Month: September 2026

Match Report: Pilgrims v Tonbridge Juddians II’s

Posted on | by Becca Williams

By Dan Gill

PILGRIMS 21

Tonbridge Judds 21

The pilgrims first league outing of the season saw them travel to The Slade for what looked on paper to be one of their toughest fixtures of the season.
This year’s squad is a promising mix of youth and experience with some promising young players looking to showcase their talent alongside some established stalwarts.
After an even opening few minutes it was 2 of the more experienced heads who combined well- centre Jordan Contant spotted a mis-match in midfield which he exploited well to make space for fullback Kurt Heatherley who powered through a gap before deftly offloading to promising young hooker Lucas Eule who had too much pace for the covering defence and dotted down beside the posts for the first Pilgrims try of the season. With Slingsby converting, 0-7.
TJ’s were able to level the score soon after as pilgrims ill discipline cost them with 3 penalties conceded in quick succession allowing them to move down the slope and exploit space out wide to break through and score, 7-7.
Pilgrims’ response was positive and a series of strong drives by the forwards saw TJ’s infringe at the breakdown in an attempt to slow their momentum. The penalty was kicked deep into the TJs 22 and after Charlie Mumford and Olly Docherty secured the lineout, skipper Al Evans powered over from close range, skittling home defenders en-route to pilgrims 2nd try. 7-14.
Pilgrims thought they had a 3rd try after a great break by scrum half Barnaby Smith, but he was judged to have infringed in trying to recycle the ball for what looked a certain try which allowed TJ’s to clear their lines.
They soon made the Pilgrims pay when another flurry of quick penalties against them saw TJs power over from close range themselves to tie the score at 14-14.
After regrouping under the posts the pilgrims came out firing and put TJs under pressure for the remainder of the half. Strong tackles by flankers Stevie Hodgekinson and Matt Oliff were complimented by strong carries by props Everatt and Oladeji. The live-wire half back pairing of Smith and Slingsby used the quick ball effectively and only desperate TJs defending prevented further scores until a great kick through by Heatherley was chased brilliantly by centre Archie English and only illegal TJs defending prevented him scoring a deserved try, put the referee instead awarded a penalty try and reduced TJs to 14 men. 14-21 HT.
The second half saw pilgrims spurn an early chance to extend their lead with handling errors letting them down before TJs returned to 15. They hit back almost immediately by applying pressure through penalties which put the city side on the back foot. Some desperate Pilgrims defending couldn’t prevent TJs leveling the score, and this was compounded by Archie English receiving a yellow card for foul play in the lead up to the score. 21-21.
A number of Pilgrims penalties saw TJs come close to scoring again, but solid defence saw them turn the ball over on their own line and Jordan Constants cool head saw him run the ball out from under his own posts to make 20 meters. The backs moved the ball wide and put wingman Harvey Ingram into space. He raced away but was dragged down just short of the line and judged by the referee to have illegally held onto the ball. Judds cleared their lines and again applied pressure to pilgrims defence before they again turned the ball over and kicked the ball long. The fast pace of the game then saw the referee suffer a calf injury, which as the game had reached the 60 minute mark and with no other society official available, meant the game ended at that point with the score all square at 21-21. Pilgrims will feel they should have been at least 2 tries to the good at this point, while Judds had momentum when the game was prematurely halted meaning the return fixture later in the season promises an encounter not to be missed.
The Pilgrims welcome Beccehamians to the MTG for their first home fixture of the season next Saturday and gives supporters their first opportunity to see some promising young players.

Match Report: Women’s 1st XV v Medway

Posted on | by Becca Williams

By El Crowe

Canterbury Women V Medway, 12-39 27/09/26

Our first league game of the season saw us welcome Medway to Canterbury.

A tough first half saw us go into the break 0–29 down, but the ladies showed plenty of character to fight back in the second half.

Evieleigh Smith crossed for her debut try, converted by Robyn Gulley, before El Crowe added a second to bring the final score to 12–39.

There’s lots to work on, but plenty of positives and takeaways as we continue to build as a squad.

A huge welcome to our four debutants: Evieleigh Smith, Freya Hopkins, Steph Roworth and Lottie Des’Ascoyne!

Back of the Match
Freya Hopkins
A brilliant impact off the bench on the wing, with some excellent tackles and strong carries.

Forward of the Match
Ellie Desborough
Ellie came on in the backs before moving to flanker. Playing the position for the first time for Canterbury, she impressed with some excellent counter-rucking and turnovers.

Opposition Player of the Match
Teagan Febery
A solid performance on the wing for Canterbury, including some big hits.

A tough result, but the cobwebs are officially blown off. Now we rebuild, learn and go again.

Match Report: Canons v Cliffe Crusaders

Posted on | by Becca Williams

by Tom Short

A new season, a much changed squad, but the same ambitions for the Canons as they began their season against newly promoted Cliffe Crusaders.  It was a dominant performance in which the Canons ran out 61-19 winners.

Starting fast, it wasn’t long before a classic Mark Stone line break led to an offload to Evan Cook on the 22 metre line and dot down under the posts.  A second try quickly followed from Riley Soutan, before a well worked lineout move allowed hooker Ollie Jeffery to dot down.  Cliffe bounced back from short range before Stone collected a kick through from fly half Kieron Shave to secure the bonus point.

Cliffe started the half strongly with 2 scores of their own either side of a second Cook try, but soon started fatigue, with 4 further Canterbury tries from Oscar Sands (2) Josh Dawson and Freddie Philpott.

With a team consisting of a number of graduating Colts from the last season, there is much to be hopeful about as the team looks towards the rest of the season.

Match Report: Tough But Promising

Posted on | by David Haigh

OUNDLE 36 CANTERBURY 22

by Chris Fullbrook

Canterbury knew that this game was going to be tough against National 2 East’s undefeated leaders but Head Coach Matt Corker had prepared the team well and felt that his squad could get a result. When Oundle went ahead early on, with one of three of their customary catch and drive tries by ex-Canterbury player Shay Kerry, things looked ominous. However Canterbury took hold of the game and, after prolonged encampment in the Oundle 22, Owain Collins executed a clever chip and chase only to be brought down inches from the line. New boy Riley Burden was at the base of the resulting ruck to collect and drive over and, with a Collins conversion, the visitors were 7-5 up after 15 minutes. A further Collins penalty pit Corker’s 10-5 up only to be cancelled out by another Oundle catch and drive score just before half time With both Oundle’s tries going unconverted the sides went into the shed at half time level at 10 apiece.. The city side had enjoyed the better of the spoils and probably should have been further ahead but the signs looked promising for the second half.

Unfortunately, this was not to be as Oundle produced a purple patch just after half time with three tries, two scored and converted by centre Calnan, and another catch and drive from hooker Snelling while Canterbury’s Will Waddington was sitting in the sin bin for 10 minutes after an earlier infringement. At 31-10 the game now looked lost but fresh blood from the bench, with Garry Jones making his return and Stan Bull on debut, paid dividends. From a line-out in the Oundle 22 area a well-rehearsed move gave Riley Burden a brace for the afternoon, That try was closely followed by a break from Jones with a chip ahead collected by Olly Ashley-Jones and Collins conversion brought the score to 31-22.The possibility of a Canterbury comeback, however, was cancelled out in the last play of the game when Oundle’s Sleightholme chipped ahead to dot down wide.

Canterbury can take many positives from this game with nearly half of the team being pathway players, not something that their opposition readily promotes and, with two games at the Marine Travel Ground to come, Matt Corker can look forward to getting his young team back to winning ways.

Canterbury: G.Roberts, M.Campbell, R.Thomas, W.Waddington, O.Ashley-Jones, O.Collins, P.Farrance, C.Macmillan, S.Rogers, O.Frostick, J.De Vries, J.Stephens, R.Burden, G.Trapp, M.McCormack. Replacements: J.Dengate, D.Huntley, G.Jones, T.Wiliam, S.Bull,

v Oundle - 26 Sept 2026

Match Report: New Ash Green II’s v Deacons

Posted on | by Becca Williams

Match Report: New Ash Green 2nds 56 – 47 Canterbury Deacons

By Iain McCracken

Every team faces a moment early in a season that tells you more than any result can. For the Deacons, that moment came before a ball was even kicked.

New Ash Green could only field 11. The easy call was to take advantage, 15 against 11 on a full-size pitch, an afternoon of running in tries. The Deacons didn’t take it. They matched them, 11-a-side, full pitch, full 80 minutes. With that much space and that few bodies, it played out more like a 7s fixture than a league game, which made for a tough way for both sides to start the season.

It was tough, too, for a Deacons side where 60% of the squad were making their first appearance in the shirt. But the platform was there from the first scrum, six forwards who simply weren’t for turning, winning their own ball at every opportunity and giving the backs the kind of quick, clean possession most teams only dream of this early in a season. When that ball found space, it was worth the trip down just to watch, with some real footwork and pace on show.

The home side started quickest all the same, building a 15-point lead before the Deacons had found their feet. With the scrum on top and the backs getting room to play, the Deacons turned that 15-point deficit into a 26-22 lead by half-time.

The second half opened shakily. A run of missed tackles let New Ash Green back into it, and for a spell the momentum swung hard their way. The scrum kept winning ball though, and every time the backs got their hands on quick possession, they looked dangerous. The Deacons dug in, matched New Ash Green phase for phase, and kept working the scoreboard back in their favour right to the final whistle. A 103-point game by the end of it, and a proper arm-wrestle from start to finish.

The clearest sign of how close this one really was, came in the final five minutes, when a try was held up over the line against a home side visibly running on empty.

Credit to New Ash Green too, a fit and well-drilled side who never let the Deacons have it easy.

It wasn’t all good news on the day though. Gian Smith suffered a nasty broken collarbone and is likely facing a long spell out. Tough for any player in any game, but especially so in the first fixture of the season. Everyone at the club will be wishing him a speedy recovery.

Final score: New Ash Green 2nds 56 – 47 Canterbury Deacons.

Tries: Reuben Kerr, Ted Field (2), Adam Ridgewell, Lawrence Knight (2), Pete Demery

Player of the Match: Freddie Vion, nerveless off the tee, 100% conversion rate.

Onwards to the next one.

Match Report: Zingari v Whitstable II

Posted on | by Becca Williams

Match Report. 26.09.26

Canterbury 5th  v Whitstable 2nd

Canterbury 5th 38pts Whitstable 37pts.

In a nail biting finish the Zingari opened their season with the narrowest win possible. Both sides produced some open flowing rugby from the start with the Zingari having a slight advantage in the backs while Whitstable pack may have edged it at the set piece. However, it was the city backs who opened the scoring after some sharp handling split the Whitstable defence for Ben Waite to touch down for Canterbury’s first converted try. This was followed with Ross Elgar touching down after the forwards had punched a hole in the midfield for the backs to finish off. This looked as if it was all going to be easy for the city side , but Whitstable had other ideas, their forwards making the most of the slight  slope rallied and battled their way down field to claim two tries within minutes of each other, followed by a disastrous intercepted pass for  Whitstable to claimed a third. Canterbury compounded their own troubles giving away a penalty that set up Whitstable for a converted try, and just before halftime burst through the centre setting up a position a few meters from the city line before driving over for a clear fifteen-point halftime advantage.

The Second half saw the same pattern emerge with Whitstable squeezing in at the corner to increase their lead after the city defence failed to force the attacker into touch giving themselves a comfortable cushion. The Zingari had it all to do even with the slim advantage of the second half slope gave us a display of straight powerful direct running that seemed to do the trick, breaking tackles with recycled quick ball had the defence  split wide for Ryan Flockhart to sneak a converted try back. This was the way back with both forwards & backs adopting this tactic the holes began to appear, Brad Alchurch saw the gap with a charging run claiming back another converted try. Whitstable always dangerous again got back on the score sheet with another unconverted try, but the momentum had changed, and more of the same put Nick Creaser over the line from short range, and with Rob Horan conversions had put the city side within striking distance of the lead. With the clock running down the Zingari  put in a final effort camping just short of the Whitstable line before Jake Vowell broke through to give Canterbury a slender one-point lead. With the clock going into the red all would seem to be over, but Whitstable had other ideas, and with a final flourish they got to within striking distance of the city line.  Only to be thwarted  by late replacement Oliver Rutt with a bone crunching tackle on the line causing the ball to be spilled forward thus securing Canterbury the narrowest victory possible.

Home-Grown Talent Takes the Next Step as Stan Bull Makes 1st XV Debut

Posted on | by Becca Williams

Canterbury RFC is proud to celebrate a special milestone as Stan Bull made his 1st XV debut in Saturday’s fixture away at Oundle.

Stan’s journey with the club began at just five years old, and having worn the black and amber throughout his rugby development, his debut represents the culmination of years of hard work, dedication and commitment to the club.

Progressing through every stage of the Canterbury pathway, Stan has benefited from the support of countless coaches, teammates, volunteers and supporters who have played a role in his development. His achievement is a fantastic example of the opportunities that exist within the club for young players aspiring to reach senior rugby.

At Canterbury RFC, we pride ourselves on developing and nurturing home-grown talent. Providing a clear pathway from mini and junior rugby through to the senior game is central to our philosophy, and seeing one of our own step onto the field for the 1st XV is a moment the entire club can celebrate.

Everyone at Canterbury RFC is incredibly proud of Stan and this well-deserved achievement. We congratulate him on his debut and look forward to seeing his journey in the black and amber continue for many years to come.

Congratulations, Stan. 🖤💛

BIG PERFORMANCE NEEDED

Posted on | by David Haigh

MATCH PREVIEW

There is nothing quite like the heartbreak of losing last play of the game. Last season we were on the other side of that coin with several final play wins and to be on the losing side last Saturday was the bitterest pill to swallow.
After an indifferent first half we went in 7-19. Esher had capitalised on their chances and we had struggled to get out of our own half for long periods. We started the second half on plan and after some early pressure won a penalty to kick to the corner and score our second maul try in the first two minutes. For the rest of the half we exchanged scores and the lead changed hands three times before we scored our final try, with eight minutes to go.
When reflecting on those final eight minutes, the benefit of a painful experience is the learnings that we can take from it. The league is more competitive than ever and I expect us to be faced with a National 2 arm-wrestle each week. Our ability to control possession and territory in the closing stages is something that we have worked on this week and will be equally as important on Saturday.
Oundle need very little introduction this season after their summer signings have been making headlines. They are a well resourced team and have players with experience from different levels of the game. This is a well-timed test for us and we know we will face a team full of confidence who sit at the top of the table. Our experience in the last few seasons has taught us the importance of the set piece battle whenever we play anyone in the top four and this is the foundation of Oundle’s strength. I have enjoyed the players attitude in training this week as we look to put in a performance to be proud of.
The Pilgrims season finally begins as they travel away to Tonbridge. It is a big game for them to start their league campaign and after a long wait the lads are ready and raring to go. I am looking forward to seeing how this group performs as the growth they have shown in the last few weeks has really impressed me

MATT CORKER, HEAD COACH

Last Minute Agony

Posted on | by David Haigh

CANTERBURY 31 ESHER 34

by David Haigh

An Esher try in the last seconds of this National 2 East clash condemned Canterbury to their second home defeat of a fledgling season. It was a frustrating outcome for the city side who had twice come from behind but gave the visitors too much leeway in a see-saw second half. Leading by two points in the 79th minute, they kicked away possession and Esher were able to create just enough space for wing Charkes Cadogan to crash over for his second touchdown. The game did not start promisingly for Canterbury as they conceded a first minute try, scored by Tony Pedlar, and then a penalty try for a collapsed maul. In addition, they lost hooker Sam Rogers to a yellow card and fly half Lewis Hollidge, who missed an easy penalty shot, to injury. Despite sharp probing by scrum half Presley Farrance it was not until the start of the second quarter that they found some points. A charge down bv Jesse Dr Vries and a penalty led to a catch and drive try for Max McCormack, converted by Owain Collins. But Esher’s capable defence allowed them little else and in the final minute of the half the visitors pushed their lead to 19-7 through a driving maul score for Josh Thorne, converted by Matt Dalrymple. However, it was Canterbury who made a flying start to a second half that produced seven tries, two yellow cards and that nail biting finish. The roller coaster began in the 42nd minute with Sam Rogers completing Canterbury’s driving maul and Collins converting but then a flawed pattern emerged. Whereas they had been efficiently contained by Esher in the first half the city side were never sufficiently tight to take real command. Esher made a quick reply, through Cadogan, but lost Angus Wilbourn to the sin bin and it proved costly. Canterbury exploited the blindside for an Ollie Ashley-Jones try, converted by Collins, and three minutes later took the lead for the first time through the catch and drive route. Riley Thomas scored, Collins converted, but again the initiative was surrendered. Pedlar’s try put Esher three points ahead but, despite Jamie Stephens’ yellow card, a try from Max Campbell with eight minutes remaining put the city men in sight of victory. Then came that fatal Cadogan strike and Canterbury had to be content with two league points after falling, ironically, to the same score line as in their first defeat two wees ago.

Canterbury: O.Collins, M.Campbell, H.Sloan, W,Waddington, O.Ashley-Jones, L.Hollidge, P.Farrance, C.Macmillan, S.Rogers, O.Frostick, J.De Vries, J.Stephens, G.Trapp, R.Thomas, M.McCormack. Replacements: T.Williams, D.Huntley, G.Roberts, R.Burden, J.Dengate

Young Players Impress

Posted on | by David Haigh

MATCH PREVIEW
Dorking away, ever since they arrived in our league, has always been a tough fixture. The only time we’ve left with a win was by a single point after Dorking missed a final kick of the game. It had also been one of our strongest first halves of rugby that season.
Even though we had very little possession for the first twenty minutes last week and spent that entire period defending inside our own twenty two, the scoreline was only 3–0. When Harry Sloan crossed the line twenty four minutes in, we then went on to control the rest of the half. Lucas Eule crossed twice from strong driving mauls and Harry added his second. We were clinical in our execution and made the most of nearly every visit inside the Dorking twenty two.
The second half started much like the first, with the players putting in long defensive shifts to keep Dorking to just three points. After weathering the storm we progressed up the field, culminating in Olly Frostick crashing over from short range. It would have been a great achievement to keep Dorking try less, but we fell short as they scored twice in the final five minutes. Still a strong result at a difficult place to win.
The young players who have been making their first starts over the last few weeks continue to improve while putting in eye catching performances. The strength of their development is something the whole club can be proud of. So many people have played a part in getting them to this point and they all have very exciting futures in the game.
The Pilgrims also had their first friendly of the season. A very young side beat Westcombe Park 2nd XV 45–10. It was a great warm up for the season that starts next week and has given the coaches some clear focus areas for training as we prepare for Tonbridge away on the 26th.
Our visitors tomorrow at the Marine Travel Ground are Esher. They’ve also had a strong start to the season against tough opposition. In these early rounds we’re all still working out how the deck will settle in this first block of games. I’m expecting two attacking teams to go all in tomorrow — one you won’t want to miss.

MATT CORKER’HEAD COACH