Author: Denys Andrianjafy

Spencer Whiting

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Spencer WhitingCanterbury RFC are sad to report the passing of a great supporter and true friend, Spencer Whiting. He suffered from a recurring medical problem on April 1st, but tragically on this occasion did not survive it. Always loyal, and a friend to many, though he kept things close to his chest. Always true to his friends, he stood up for what was right. Generous, kind, always caring and thoughtful. Spencer was a true gentleman who always operated above and beyond the call. A brilliant businessman, a clever quizzer, a very capable sportsman and a completely unique individual. A  legend who will be missed by many at the club, and Old City Bar. When we are allowed, we will celebrate his wonderful life, cut short far too early. He will not be forgotten.

R.I.P. to a special friend. Our deepest condolences and thoughts to Spencer’s family and friends.

Blast from the past – Mike Coman

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Mark ComanSeason(s) with Canterbury RFC

2008/2009

Position(s) played

Flanker/ Number 8

 

Canterbury gave me the chance to develop my game in a highly competitive and physical league, this gave me a really strong foundation to kick on with my career. I am very fond of my time at the club.

Following an injury setback in New Zealand Mike joined Canterbury RFC to get a season of rugby under his belt before heading home to play in the NPC. Mike had to retire early due to a hamstring injury and is now back in New Zealand and expecting identical twin girls in June. 

Following playing for Canterbury he went on to play – 

  • Canterbury (NZ) 
  • Hawkes Bay Magpies– NPC 
  • Wellington Hurricanes- Super Rugby 
  • Edinburgh Rugby 
  • London Irish 

Return to rugby

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Good news everyone! We are back!

Everyone should now have heard from their coaches or captains about the plan for April. Watch this space though as we will soon be revealing improvements we have made to the club facilities during the lockdown period in anticipation of re-opening the club to the general public.

Quite a lot of stuff to cover, so here goes, deep breath:

Saucy Flo’s

Saucy Flo's

The club restaurant is set to re-open! See what Ted has planned as a result of the upgraded club facilities by visiting www.saucyflos.co.uk or find and follow Saucy Flo’s on Facebook.

The club bar will re-open for drinks from Monday 12 April. All tables to be undercover outside.

 

Opening Times
5 pm – 9 pm Monday – Friday
11.30 am – 3.30 pm – Sundays

Please book your one hour slot by emailing saucyflos@gmail.com

Longest Day Lunch

Monday 21st June 2021 at Canterbury Rugby Club. The bar will open at noon and lunch served at 1.30pm.

The meal will be 4 courses and have a Six Nations Themed menu. The meal will be followed by Magician Etienne Pradier, Comedian Adger Brown. Our guest speaker will be Simon Shaw, England, British & Irish Lions. Music will be from Dune Acoustic after 6pm.

Tables of 10 at £100 per head (individual tickets are also available).

Please book your table or individual places by emailing chairman@cantrugby.co.uk

Calling all parents!

Calling all parents! We will be running Spring and Summer rugby training camps for mini and youth players of all abilities. Find out more about our two-day camps and book here.

Calling all cyclists!

What a tough year it’s been for everyone, so it’s nice to deliver some positive news: The Club Together Kent Cycle Challenge is back! And we invite riders from rugby clubs all over Kent to take part and support your individual clubs. Raise money for the Club and Wooden Spoon Kent and join us for a fantastic cycle tour of Mid-Kent Sunday 4th July 2021. Visit the Club Together website for more information and to register.

Save the date

Saturday 28 August – Further details to be published.

See you all at the Marine Travel Ground soon!

Six Nations Fantasy League winners 2021

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The curtain has now gone down on the 2021 Guinness Six Nations tournament. As competitions go, this one was anything but predictable with Wales coming out overall winners, though some would say Scotland deserve a hat tip for the way they went about their business against France. Some teams took longer than others to turn up to the party and others battled like warriors to turn the tide. The tournament has certainly brought some nail biters that paves the way for the Lions tours and Autumn Internationals. All being said, it certainly made things interesting for our fantasy league teams, 89 in all. A fantastic turnout from our armchair coaches. So, it all boils down to the winners and losers of the five rounds and tournament.

Livesey saw the tournament in with a win, and also took round 5 and wins 2 £25 club vouchers that can be redeemed over the bar or the club shop.

Budget Andy Goode, Pub and Chris each win a £25 club voucher as round winners. Bragging rights for highest score in a round goes to Chris for a wopping 1002 points.

The 2021 tournament winner and Six Nations Fantasy League crown goes to Pub, who wins a table for 10 at a pre-match lunch having scored a total of 4169.4 points across all rounds.

Emmett takes the Wooden Spoon award for an overall score of 1374.1, presentation ceremony date to be announced…

Congratulations to all fantasy coaches who took part!

All winners, please contact email communications@cantrugby.co.uk to claim your prizes.

The story does not end there though. April 3rd begins the Women’s Six Nations and we will be running a fantasy League for that competition, so calling all coaches once again. A chance to regain lost pride or just make a name for yourself. You haven’t got long to set your teams up so keep an eye on our website and social media channels to see when the league opens.

Mini & Youth April pitch allocation

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Sunday 11th, 18th, 25th April

Time Slot On the Langton Grass pitches Inside the running track Langton 4G
8.30am-9.55am U-6’s & U-7’s U-8’s & U-9’s
10.00am-11.25am U-10’s U-11’s
11.30am-12.55pm U-12’s U-13’s
1.00pm-2.30pm U-14’s U-15’s

 

Tuesday 13th, 20th, 27th April

6.00pm – 7.30pm
Langton 4G – Full pitch U16’s and U17’s combined

Its great that we can get back to rugby after such a long time. It is still necessary for us to follow Covid secure principles. As a reminder these include:

  • All players registering on arrival to the clubs track and trace – The original QR codes will still work
  • Hand and ball sanitisation – Refills are available from Rayne, please contact him to arrange collection.

Spring & Summer Rugby Camps

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It has been a frustrating and uncertain time for grass roots sports, and here at Canterbury RFC we are raring to get back into the fray once restrictions are lifted and it is safe to do so. Let us get our Mini &Youth players back onto the pitches and train them for the exciting seasons to come. We have organised a series of dates where we are running two-day training camps for our various age groups. Most activities will be game based using rugby and multi sports to develop rugby skills. We are always excited to welcome children who are new to the game and want to experience rugby for the first time and invite players of all abilities.

Leading the camps will be our 1st XV coaches joined by other senior players and club coaches*. The sessions will be run safely and securely in accordance with RFU and Government regulations**.

Rugby camp dates

  • 31st May & 1st June – U-6’s, U-7’s & U-8’s
  • 3rd & 4th June – U-9’s & U-10’s
  • 4th & 5th August – U-11’s, U-12’s & U13’s
  • 11th & 12th August – U14’s, U15’s & U16’s

Costs

  • Full membership – Free
  • Partially paid membership – £25 for two days/£15 for one day
  • Non-members – £45 for two days/ £30 for one day

BOOK NOW  (places are limited)

A free gift is offered to every child that attends.

All players should bring a packed lunch, water bottle and wear appropriate sports clothing for the weather conditions on the day. Rugby/football boots are recommended.

* All the Rugby Camp coaches will have valid and current DBS checks
**If you require more information please contact us at info@cantrugby.co.uk

Supported by The Mary Edmondson Sporting Trust

January 300 Club results

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Congratulations to the following January 300 Club winners:

  • David Taplin,
  • Wendy Haigh,
  • Andy Bourne,
  • Nick Kingsman,
  • Andy Davies.

The club would also like to thank the following people for donating their winnings from previous months back to the club:

  • Ian Dilnot Smith,
  • Do Bolt,
  • Peter McNally,
  • Bill Piper,
  • Bob Laslett,
  • Sally Bell,
  • Peter Winser,
  • Geoff Philpott.

We look forward to seeing you back at the club once we re-open, but for now, #YouClub thanks you for embracing the ethos of #OneClub.

Chairman’s message – We are back!

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Rugby training can recommence on Wednesday 2 December 2020, at this time we all have to assume that it will be at stage A on the return to community road map, as soon as we get confirmation we will advise of any changes.

Lockdown 2 has given the opportunity to review our facilities, furniture has been changed, TV’s and sound system are having an overhaul, the changing rooms are being re-painted, our medical facilities have been upgraded, a wood burning stove has been installed in the clubhouse and a coffee shop is to be created internally at the end of the clubhouse in the new year. These are alongside numerous odd jobs that have been completed with many more to come.

The down side of Tier 3 is that our bar and catering facilities have to remain closed, therefore we have been forced to cancel the lunch on December 5 and the John Bentley fundraiser on the 11 December. We hope possibly in vain to be able to still hold the Christmas lunch on the 19 December.

The shop will be open on Sundays from today (29/11) from 9 am to 11 am

Looking forward we will be able to return to full midweek training from Monday 4 January 2021 as we have slots booked on the STP at the Langton.

We have a number of volunteer vacancies which we are keen to fill, whilst rugby is quiet, we are looking for a club secretary, a mini fixtures secretary, a volunteer coordinator  and help with the teams who are currently running safeguarding, communications, social, facilities and ground. f you feel you could commit around three hours per week for any of the aforementioned roles please contact me by emailing chairman@cantrugby.co.uk

In finishing I would like to thank all of you for your continued input and messages of support.

Best wishes

Giles

Lockdown News

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I hope this message finds you all safe and well.

Please if any of you are struggling, or know of someone who is, then do not hesitate to contact me confidentially and I will ensure that we do our utmost to assist it whatever way possible. As all will be aware there is no rugby activity and the club facilities remain closed, however, please do remember that the top pitch is available for socially distancing exercise. We have every intention of opening everything up as soon Government guidelines allow. We have booked the STP at the Langton from January 1st onwards as per last season, so we are very confident that all being well, everyone will be able to make up for lost rugby.

The RFU has taken the decision to cancel all league rugby for the remainder of the season. We await the outcome of the current talks between the RFU and DCMS, as to what form of game will be allowed once rugby is given the green light to kick off. I fully appreciate that this is a extremely frustrating period of time for sponsors, spectators, parents, coaches and players both young and old.

I thank you all for your patience. I encourage you all to stay in contact with each other across the club.

Here are some helpful tips for keeping yourself active, kindly supplied by Sam Sterling
https://www.samsterlingfitness.com/post/making-your-own-exercise-plan-for-lockdown

Saucy Flo’s are back cooking so please look out for their menu on the Canterbury RFC/Saucy Flo’s Facebook page.

Please book with Ted on 07914 678 679. A few delivery slots are available to the Chartham area
or collect from The Marine Travel Ground at Canterbury RFC.
Numbers are limited.

Lunches in December are on 5th and 19th. Please book by emailing prematchlunches@cantrugby.co.uk

One for the diary – May Ball is on Friday 28th May 2021………..Hopefully!

In the meantime Stay Safe

Giles
CRFC Chairman