Category: 2nd XV

Champion spirit sees Pilgrims finish season with win

Posted on | by Vikings U12

Pilgrims 38 – 22 Crowborough

Pilgrims welcomed Crowborough to the MTG for their final game of the season having secured a third successive league title last time out against Heathfield & Waldron. Crowborough are always a tough nut to crack and they showed they meant business when slick handling saw them register the afternoon’s first score with a try out wide which meant a difficult conversion was missed. The Pilgrims were struggling to get going and found themselves a further score down after a series of penalties gave the visitors good field position and their strong running forwards crashed over for a second unconverted score. Canterbury finally clicked into gear,  began stringing some phases together and after a series of direct drives, space opened up for Owain Collins to accelerate through a gap and score and then add the extras. Crowborough showed their class with a well worked response  as they exploited missed tackles and ill discipline and added two further scores to secure a bonus point and open up a 22-7  half time lead.  After some stern words from departing coach (and player for the day) Jon ‘Foz’ Foster, the Pilgrims, spurred on by the home support, produced an excellent second half display that saw them score 31 unanswered points  to ensure their two season long unbeaten home record remained intact.  Aidan Demery was picked out well by returning fly half Tom McMann after some excellent running by Guy Hilton in his last appearance before moving to sunnier climbs, for the first of his two tries  Al Evans crashed over to secure the bonus point. An excellent run by Sonny Trew-Neville looked to be stopped short but he managed to get the ball down in heavy traffic to make it 31-22.  In the dying moments Foster thought he’d scored with a pick and go from close range, only for the referee to bring play back for an infringement. From the resulting penalty Isaac Divine was driven over for Pilgrims sixth try to put the gloss on a fine comeback. Foster, fittingly, stepped up to add the conversion and complete the victory.
Pilgrims: Everatt, Demery, Morris, Hunt, McCormack, Rothery, Divine, Evans, Valladares, McMann, Geddes, T Halliday, Collins, Trew-Neville, G Hilton, Gill, Lister, Foster.

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Pilgrims v Crowborough - 5 April 2025

Images may be subject to copyright – Phillipa Hilton

PILGRIMS END YEAR IN STYLE

Posted on | by David Haigh

ASHFORD 3 CANTERBURY PILGRIMS 76

by Dan Glll

Pilgrims made the short trip to Ashford looking to finish the year with an improved performance after being deservedly beaten on their last outing at Sevenoaks.
They started brightly and quickly found themselves three points in front through a simple Owain Collins penalty goal. This was increased to ten shortly after when Harry Chubb, making his Pilgrims debut, found Gus Lister and his fine break saw him beat the covering defenders to dot down. Guy Hilton and Max Campbell added scores before Henry Kenny finished off a fine flowing passage of play where forwards and backs exchanged passes seamlessly. Collins landed one of a number of difficult kicks from the touch line.
Ashford were struggling to contain a Pilgrims side who were having the better of the set pieces and dominating the breakdown. They resorted to kicking long in an attempt to relieve pressure but a loose kick was returned by Collins with interest for a fine 50-22. The subsequent lineout became a driving maul which saw the forwards power over. When the half time whistle blew Pilgrims held a commanding 46-0 lead
The second half followed a similar pattern with Pilgrims’ showcasing some fine attacking rugby to add a further 30 points. Ashford never gave up and mounted a few promising attacks, but aggressive defence and counter rucking kept them on the back foot. The hosts only points came from a penalty goal but from the kick off typically aggressive rucking saw Pilgrims turn the ball over. It was moved wide by the backs before Yannick De Moubray galloped through a gap in the defence to add his second try of the game. He then landed the conversion to cap a fine individual performance and see Pilgrims finish 2024 how they started the year – at the top of Counties Kent 1.
Pilgrims: Everrat, Demery, MacMillan, Kenny, De Moubray, Hunt, Divine, Evans, Valladares, Campbell, Collins, Chubb, Lister, Trew-Neville, G Hilton, Gill, Cooper, Geddes.

First Half Bonus For Pilgrims

Posted on | by David Haigh

Canterbury Pilgrims 26 Heathfield & Waldron 3

by Dan Gill

Pilgrims had to work hard at the wet and windy MTG to subdue a Heathfield & Waldron side that has been amongst the pace setter In Counties 1. Skipper Al Evans elected to play up the slope but with the wind in their favour in a first half that saw all of the games points scored.
Despite the conditions both sides were intent on moving the ball but the first try arrived after around eight mins from a well executed catch and drive line out. It allowed hooker Aiden Demery to dot down with Will Hilton narrowly missing his first shot at goal.
An infringement following kick off gave Heathfield a penalty in front of the posts to collect what turned out to be their only points of the afternoon. The Pilgrims responded immediately and after exerting their dominance at the scrum, the forwards set about testing the visiting defence with a series of quick drives that saw Evans force his way over from close range, Hilton this time adding the extras.
Heathfield looked to rally but Pilgrims robust defence absorbed everything they had to offer before going on the attack again. Slick handling from Hilton and Tom Best found full back Harvey Young who hit a very good line to leave a number of defenders in his wake as he touched down under the posts and make the conversion from Hilton a formality.
The bonus point fourth try quickly followed as good play by the forwards made inroads in the Heathfield defence before the backs used quick hands to exploit space down the blind side and send centre Best over in the corner. Hilton expertly added the extras to give the Pilgrims a 26-3 half time lead.
The second half was a combination of good defensive play from both teams and an increasing amount of errors. Pilgrims were in the ascendancy at scrum time and were having the better of the lineouts but despite the wind advantage, being second best at the set piece meant Heathfield were struggling to get a foothold in the game. An element of niggle crept in and yellow cards, two to each side, were handed out but Pilgrims defensive effort was once again top notch in difficult conditions as they saw out another bonus point win against a solid side. The team have a massive test next Saturday as they travel to Sevenoaks who are in second place in the table, just five points behind, in what could be a season defining game.

Pilgrims Beat The Weather

Posted on | by Denys Andrianjafy

CRANBROOK 0 CANTERBURY PILGRIMS 38

by Dan Gill

The weather was always going to have an impact on Pilgrims ability to play their usual brand of expansive rugby but they overcame that challenge to stay top of Counties Kent One. It didn’t take them long to register the first score of the day with tight head prop Nathan Morris quickest to react when the wind played havoc with a Cranbrook line out and he dived on the loose ball, with Owain Collins adding the extras. The backs on both sides were finding handling difficult with dropped balls and wayward passes halting many promising attacks. It was left to Morris to set the tone for the rest of the half when he forced his way over from close range for his second try.. Prop Dan Gill made an instant impact on his return from injury to force his way over from close range for another score after a series of good pick and go drives by the forwards and push the lead to seventeen. After the first 30 mins the Pilgrims backs started to get to grips with the conditions and were attacking well from deep with Guy Hilton, Adrian Geddes and Max Campbell running the ball back with intent whenever Cranbrook tried to clear their lines. The direct work of Pilgrims back row of Al Evans, Harvey Furneaux and Charlie McGovern should have led to another score but, after doing the hard bit, Evans was held up over the line when trying to run the ball under the posts. Pilgrims were dominant at the scrum and after forcing a penalty they kicked deep into Cranbrook territory. Good line out ball set the platform for the tight forwards to go work. Strong drives from Will Hunt and Jake Dengate made inroads before Gill battered his way over for his second touchdown to secure the bonus point and make the conversion a simple one for Collins The half time lead was 24-0. The second half even more of a challenge for Canterbury as the slope and the elements were in Cranbrook’s favour. But Pilgrims defence has been a major feature of their play this season, and again it was no exception with centres Tom Best and Sonny Trew-Neville shutting down Cranbrook attacks out wide and McGovern, Furneaux, Dengate and hooker Demery dealing with the tight drives well. Cranbrook held out for the first 20 mins of the half before debutant scrum half Henry Carruthers, who was dangerous all afternoon with his sniping runs, jinked past a number of defenders to dot down.. Sonny Trew-Neville then added a sixth try with his trade mark direct running. Will Hilton converted to complete Pilgrims victory as they look forward to a tasty looking contest against Heathfield & Waldron at the MTG in two weeks time.

Pilgrims: Bloomfield, Demery, Morris, Kenny, Hunt, McGovern, Furneaux, Evans, Caruthers, Collins, Geddes, Best, Trew-Neville, Campbell, G HIlton, Gill, Dengate, W Hilton.

PILGRIMS TOO STRONG FOR DOVER

Posted on | by David Haigh

Dover 27 Canterbury Pilgrims 43

by Dan Gill

Dover started on the front foot with the advantage of the slope in the first half and were quickly on the score sheet after experienced ex-Canterbury man Martyn Beaumont’s cross field kick was gathered by their winger to score out wide for a converted try. The Pilgrims response was immediate and their first meaningful foray into Dover’s half was rewarded with a try for Max Campbell who was given space out wide and outpaced the defence for a score converted well by Owain Collins. Harry Moore, in good form with the boot for Dover, added a penalty soon after with Canterbury punished for offside, their blitz defence adjudged too keen to get off the line. Good close quarter work by the forwards saw open side flank Harvey Furneaux crash over for Pilgrims second try, again converted, but another Moore penalty reduced Canterbury’s lead to a single point. blindside flanker Charlie McGovern, enjoying an excellent all round game, was next to cross the whitewash. Good line out ball and strong runs from Al Evans and Sonny True-Neville sucked in the Dover defence before McGovern’s direct approach saw hIm power over for an unconverted score. Despite losing lock Henry Kenny to a yellow card Pilgrims held on to a 19-13 lead at half time thanks to aggressive defence. The opening exchanges of the second half proved frustrating for both sides as they found themselves on the wrong side of the referees whistle which caused tempers to flare on more than one occasion, but Pilgrims clicked into gear when Kenny returned from the sin bin. Dover tried to relieve pressure with a long clearance kick, well fielded by Collins before Guy Hilton used his pace, found centre Aiden Moss, who showed his class in beating three Dover defenders and sent Furneaux over for the bonus point try. With Pilgrims moving the ball well between forwards and backs and good line out throwing from Nathan Morris it built the platform to launch more attacks. McGovern and Jake Dengate, who made a strong impact from the bench, were both prominent before the next score. A number of close range drives saw ex Dover man Aaron Cooper power over with Collins again adding the extras. Just as the game started to look comfortable, ill discipline and Dover’s determination saw the gap closed. Cooper was given a ten minute period of reflection after the referee adjudged him to be responsible for foul play before fellow front row forward Jenson Bloomfield joined him in the sin bin for a high tackle. Dover made the most of their two man advantage, first adding an unconverted try following a scrum five metres out and a good Beaumont line break got them behind Pilgrims’ stretched defence for their third try which was well converted to cut the lead to eight points This was as close as Dover came though as the Pilgrims showed their class when back to full strength with two further scores. First Aiden Moss dotted down for a try his individual play deserved after strong running from the returning Gus Lister. Forwards and backs then combined well with good phase play to send centre Sonny True-Neville across the line and put the gloss on a good derby display. Pilgrims travel to Cranbrook next Saturday.

Pilgrims: A.Cooper, A.Demery, N. Morris, H.Kenny, W.Hunt, C.McGovern, H.Furneaux, A,Evans, H.Valladares, O.Collins, A.Geddes, S.True-Neville, A. Moss, M,Campbell, G Hilton, J.Bloomfield, J.Dengate, G.Lister.

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Images may be subject to copyright – Ken Matcham

Mission Accomplished For Pilgrims

Posted on | by David Haigh

CANTERBURY PILGRIMS 45 BECCEHAMIANS 7

by Dan Gill

Pilgrims had two aims: to bounce back from their first league defeat of the season against Bromley and to avenge the 63-0 humbling they suffered in the reverse of this fixture at the end of last season. It was mission accomplished. The city side were quick out of the blocks and were being directed around the park well by the experienced 10-12 axis of Will Hilton and Tom Best. They were making inroads into the visitors territory before their momentum was halted by a nasty looking ankle injury to loose forward Max McCormack which caused a lengthy delay. When play resumed Pilgrims’ asserted their set piece dominance with the pack driving Becc’s back at a scrum just inside their half to give Man of the Match Hector Valladares good front foot ball. The backs moved the ball wide with pace which created gaps in the Beccs defence which open side flank Harvey Furneaux exploited with the first of his numerous line breaks. The ball was recycled quickly and simple hands put speedster Max Campbell away for a converted score. This was quickly followed by a second try after the pack drove Beccs back at a scrum with captain Al Evans breaking off the base before new signing Charlie McGovern marked his Pilgrims debut with a deft pick up to dive over. The try was converted. Pilgrims were back on the attack from the kick off and looking to stretch the play at every opportunity. The direct running of Sonny Trew-Neville and Adrian Geddes punched holes in Beccs defence, creating space which Campbell and Harvey Young exploited at every opportunity. The visitors were always a threat on turnover ball, however, and it was they who scored next. A stray miss pass was dropped, allowing Beccs pacey winger to scoop up the loose ball and elude the covering defence. Pilgrims, with the advantage of the slope, were soon back Into their stride in the second half. Al Evans was next on the score sheet, powering over from close range after a tap penalty.  Another quickly followed as good scrum ball was moved well to the left touch line allowing wingman Geddes to touch down. Best showed his class to identify space and his deft chip over the defence was well finished by Campbell before Harvey Furneaux ended the scoring with the try of the day. Bursting through a gap he left any number of defenders in his wake to cap off a solid display The bonus point win keeps the Pilgrims at the top of Counties 1. They make the short trip to local rivals Dover next Saturday for what promises to be another keenly contested encounter.

Pilgrims Dig Deep

Posted on | by David Haigh

PARK HOUSE 9 CANTERBURY PILGRIMS 15

by Dan Gill

After a two week week lay-off the Pilgrims travelled to Park House for what is never an easy fixture. The opening exchanges underlined this with Park’s significantly heavier pack looking to exert pressure at scrum time, and the Pilgrims young and pacey backline spreading the ball at every opportunity. A torrential down pour just after kick off made handling more difficult and this played into Park’s hands as they sent their heavy runners at the Canterbury line. One of the Pilgrims strengths is their defence and this was underlined early on with a number of strong tackles, notably from centre Jordan Constant. Despite this, their over eagerness led to a number of offside penalties which the very capable Park House fly half punished with three goals to build a 9-0 lead. Some stern words from skipper Al Evans and a couple of personnel changes allowed the Pilgrims to finish the half on the front foot with Tom McMann uncharacteristically missing a simple shot at goal before adding a penalty to cut the deficit to six points.
Pilgrims started the second half brightly and after some solid running from the forwards, the backs clicked into gear with slick handling in poor conditions. This opened space and after a number of quick drives by the forwards, wingman Alfie Orris burst through to score an unconverted try. Just as Canterbury were gaining some momentum, a yellow card for scrum half Hector Valladares swung the initiative back in Park’s favour. They exerted pressure at the scrums, but the Pilgrims made up for this by being tenacious in defence and having the better of the lineout exchanges – debutant hooker Aiden Demery throwing well in the wet- which kept the game finely balanced until canterbury were restored to a full complement. This brought almost instant success after winger Max Campbell, who was exceptional under the high ball all day, plucked a ball out of the sky with one hand before releasing Orris and Owain Collins and Gus Lister finished a well worked move to score by the posts. With Will Hilton adding the extras Pilgrims took the lead. They soon found themselves on the back foot once again with numerous handling errors and a yellow card for repeated infringements to debutant prop Hristo Hristov. An earlier injury meant the Pilgrims couldn’t field a competent front row so for the final nine minutes of the game scrums were uncontested and under league rules the Pilgrims had to lose another man so were reduced to thirteen. Park House themselves went down to fourteen after a high tackle but despite their best efforts, dogged defending, typified by supporters man of the Match Aiden Demery, saw Pilgrims come away with a win that keeps them at the top of Counties Kent One.
The team return to action on Friday when they welcome local rivals Deal & Betteshanger to the MTG- Kick off 7:30pm.

Owain Collins

Pilgrims Make It Derby Double

Posted on | by David Haigh

PILGRIMS 43 SEVENOAKS 2nd 17

by Dan Gill

Following last week’s victory at Crowborough, the Pilgrims opened their account at the MTG with a convincing victory over Sevenoaks in what has been a close affair in recent meetings.

Canterbury started brightly and set the tone for the day when they fielded the first kick off and began to drive Oaks back, using the forwards to good effect before looking to find width. After making their way deep into the Oaks 22, a penalty was conceded for not effectively clearing a ruck which was to become a common theme throughout the first half. It wasn’t long, however, before the Pilgrims endeavour was rewarded with the opening try. Outstanding defence from Henry Kenny and Yannick de Moubray forced the turnover and half backs Valladares and McMann sent waves of runners at the Oaks line before centre Sonny Trew-Neville battered his way over near the posts and Tom McMann converted.
The visitors responded immediately as the Pilgrims infringed at the ruck and their fly half stepped up to slot the first of his four penalty goals. His second duly followed after a high tackle was punished making the score closer than the balance of play suggested at 7-6.

Pilgrims picked up the pace and added a second try after good forward play led to Will Hunt forcing his way over from close range for a converted score. The Canterbury defence was proving difficult for Oaks to penetrate, but they kept in touch with two further penalty goals from their adept fly half who had shown himself able to punish any infringements in the Pilgrims own half. A positive response then produced some outstanding rugby. Fly half McMann made a half break and kept the ball alive with an offload that found its way to openside Jake Dengate who stepped off his right foot to burst through a gap. His deft chip was perfectly weighted and full back Jack Cohen didn’t have to break stride as he raced away to score by the posts, making the conversion a formality.

That was quickly followed by an outstanding individual try by young back Owain Collins who fielded a long kick deep in his own half before setting off on a jinking run that saw him beat numerous defenders and dotting down out wide. A great way to mark his first Pilgrims try on his competitive home debut. McMann’s conversion attempt from out wide came back off the post to bring the half to a close at 26-12.

Pilgrims were first on the score sheet after the interval with a first phase try that will put smiles on the coaches faces. The forwards won clean possession from a lineout and the ball was moved smartly to Sonny Trew-Neville who cut through the Oaks back line and his pass sent the supporting Adrian Geddes racing away to score.

Props Aaron Cooper and Elliott Lusher came to the fore with some strong runs forcing the visiting defence on to the back foot and supporters Man of the Match Collins then turned provider as his run and pass set up Cohen to add his second touchdown and take Pilgrims lead to 38-12.

To their credit Sevenoaks rallied and produced some good rugby to force a penalty which they kicked for the corner and scored from a well worked driving maul.
Not to be outdone, Pilgrims set up a driving maul of their own shortly after and captain Alex Evans dotted down for the seventh try of the day to complete a good team performance.

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Images may be subject to copyright – Ken Matcham

Pilgrims Take Revenge

Posted on | by David Haigh

Crowborough 15 Canterbury Pilgrims 21

by Dan Gill

Pilgrims opened their Counties 1 Kent title defence with a tough fixture at Steel cross where they lost their 17-game winning run towards the end of last season against a Crowborough side who have been unbeaten at home for over a year. This time they took revenge
The opening minutes were even until Crowborough capitalised on a clear knock on missed by the official to score under the posts making the conversion a formality, giving the home side a 7-0 lead.
The Pilgrims drew level quickly after a well worked line out on the Crow’s 22 saw openside flanker Jake Dengate pick a good line, make a strong run and crash over for the try which fly half Tom McMann converted.
Crowborough were trying to apply pressure but were met with a defensive wall that was proving difficult to break down, with tackles flying in from forwards and backs alike. The home side were the next to score, however, but only after Canterbury were reduced to 14 after hard hitting back row forward Henry Kenny was adjudged to have infringed at the breakdown and received a yellow card. Sonny Trew-Neville had to step into the scrum from the wing and Crowborough utilised good handling skills to exploit the space he had left and score in the corner to make it 12-7 at half time.
After the restart and having returned to a full complement, Pilgrims looked to reassert themselves and came close to scoring after a strong run from full back Jack Cohen, but simple handling errors and mistakes were making the side masters of their own downfall. Crowborough punished some poor breakdown work with a penalty goal before the Pilgrims came back strongly. Captain Alex Evans lead from the front all day with some thunderous tackling and direct running and it was he who had the ball over the line out wide after good work from forwards and backs. He broke from a maul and dived over but the referee saw a cynical infringement in the process and awarded a penalty try.
The home side came close to scoring shortly afterwards, but some dogged defence on their own goal line saw Pilgrims scrum half Hector Valladares latching onto the ball and forcing the penalty after stopping numerous drives.
Pilgrims then had their best spell of the game and an organised driving maul gave the backs a platform and they moved the ball from one side of the pitch to the other to send wing Adrian Geddes over in the corner. Jack Cohen stepped up to slot the touchline conversion to give his side the lead for the first time with eight minutes remaining.
A boisterous home crowd did their best to spur Crow’s into a response, but Pilgrims defence continued to drive them back and only a last ditch tackle on prop James Everatt stopped a further Canterbury score. The Pilgrims showed great determination to avenge last season’s big loss and end Crowborough’s fine home record.

Pilgrims Final Day Flop

Posted on | by David Haigh

BECCEHAMIANS 63 CANTERBURY PILGRIMS 0

by John Mitchell

Pilgrims saved their worst performance of the season for their final Counties 1 Kent league game as they were comprehensively outplayed. Against a top three side it was expected to be a close contest but Canterbury’s non-tackling defence saw Beccehamians turn the contest into an embarrassing rout. By half time they were 25 points ahead and the nearest an ineffective Pilgrims had come to a score was a touchdown by Max Campbell which was ruled out because of a knock-on. Things became even worse after the break as the home side exploited quick ball to telling effect and ran in another six tries, three of them in a five minute spell midway though the half.
It was a disappointing end to an otherwise excellent season in which Pilgrims were unbeaten at home. They may want to forget this day, but hopefully will learn from it.
An eighteen game winning streak tells the real story of the champions who had a final record of Played 22 Won 20 Lost 2. Thank you to all our supporters and sponsors, without you we could not do what we do. Finally a special mention for Adrian Geddes who played in all twenty-two league games.