Month: May 2023

Phillipa Hilton recently took part in an 8-strong team to tackle the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge.

We did it! She cried triumphantly. It was a smashing team effort completing the 24.5-mile challenge and 1585m of ascent in just 10hrs 35 mins, beating the 12hr target!

Peak 1 (Pen-y-Ghent) – On a glorious spring day, they began their 694m climb up Pen-y-Ghent, the longest trip of the three peaks. It wasn’t long before it was realised waterproofs wouldn’t be needed, so they were left at the first pit stop to lighten the load.

Peak 2 (Whernside) – Following the first pit stop, next up was 736m up Whernside. This peak proved more of a challenge on the descent than on the climb – it was very steep with lots of loose rocks.

Peak 3 (Ingleborough) – Finally, the last climb was to be 723m up Ingleborough. The first two peaks took a lot out of the team; they were all feeling tired but needed to keep going before seizing up! But, after 24.5 miles of walking, they finally completed the challenge and couldn’t wait to meet up with the support crew to enjoy a well-deserved drink!

The walking team wanted to thank their support crew for keeping them fed and watered throughout – they could not have done it without them!

A huge thank you to also those who very kindly donated, it is very much appreciated.

Congratulations to Albert on ticking off yet another challenge from his list in aid of the charity Mesothelioma UK.

To donate, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/page/albert-walton-1673094432701

Kent became the English County Champions for the first time since 1927 after a superb 39-37 win over Lancashire at Twickenham on the final day of the 2022-23 season. Led by Canterbury captain Jamie Stephens the county side staged a tremendous second half rally after slipping more than 20 points behind at one stage. With six Canterbury players in the Kent squad the club’s influence on the historic victory was immense. Joining Jamie in the starting line-up were Tom Williams, Harvey Furneaux and Dave Irvine while Danny Herriott made an early entrance from the replacements bench and Lewis Hollidge was introduced in the second half. Our new Director of Rugby, Taff Gwilliam, headed up Kent’s off-field team with former Canterbury players Dave Marshall and Mike Melford part of the coaching panel and Charlie Bannigan providing physio services. Kent reached the final with an unbeaten run of three Division One victories over Hampshire, Somerset and Cornwall. Billy Young, Frank Reynolds and Aiden Moss also made important contributions to those wins. The number of Canterbury players selected by Kent in their successful campaign was the highest of any club in the county. The scorer of the county’s first try against Lancashire was Alfie Orris who is joining us from the Medway club for the 2023-24 season.

Kent go into Sunday’s Senior Men’s County Championship final at Twickenham with six current Canterbury players in the squad. Club captain Jamie Stephens will lead the county side against Lancashire from the Number Eight position and he is joined in the starting line-up by scrum half Tom Williams and forwards Dave Irvine and Harvey Furneaux. Named as replacements in the 22-man squad are prop Danny Herriott and centre Lewis Hollidge while full back Aiden Moss is a travelling reserve. Prop Billy Young is another who would have been in the frame but is ruled out through injury. Alfie Orris, who is joining Canterbury this summer, is selected on the left wing. The Canterbury connection does not end there as Kent’s Director of Rugby is Taff Gwilliam, who is our new DOR, and club physio Charlie Bannigan will be on duty at Twickenham. Sunday’s kick-off is at 4pm.

Kent squad
15 B.Hotston (Tonbridge Juddians), 14 T.Wallace (Westcombe Park), 13 J.Hennessy (Blackheath), 12 M.Harrison (Westcombe Park), 11 A.Orris (Medway), 10 S.Evans (Tonbridge Juddians), 9 T.Williams (Canterbury), 1 L.Boon (Tonbridge Juddians), 2 R.Jackson (Bishop’s Stortford), 3 R.Conlon (Tonbridge Juddians), 4 T.Stradwick (Blackheath), 5 D.Irvine (Canterbury), 6 R.Dutta (Westcombe Park), 7 H.Furneaux (Canterbury), 8 J.Stephens (Canterbury) Captain.
Replacements: 16 A.Mitchell (Blackheath), 17 D.Herriott (Canterbury), 18 A.Pangarker (Medway) 19 J.Liston (Eton Manor), 20 N.Cook (Westcombe Park), 21 J.Buckley (Westcombe Park), 22 L.Hollidge (Canterbury).

Travelling Reserves:
A Denham (Blackheath), A Moss (Canterbury), H Chapman (Tunbridge Wells), KK Orelaji (Westcombe Park), Z Jones (Sidcup)

After Kent’s exhilarating win against Cornwall in the Bill Beaumont Division 1 County Championship last weekend, our county lads travel to Twickenham to take on Lancashire in the final. Canterbury Rugby Club is well represented in the playing side. We have a coach leaving the Marine Travel Ground at 12 noon Sunday 28th May directly to Twickenham to take 30 people to cheer on Kent at the Bill Beaumont Division 1 County Championship final v Lancashire. £20 a head (drinks and snacks provided). Please note that entrance to the game needs to be purchased separately.

Contact either kirsty@cantrugby.co.uk or chair@cantrugby.co.uk to book places. Coach places are secured on a first come first served basis.

Come and bring the noise.

The RFU are offering all Counties a Special Category 1 Ticket Offer – over 50% off Adult tickets, down from £65 to *£25 & Kids (U16’s) *£15, which will entitle you to an action packed day of rugby and watch all three matches:

– Gill Burns County Championship Division 1 Final

– The Killik Cup Barbarians v World XV

– Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1 Final

Hurry these tickets won’t last – Book now via the link below:

https://www.eticketing.co.uk/rfu/Authentication/Login?returnUrl=%2Frfu%2FEDP%2FEvent%2FIndex%2F3005%3Fgroupref%3D3%26digest%3D6768f46031ec9570cfb708e7e406d88c097a132fa23544d2f206b0abcad0e51e

(*Booking fees apply and subject to availability).

Canterbury’s Jamie Stephens will captain the Kent side which is playing for a place in the Bill Beaumont County Championship final when they travel to meet Cornwall at Camborne on Saturday, May 20th. Kent lead Division One South after victories over Hampshire and Somerset and need a win or a draw against the current county champions to guarantee an appearance at Twickenham on May 28th. Six Canterbury players are included in the Kent squad. Forwards Dave Irvine and Harvey Furneaux join Jamie in the starting line-up and Billy Young, Tom Williams, and Lewis Hollidge are named as replacements.

Now that the playing season is over, clubs and teams are reflecting on the highs, lows and what could have beens on the pitch. The fumbled pass, the missed conversion, that moment the team hooked up all the phases and scored the magnificent try that will be the talk of the clubhouse for years to come.

Let us for a moment look at what happens off the field and the amazing work being undertaken within the rugby community to support and raise funds for good causes within the community. Two in particular, worthy of mention at this point are Wooden Spoon Kent, and The Rugby Project.

On April 24^th, The Rugby Project held their awards evening at Medway RFC. The Rugby Project was set up last year by Chris Smith and Grant Scandling, and was built on the same foundations as the Young Leaders in Cricket (YLIC) which Grant was involved in. YLIC is similar to the Duke of Edinburgh Award where youngsters complete coaching, umpiring, scoring, and groundsman courses as well as fundraising and volunteering in their communities/cricket clubs and raise money for charity. ECB was so impressed with the scheme that they adopted it throughout cricket. It is now a National Programme.

Chris and Grant have adopted and adapted this for rugby with the intention to get and keep youngsters involved in rugby. They are both huge rugby fans and are involved in various activities across the County. They are part of the Kent Society of Rugby Football Union Referees (KSRFUR). The Society is a Partner Club of Wooden Spoon Kent and the only society of referees to be a partner club in the UK & Ireland.

Last year at KSRFUR’s AGM Chris and Grant presented Kent Spoon a cheque for £657.83 which was raised by 22 young people. Like KSRFUR they were both impressed that all money raised for Kent Wooden Spoon is spent on our projects for disadvantaged children in Kent. Not a penny going towards HQ administrative or running costs.

For the 2022/23 session, they had 50 youngsters sign up from various rugby clubs and schools. 33 completed the course and received certificates.

There were special mentions for the 3 top fundraisers.  3rd place went to Jake Sales £264.00. Number of Keepie Uppies with a rugby ball in an hour, any less than three in a row not counted, managed 3,161.  2nd place Medway RFC girls, Honor Marwood, Rose Stoke & Titiyanh Samuels. £310.00 each, a total of £930.00. Sponsored walk. Believe it was a half marathon.  1st place Charlie Mumford of Simon Langton School & Canterbury RFC £1,315.00. Running 126 miles in six weeks (the duration of the Six Nations). The equivalent of running from Canterbury RFC to Twickenham national stadium and back.

At the awards evening, Wooden Spoon Kent representative Peter Johnston was invited to say a few words about the organisation and present a certificate to Charlie plus a Wooden Spoon rugby jersey and rugby socks. Together Wooden Spoon was presented with a cheque for the amazing amount of £4,000. The final amount received was £4,200.

Credit to Chris and Grant’s drive, they have already signed up 60 youngsters for 2023/2024 session and confirmed they will be supporting Kent Spoon again.

It is not just on the field of play that heroes and legends are made. The Rugby Project and Wooden Spoon not only deserve our applause, but they also need our support. To find out more about these initiatives, visit their websites at:

Wooden Spoon – https://woodenspoon.org.uk/region/kent/

The Rugby Project – https://therugbyproject.org/

On Saturday, May 20th, Phillipa Hilton will be part of an 8-strong team to complete the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge in aid of Mesothelioma UK.

Exposure to asbestos is thought to be responsible for up to nine out of 10 cases of mesothelioma. There may be other causes of the disease such as exposure to certain types of radiation and other chemicals, however the evidence linking these to mesothelioma is limited and asbestos remains the main cause for the majority of cases.

Asbestosis kills over 5000 people each year and that number is still rising and will not reach its peak until 2030. Most of these people at some time in their lives worked in the construction industry.

The 3 Peaks Challenge is one of the essential fundraising activites to maintain this vital organisation supports, researches, and educates within the mesothelioma field. This Challenge is a 24-miles (38.6km) round trip route, and includes 1585m (5200ft) of ascent. The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge takes on the peaks of Pen-y-Ghent (694 metres), Whernside (736 metres) and Ingleborough (723 metres), usually in this order, and in under 12 hours. These hills form part of the Pennine range, and encircle the head of the valley of the River Ribble, in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Please give generously if you can to this fantastic organisation. The Just Giving page can be found at – https://www.justgiving.com/page/albert-walton-1673094432701

We wish the team well in their endeavour.

Canterbury forwards Jamie Stephens and Dave Irvine have been called up by Kent for their second County Championship game against Somerset. They join the club’s Billy Young, Harvey Furneaux and Lewis Hollidge in the starting line-up at Medway RFC. Kick-off is 2pm. Kent’s final Division One game is away to the current county champions Cornwall on May 20th.

We are pleased to announce an exclusive tickets offer to club members for the T20 Vitality Blast.

Win a pair of Vitality Blast tickets for Kent’s match on Wednesday 24 May, against Gloucestershire

T20 cricket is coming back to Canterbury with Kent Spitfires kicking off their 2023 campaign this May.

With seven home matches, including three Friday nights ‘under the lights’, a fun-filled Sunday with activities for the family and a double header with the Southeast Stars, you have the opportunity to win one of 50 pairs to Kent’s opening T20 match against Gloucestershire on Wednesday 24th May, 18:30 at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence in Canterbury.

Kent Spitfires, led by Captain Sam Billings, will be looking to replicate their 2021 success on the field, a season that saw the Spitfires lift the trophy after beating Somerset in a thrilling final.

This season, the Spitfires will welcome Australia International bowler Kane Richardson for the entirety of the 2023 Vitality Blast T20 competition. The right-arm medium-fast bowler is regarded as a white-ball specialist bowler. A winner of Australia’s domestic T20 competition, the KFC Big Bash League (BBL), 31-year-old Richardson is an established international bowler who will bring a vast amount of experience to the Club.

Canterbury Rugby Club Members will be able to enter the draw to win a pair of tickets, by completing the form below by the 17^th May.

All applicants will be sent a code to access an exclusive discount to all of Kent’s scheduled home T20 matches at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence.

To apply for a free pair of tickets to Kent vs Gloucestershire and exclusive discount code – please visit https://forms.gle/SLoCRpUUgmKcfFocA

Tickets are on sale now for all seven of Kent Cricket’s home matches via tickets.kentcricket.co.uk

2023 Fixtures

Wed 24 May – Gloucestershire
Tue 30 May – Somerset
Sun 4 June – Surrey
Wed 7 June – Essex
Fri 9 June – Hampshire Hawks
Fri 23 June Middlesex
Fri 30 June – Sussex Sharks

For all those wishing to say goodbye to Stuart Vines, his funeral will be held at 10 am at St. Leonards Church in Heath and Reach. LU7 0AA, Thursday 11th May.