Author: Becca Williams

We are excited to announce a fantastic new addition to the Marine Travel Ground: Top to Toe Fitness Canterbury, opening 2nd February 2026.

A new era of community‑driven fitness is coming to the city, bringing a fresh, inclusive approach to functional training, right in the heart of the Canterbury Rugby Club grounds.

A Gym Built Around People

Top to Toe Fitness Canterbury isn’t just another gym. It’s a space designed to help real people move better, feel stronger, and build confidence that lasts well beyond the walls of the gym.

• Small group training for all fitness levels
• Expert coaching focused on safe, effective movement
• Supportive community where everyone is encouraged
• Sustainable progress tailored to the individual

Whether you’re stepping into a gym for the first time or looking to train with more purpose, you’ll find a warm, welcoming environment where members genuinely lift each other up.

Open Seven Days a Week

Life is busy — your training shouldn’t add stress. With sessions available every day, you can build strength, resilience, and confidence at a pace that works for you.

Free Taster Sessions

To celebrate the launch, we’re hosting two free taster days: Saturday 31 January & Sunday 1 February

Come along, meet the coaching team, try a session, and get a feel for our community‑focused approach to functional fitness.

Book your session here

Top to Toe Fitness Canterbury
Canterbury Rugby Club
Merton Lane, Canterbury, CT4 7DZ

Medway 4’s vs Canterbury Deacons 17 Jan 26 Match Report

By the infamous Pete Demery

It’s difficult to score if you don’t have the ball……

Being possibly the most charitable team in the entirety of English rugby and to avoid an away walk over Canterbury hosted Medway at home for a second time this season as their pitches were unplayable.
Not realising that it’s polite to reciprocate our goodwill, the top of the table team decided to come to the City (the only City in Kent now) and practise scoring tries.

On paper we had a strong team but last moment changes and regular players out/away saw us cobble together forward pack with many playing out of position.
All season we’ve had a reliably strong scrum only challenged by a couple of heavy teams, so watching from the sideline without being able to throw some boots on and get involved was horrible.
Our backs line up was superb with pace, depth and handling ability to challenge any team in the league – our issue was getting our hands on the ball to release them.

We all know you can’t polish a turd, the scoreline speaks for itself. Medway had a game plan, they executed it extremely well and played to their strengths. In the first half the Deacons probably had the ball less than 5 minutes across the 40, there were flashes of brilliance but they fell short through lack of composure, confidence or both.
The end of the half was welcome relief with the Deacons behind requiring Haribo and a chat about where we could improve.

The second half saw some changes; and staring down the barrel of a nilling in our own back yard some tactical changes brought a higher level of intensity to the start.
Finally with some ball in hand the Deacons were able to disrupt and use the pace of the back line to go forward. A loose ball, some excellent footballing skills from Ed Exley and Denton dotted down to get us off the mark.
Captain & Birthday boy (21 again) Dan Head added the 2 with a tricky kick. The boys had their heads up again, there was the faintest whiff of a comeback on the cards……

Like a fart in a sauna the whiff quickly dissipated, Medway running another try past us with simple straight forward rugby. Nothing about the game plan involved flair or panache, just simple route one smash it up the middle style brutality. It worked though. Fortunately the Medway kicker was about as useful as a bald man’s comb & couldn’t get the ball anywhere near the posts to convert.
The away supporters had all the decorum of a bag of week old dog sick, chirping away without necessarily understanding the laws of the game.
So when Canterbury once again broke the Medway line and returning superstar Jake Upward got across the try line and Dan once again added the extras the Deacons hard work had paid off & the opposition supporters were quietened for a minute.

Medway finished with a flourish. The last try was hard to swallow but the Deacons were exhausted after 80 minutes of ferocious tackling having been subjected to relentless punishment. As always we stuck at it and gave everything for the badge and our team mates. We will bounce back.

Enjoy the win Medway, we hope it makes you happy. Dear lord, what a sad little life Medway. You ruined my day entirely just so you could have a little win.

POtM – Dan Head. For rallying the troops, kicking the points & leading from the front.
Mentions- Freddie Vion (tackling all over the place) James Newman, Matt Burchell for stepping up and in to all sorts of areas.
Also Dylan, Rob & Freddie again for playing all sorts of positions backs & forwards and Steve Rutt for putting on a shift for the first half against a horrible Medway pack.

We miss you Brad. Get well soon Ronnie & Matt.

Canterbury Women 22

Medway Women 12

Canterbury Women secured a hard fought 22–12 bonus point win at home yesterday against a strong Medway side, marking our first home game of the year and extending our winning run to three matches. Games against Medway are always competitive, physical encounters, and this fixture proved no different, with both teams fully committed from the opening whistle. It is a rivalry we always look forward to, and Medway once again tested us across the park.

Canterbury set the tone early with consistent strong carries and excellent support at the breakdown, allowing us to maintain momentum and recycle the ball effectively. Lydia Ticehurst (#9) worked tirelessly at the back of the breakdown and scrums, moving the ball quickly to our pods or to skipper Kate Rutherford (#10), keeping Medway’s defence under constant pressure. The back three showed great cohesion throughout, supporting each other well under high balls and contributing with strong carries, offloads, and solid ruck security. Notably, Lola Yuille-Clough (#11) impressed with powerful runs and well timed hand offs that repeatedly gained ground.

The opening try came from winger Emily Moriarty (#14) after some clean hands along the back line, finishing confidently out wide. The second try followed from fullback Robyn Gulley (#15), whose trademark hand offs and physical carries saw her power her way under the posts. Canterbury continued to build pressure through the forwards, and after a series of hard carries, met by equally committed tackling from Medway, Lily Philpott (#7) forced her way through the defence to score our third try, again grounding the ball beneath the posts. Captain Kate Rutherford summed it up perfectly, noting, “Where there is a Lily Philpott, you’ll soon find an Inger Philpott not far behind,” with Inger Philpott (#2) able to celebrate the try with her daughter under the posts. The fourth and final try came from Robyn Gulley, securing her second of the match. Breaking the defensive line, she showed great awareness and skill to play the ball off the foot before collecting and finishing strongly over the line.

A disciplined team performance, combined with physicality and smart decision making, ensured Canterbury came away with a deserved bonus point victory and a strong start to the home fixtures this year.

Across the squad, every player put in a hugely physical shift, fronting up in contact and working for one another throughout the full eighty minutes. The impact players brought exactly what they are described as bringing, impact, lifting the tempo, adding physicality, and ensuring standards stayed high right through to the final whistle.

Players of the Match were particularly hard to select this week following strong performances across the squad. Forwards of the Match went to the mother and daughter duo Lily Philpott (#7) and Inger Philpott (#2), while Backs of the Match were awarded to Lydia Ticehurst (#9) and Lola Yuille-Clough (#11).

Off the pitch, it was a fun day had by all. A huge thank you goes to the bar and kitchen for their hospitality, amazing as always, and most importantly, to our supporters who came out in the cold to make noise for the women. Your support makes a real difference.

Pilgrims 26
Bromley 29

Pilgrims took to the field at the MTG on a high from their victory over league leaders Brighton last weekend, but were hampered by a number of unavailabilities within the squad leading to Tyrell Thomas, Alex Smith and Joel Poulter all stepping up to make their league debuts for the Pilgrims.
The visitors drew first blood when they scored from a pick and go after their well drilled backline- led by ex Canterbury back Harvey Young- moved the ball well to get in behind the home defence. Despite 2 strong tackles from Hunt & Devine, Bromley dived over for a converted score, 0-7.
The pilgrims kicked long and chased well and their aggressive defending forced Bromley into some illegal defending which allowed Hewitt to step up and slot the first pilgrims points of the day with a penalty, 3-7.
Bromley continued to threatened going down the slope with ball in hand and quickly added a second score which came from some slick handling that got their pacey winger the ball in space out wide and he eluded the covering pilgrims defence to score in the corner which was well converted by the Bromley centre, 3-14.
Again the Pilgrims responded with good attacking play of their own leading to a second penalty goal from Hewitt- 6-14.
A pattern started to develop as another Bromley foray into the pilgrims 22 led them to score their 3rd try despite some aggressive pilgrims defence, this time their otherwise exceptional kicker missing from out wide, 6-19. This was followed up when pilgrims visited the Bromley 22m with Hewitt adding his 3rd penalty to bring the HT score 9-19 with supporters aware the slope is usually worth 10 points.
Fresh from some words of encouragement from coach Mal Graves, the pilgrims came out for the 2nd half firing. The aggressive defence and direct running of back row men Isaac Devine and Max McCormack was giving the pilgrims plenty of front foot ball going down the Hill. The mis-firing scrum was now holding its own and gave the pilgrims a good attacking platform. Hewitt added a fourth penalty to make it 12-19 before they added their 1st try after powering over from close range to make it 19-19.
Bromley elected to go for goal when given the opportunity arose rather than kick for the corner which they had done previously. 19-22.
The Pilgrims were starting to impose their will on the game with the direct running and aggressive defence causing Bromley problems. A fine break by Prop Tyrell Thomas was followed up by some slick handling which saw the pilgrims score under the posts to take the lead 26-22.
The last 15 minutes saw both sides giving everything which resulted in a yellow card each, first to Bromley for a high tackle before The pilgrims were reduced to 14 with the clock ticking down as their aggressive defence was deemed to aggressive by the very good referee. With the final play of the game, Bromley sucked the home defence in with a series of forward runners before moving the ball out wide to score in the corner. They added the extras to take the win 26-29 leaving the pilgrims with a losing bonus point from an entertaining but ultimately frustrating afternoon at the MTG.

Pilgrims 24

Brighton 17

The Pilgrims travelled to Sussex to take on league leaders Brighton keen to improve on their poor showing at Gravesend before Christmas and avenge a heavey Home defeat at the MTG earlier in the season.
After a lengthy delay on the M2 the Pilgrims arrived 50 minutes before kick off which disrupted Coach Mal Graves’ warm up plans.
Brighton showed exactly why they are league leaders as they got the games opening score within minutes of the kick off as they showed slick handling to move the ball wide to score and take a 5-0 lead.
The Pilgrims regrouped under the posts and after a quick chat to tweak the game plan, produced arguably their best 30 minutes of rugby this season. The forwards were carrying with intent and the direct running and offloading of the backs asked Brighton questions they simply didn’t have the answers to. The first of 3 scores came when Fin Mason-Myers sensed an opening and darted through a gap at the side of a ruck and was able to out pace the covering defence to take the score to 5-7.
Great interplay from the pilgrims forwards and backs got in behind the Brighton defence with Orris’ sublime offload sending Hewitt clear-Brightons pacey back 3 got back to make the tackle but there was no one defending the back field when Mason-Myers kicked in behind- he out paced the defence to regather and score his 2nd and take the score to 5-14.
Pilgrims then added a penalty to make it 5-17 after a high tackle from Brighton presented a simple opportunity for 3 points which Hewitt slotted. Orris then showed his class by going on a powerful run that saw him beat a number of defenders after good work from Morgan and Collins. When he was finally brought down it was Mason-Myers on hand in support to race through and score his 3rd taking the score to 5-24.
On the stroke of Half time, Brighton reminded the pilgrims of their own threat when they skilfully moved the ball wide before a good running line from the number 8 saw him run through untouched to score 12-24.
The second half became a scrappy affair with the Pilgrims aggressive defence frustrating Brighton and an element of niggle entered the game. Brighton were first to fall foul of the referee’s ire when they received a yellow card for a high tackle before pilgrims Isaac Devine received a 10 minute rest for allegedly tackling a player after the whistle. It was during this period that Brighton scored the only points of the 2nd half, utilising their numerical advantage to score out wide to take the score to 17-24.
Pilgrims had chances of their own, notably following strong runs from de Vries and wing Mitch Fielder, and the decision to turn down an easy 3 points in favour of a pick and go that was turned over showed the young pilgrims side still have much to learn, but a first half attacking masterclass followed by and outstanding second half defensive effort ensured the pilgrims defeated current league leaders Brighton.

Team: C. Oliver, Bull, Gill, Nicholson, de Vries, Hunt, Devine, McCormack, Mason-Myers, Collins, Fielder, Morgan, Orris, English, Hewitt, Kubicki, Masaka, Ingram.

Canterbury Women 29–7 Aylesford Bulls

Canterbury Women returned to league action with a strong 29–7 away victory over Aylesford Bulls, in a match that showcased resilience, togetherness and real intent for the season ahead.

Icy conditions in the build-up meant there were initial concerns over whether the pitch would be fit to play. Following a full assessment with the referee, kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes to allow both sides a complete and safe warm-up, ensuring player welfare remained the priority.

Before the match got underway, both teams came together for a minute’s silence in memory of Caz Olwa, an Aylesford alumna. A fitting and respectful moment that set the tone for the afternoon.

Once play began, Canterbury delivered a persistent defensive effort against an Aylesford side boasting some strong ball carriers. The defensive work rate was outstanding, with players supporting one another through well-timed double tackles, quick arrivals at the ruck and constant readiness for the offload.

This true team performance was complemented by some impressive individual displays. Layla, Robyn, Alexia and El all stood out with their contributions across the park, while Mary consistently made huge metres with powerful carries that put Canterbury on the front foot.

The points were shared across the side. El Crowe (#8) led the way with a well-earned hat-trick. Robyn Gulley (#20) marked her Canterbury debut with a try, while Kate Rutherford (#10) added a try of her own and calmly slotted two conversions to round off the scoring.

Aylesford deserve credit for their dominance at the scrum, providing a solid platform throughout the game. However, Canterbury’s quick thinking and fast ball in open play repeatedly caught the Bulls on the back foot, allowing momentum to build and pressure to be sustained.

Recognition for individual excellence saw Forward of the Match awarded to Alexia Scarpulla (#6) for her tireless work rate and physical presence. Back of the Match went to Robyn Gulley (#20) following an outstanding debut performance.

More than anything, the performance truly looked like a group playing for the people to their left and right. There was clear enjoyment in being back on the pitch, a hunger to prove why each player deserves their shirt, and a collective belief in what this team can achieve.

Canterbury Women are next in action on Sunday 28 January, as they return home to face Medway. The squad would love to see as much support as possible for the women’s side, and everyone is encouraged to come along and be part of the occasion.

The Canons began 2026 with a bang, beating Dartford Valley 72-3 at the MTG in their Counties 3 Kent clash.

As the second half of the season starts, the fixture was the first of 6 that the Canons sought to avenge following a close loss against Dartford in the reverse fixture earlier in the season.

The intent was clear from the start, with Joel Poulter finding space in a first phase play in the opening minute to put the Canons on the board with the first of their 12 tries of the afternoon.  The game settled and following some resolute defence from the Canons after ill-discipline gave Dartford field position, a quick break was by a try from Ollie Jeffery, before Poulter grabbed the teams third.  The Canons began to dominate and within the opening 22 minutes, the Canons has scored the bonus point try through Will Rayner.  A flying Terrell Thomas scored the teams fifth try of the half to put the Canons 29-3 up at half time.

As the second half began, quick starting Poulter grabbed his hattrick after a marauding run from the kick off.  As injuries started to hit a depleted Dartford Valley, Canterbury scored a further 6 tries, through Poulter (x2), Jake Forrest, Rayner (x2) and Ed Reid.  5 tried from Poulter and 3 from Rayner ticked off a successful afternoon for the centre partnership, who’s strength and footwork found gaps all afternoon long.

The Canons have a break week before welcoming undefeated league leaders Sittingbourne to the MTG on 24^th January, in what is expected to be a physical and exciting fixture following the teams’ meeting earlier in the season.

Match Report. 04.10.25

Lordswood 2^nd v Canterbury 5th

Canterbury 5th 34pts.  Lordswood 2^nd  19pts.

By John Scurr

The Zingari away to Lordswood 2nds with a much-depleted side due to player unavailability did not stop them   giving one of their best performances of the season. Although it took some time for the city side to settle conceding an early try after Lordswood broke from a ruck virtually unopposed to go under the posts for an early converted try. This was followed fifteen minutes later with Lordswood’s powerful centres breaking through for another converted try that began to make things look ominous for the city side. The Zingari however were becoming more confident and had adapted to playing in some unorthodox positions went on the offensive with a series of swift handling attacks that first put Dillon Coyle through a gap for the city’s first converted try. This was followed a few minutes later with a break on the right for Rob Horan to touch down in the corner reducing the deficit to just two points. The momentum was beginning to turn and Canterbury were going to make the most of it with another move finished off out wide to sneak ahead with a slim three-point lead. As the game went into the last few minutes of the half Canterbury mounted their best attack of the afternoon working the ball within the Lordswood twenty-two before Tony Carollo angled run from deep to split the defence to score under the posts, and with the following conversion the Zingari had established a ten-point lead.

The second half saw the Lordswood powerful backs  and using what little slope there was on the pitch to career their way down field touching down in the corner reducing the city lead. This was their obvious intension only to be met with resolute tackling often stopping the attack on or behind the gain line forcing the speculative kick down field often returned with interest with some elusive running. This pattern pertained for most of the half with Lordswood  having little success  against this solid tackle wall before being caught behind with a thumping tackle that led to a turnover ball scooped up and fed to James Read who forced his way through a scattered defence to go over near the posts, and give Rob Horan the simple conversion. Lordswood  came back but again were caught behind their gain line just outside their twenty-two and infringed in an attempt to retain the ball, at this point the Canterbury skipper stepped in to calm things down indicating for the posts for Horan to seal the match with a well struck penalty much to the relief of his exhausted forwards who had given everything.

Deacons dominate in every way (except the scoreline)…..

It’s tricky to write an objective match report given the final score.
Regular readers will know how thrilled we were to assist our last opponents with a few players in order to have a balanced game of rugby. Our players are a real credit to our club and we want to represent true rugby values. Seemingly it’s not for every club in our league.

With a large proportion of our regular team playing with us while they are at Uni in Canterbury, fixtures close to the holidays are often hard to get players for. So 14 of us travelled to Folkestone buoyed by our last result and the excitement of getting out for a last game before Christmas.

Really surprisingly the opposition Capt decided he wouldn’t match our numbers from his 19+ strong squad & we began the game a man short against a reasonably competent Folkestone side. I can only assume he got a parking ticket in Canterbury some years ago, or he doesn’t enjoy the Christmas market or the traffic around the city. Either way, we Deacons went to work, slightly disgruntled but no less energised.

Folkestone drew 1st, 2nd and 3rd blood. Come to think of it. They didn’t stop scoring. All of them around the fringes. Our defence was strong and well organised and all Folkestone could do was use the extra man (the same extra man) to put tries in down the wing.
Fortunately the opposition kicker couldn’t hit a fat lad in an alleyway so the extra points weren’t going on.

As we tend too, we got across the line. Working a try through grit and determination the forwards carrying really well, our 9, Sam Roud hitting breakdowns quickly and moving the ball to Dan Head at 10 who is always reliably excellent. The backs worked phenomenally hard to cover the space when needed against some fast opponents.
Captain American & Rob Horan at 13 & 12 respectively made some huge runs to release Ed & Dylan on the wing while Matt Capper at full back had his work cut out covering all that space in defence.

The pack was no different.
Having lost a man earlier in the day (sending all our best to James) we had no choice but to change tac and operate as a 7 with Hayden Prett attacking from 8 or defending at 7 depending on who had the feed at scrum time.

Our forwards were unmatched. Contesting scrum after scrum, dominant winning balls against the head and securing our own. The home team cycled through a couple of hookers and sent some replacement props in across the course of the game, yet nothing prevented the display of power and aggression coming through the City pack.

Remarkably, when we lost young talent Callum Townshend to injury we were forced to scrimmage 6 vs 8. We thought it might be a tall order, but – channeling the Deacons spirit and pride we dominated the Stones scrum pushing them back over 10 metres.
That was the catalyst for 10 minutes of the best performance the Deacons have put in all season. With our mate on the sidelines cheering us on every player on the pitch threw everything at it to show we were down but not beaten.

Ethan Tighe, Craig, Riggsy, and Brad were instrumental in setting pods and carrying hard to move through phases so Dan & the backs could move the ball across the pitch side to side.

An unlucky bounce stopped a hard charging attack and our day was done.

13 v 15 is always going to be tough. The opposition rolling subs makes it harder. I’ve no doubt who won the game despite the points. Canterbury were better in every way, never complaining & never letting the bias affect our rugby. We look forward to welcoming the oppo to Canterbury next year!

Watch the second part of the season. With performances as we’ve seen the last few games it’s going to be exciting. There’s a great feeling around this team, the steps we are making and the cohesion we’ve gained lately.

Thank you gents for the game. For the pride you have in yourselves & our team.
Merry Christmas & I’ll see you in 2026!

Forget Christmas Spirit, Saturday was all about Deacons Rugby Spirit as we waved off our amigo.

Before getting into the meat & two veg of last Saturday’s performance I need to recognise a number of regular Deacons players.
When we have a game there are those who consistently put their hand up to play come rain or shine. These same players on Saturday when the opposition were short-handed stepped up to even the sides, playing for the opposition for the full 80, taking a half or sacrificing their own game time demonstrating the real spirit of social rugby & true heart of the Deacons. Dylan Coyle played a number of key roles in the backline for Gillingham, Matt Capper joined them in the second half and made an instant impact & Jorge Edwards dropped out of playing the first half for us to play 14 a side. Well done Gentlemen, you’re an absolute credit to this team.

We were lucky enough to pick up a fantastic talent and have him join us for a few games. It was sad to learn David Hierro was heading back to Mexico after the game. His fan club turned up to wish him well & the Deacons revelled at the thought of playing in front of a crowd of nearly 10 people.

We started a little late having sorted out teams and numbers, huge kudos to Gillingham for getting their players from all over Kent to put a team out.

Deacons started strong. Receiving the kick off and making moves into the opposition territory. It didn’t take long to realise we would have to work hard as Gillingham were there to give us a game.
Competition over the ball was tough. The breakdowns were equally well contested and Gillingham had some strong ball carriers working around the field.
With Brad Nicholson back, the scrum was solid and when Ronnie West settled in as hooker we would end up winning 2 great scrums against the head across the game.

The opening 15 was a real tussle. Back & forth between the 22’s both teams hitting and missing tackles, encountering handling errors and occasionally running out of space ball in hand. Deacons defense remained strong and Anchorians rarely troubled inside our 5.
It was only a matter of time before we broke the deadlock. With most of the team we put out against Deal playing again the added cohesion clear. It was as some smart handling & real pace from Rob Horan at 12 who passed to our flying Mexican David to put him in under the posts. What a way to sign off! The crowd went wild!
With our tails up we went again. Receiving the restart and working from side to side. A loose ball, some exceptional footballing skill & a 50m foot race saw Callum Townshend get across the line – a strong contender for man of the match, he continues to impress on the flank, following plays across the field and nailing some brilliant tackles in defense.

The team were buzzing. Gillingham weren’t giving up, and there was no time to relax.
Up stepped Dan Franco. The 9 & 10 working out forward pods to give us field position before unleashing the centre combo alongside Reilly Fleming.
Dan added 2 more tries before half time demonstrating his strength and speed.

The second half saw much of the same, when we had the ball we were in control. There were a number of stoppages for injuries and handling errors but if Gillingham looked as if they were going to break, our defence rallied.
We released our on form winger Ed ‘the excorcet’ Exley for the 5th try of the afternoon which was converted once more by Dan Head & Dan Franco closed the scoring with the 6th try and his hat trick.

We finished 42 – 0. Said farewell to our friend and MOTM David Hierro & headed to the sheds buoyed with a sense of achievement and accomplishment that comes from playing the way we did.
Thanks again to those Zingari Werriers that turned out to play and support us.

Tries:
David Hierro
Dan Franco x 3
Callum Townshend
Ed Exley
Cons:
Dan Head x 6

We go again Sat 20th December. Away vs Folkestone 2’s. Come and join us