he needed to have “a break” by packing at Blindside instead of anywhere else (thus being both soft and insinuating blindsides have it easy) and pushing the slowest backrow Chris “6 Million Dollar Man” Harris to openside.

In spite of this behaviour the Raiders scrum piled on the pressure forcing 3 quick penalties in a row leaving the referee no choice but to award a penalty try and an automatic 7 points.

With not long left on the clock the Raiders were able to regather the restart and power up the field once again and force another scrum on the Scottish 5.

This time the ball was marched forward in the scrum but allowed to go out to the backs where they found Ted “Can’t skate in real life” Champion in the centres doing his best impression of an ice hockey player and skating through a tackle and bumping off 2 more to finish well on the stretch for the Raider’s sixth try of the day.

Fittingly Tom “the secret is waxing” McKenzie stepped up and slotted over the conversion with the last kick of the day to finish with a 100% kicking record, six from six at the sticks.

Final score 45-17 to the Raiders.
MoM: Will Spence
DoD: Butterfingers Budd
Match Report Author: Chris Harris