Month: January 2025

DEAL & BETTESHANGER 15 PILGRIMS 54

by Dan Gill

The Pilgrims made the short journey to local rivals Deal & Betteshanger in what the players were dubbing ‘Battle of the Bests’ with former Canterbury man Ollie lining up for Deal against brother Tom. The elder Best ended up with most of the bragging rights in this Counties Kent One victory.
Pilgrims have been slow starters at times but since the turn of the year they have raced out of the blocks and Saturday was no different. The forwards soon made inroads with their strong running and the backs looked slick with ball in hand. Only good Deal tackling prevented a couple of early attacks leading to scores.
The travelling supporters didn’t have to wait long however, as the forwards looked to rumble over from a maul which was stopped illegally. From the penalty Al Evans scored out wide which was well converted by Owain Collins. A second quickly followed when wing Max Campbell intercepted a pass and outpaced the defence to score and give the city side a 14-0 lead. Deal came back with an Ollie Best penalty goal.
At the 20 minute mark the Pilgrims used two interchanges with Dan Gill and Harry Sloan- making his Canterbury debut- entering the fray. The next score came via the scrum and it was Evans’ well timed pass, after picking up from the base, that put wing Gus Lister through a gap to dot down and Collins converted. A further three scores followed before half time as Pilgrims went up a gear. Fly half Collins was causing Deal all sorts of problems, taking the ball to the line well before putting his team mates into space. The next score came after his delayed pass sent Evans bursting through a gap then feeding Cam MacMillan who drove deep into the Deal 22. He offloaded to Man of the Match Yannick de Moubray who unselfishly put Lister over for his second try with Collins missing his only conversion of the day.
Collins then exploited a gap himself before scrum half Hector Valladares cantered under the posts and there was a sixth try shortly before the break. Flanker Jesse de Vries, making a welcome return from long term injury, stole possession at a lineout and strong running centres Best and Sonny Trew-Neville made inroads before sending flanker Tom McKenzie through a gap to give the Pilgrims a commanding 40-3 lead.
The second half was a much more even affair as Deal responded with direct running and committed tackling. They capitalised on a five metre scrum for a converted score before Pilgrims backs set up Campbell for his second touchdown. Silly penalties gave the hosts an attacking lineout and they did well to drive over for their second try. Lock Henry Kenny added the final score of the day, showing the defence a clean pair of heels to take the score past the fifty mark.
The Pilgrims have a week off before they return to action on Saturday, February 1st when they host Bromley at the MTG in what could be a season defining game.

Pilgrims: MacMillan, Rothery, Frostick, Kenny, De Moubray, De Vries, Mackenzie, Evans, Valladares, Collins, Campbell, Best, Trew-Neville, Lister, G Hilton, Gill, Hunt, Sloan.

SATURDAY PREVIEW

However hard you try you can’t beat the weather. Saturday turned out to be a disappointing false start to the year as we travelled to Worthing expecting to play. On arrival, it became very clear that the ground was frozen in large areas. After the obligatory shuffle around the pitch trying to get a fork into the solid turf, and a short discussion with the referee and Worthing’s captain, we packed up and headed home. Not a great use of a Saturday from our perspective.
This weekend we welcome Guernsey to the Marine Travel Ground. Our visitors are one place behind us in the table with a game in hand. Our previous meeting was at the end of September in Guernsey where we were outscored by six tries to three. We came off second best in the physicality stakes and this was reflected in the scoreline. We feel that we have made some good steps forward since the beginning of the season and tomorrow offers us the opportunity to measure our progress.
The Pilgrims made the most of their fixture being playable by scoring 67 points against Park House on the Langton 3G. The fast track allowed them to show the speed within the squad with eight different players scoring tries, including a brace for Tom Mackenzie and a hat trick for Harry Chubb. This Saturday away to Deal and Betteshanger will offer a different challenge and the Pilgrims will have to be at their physical best to come away with a result.

Matt Corker, Head Coach

CANTERBURY PILGRIMS 67 PARK HOUSE 12

by Dan Gill

With frost impacting fixtures across the county, this game was moved to the 4g pitch at the Langton to ensure it went ahead. The city side signalled their intent from the first whistle with some typically aggressive defence. This led to the first score of the afternoon when Pilgrims defence pressed hard and centre Harry Chubb intercepted a Park House pass to race through and score the first of his hat trick of tries and give Owain Collins a simple conversion. This was quickly followed by a second unconverted score from Guy Hilton before Park House responded with a close range try of their own out wide to bring the score to 12-5. 
The Pilgrims responded well and had the bonus point secured before half time with tries from Cam MacMillan and Chubbs taking the Half time score to 24-5.
The second half saw the Pilgrims up their accuracy and speed of play to a tempo that Park House found difficult to live with. Backs and forwards combined well to add a further seven tries. Henry Kenny continuing his fine scoring form to burst through and race away to touch down before wingers Lister and True-Neville added tries of their own. Veteran centre Tom Best got in on the act with a typically direct run to power over before open side flanker Tom Mackenzie added a brace with his quick feet and turn of pace. Chubb’s hat trick score completed the rout. To their credit the visitors were always a threat and scored arguably the try of the day with the final whistle looming. A loose pass was expertly flicked up by the Park House centre who re-gathered his deft touch before racing through for a converted try.
Next Saturday the team travel to local rivals Deal & Bettseshanger for what is always a competitive fixture. 
Pilgrims: MacMillan, Rothery, Frostick, Kenny, De Moubray, Geddes, Mackenzie, Evans, Valladares, Collins, Lister, Best, Chubb, Trew-Neville, G Hilton, Gill, Divine, Sloan. 

SATURDAY PREVIEW

We ended the year exactly how we wanted to, backing up our big win against Dorking, finishing the block three wins from three and going into the Christmas rest on a high. We are proud of our performances in 2024, but as I said to the players at training the break is a reset and this week we have one chance to start 2025 on the right foot. After our win at Dorking we know what it takes to get good results on the road and we will be using that performance as our blueprint tomorrow. We will not be taking Worthing lightly, regardless of their league position they scored an average of 20 points per game in November and December and have been in the league a long time.
The Pilgrims also went into the festive period with a strong win against Ashford, racking up 76 points. Last week’s fixture versus Charlton Park went ahead as a 10 v 10 friendly and, although not ideal, getting a game for both teams is always the priority. The Pilgrims host Park House tomorrow and every week they are playing to stay at the top of the pile.

Matt Corker, Head Coach