Canterbury Players Help Kent Make History

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.