Category: Match Preview

Our Best Needed At Wimbledon

Posted on | by David Haigh

WIMBLEDON v CANTERBURY

My closing words to the players in our huddle after Saturday’s game were “Be proud but don’t be happy” and as we unpicked the game through the week these feel like a good reflection. Before the game my two challenges to the players were to throw the first (metaphorical!) punch, for us to strike first and to make our community, the amazing people that support us, proud. Without a doubt the players did both. Our first try came after just nine minutes and is arguably the best of the season so far. We followed it up with two more well executed scores. Conceding just before half time reduced our lead to two and even thought the second half contained some good rugby from us, we had too many errors in possession which stunted our attack. This combined with letting in six tries meant that we came up two points short. Very proud of the performance, but still not happy with the result.

This weekend brings a trip up to Wimbledon, and for those of you that don’t remember the home leg, we conceded five tries and lost by three. We were very disappointed with our performance that day and Wimbledon very much deserved the victory. This weekend is about us giving a much better account of ourselves and continuing to play our best rugby.

The Pilgrims battled their way to another convincing win against Heathfield and Waldron to prepare themselves for this week’s Counties 1 Kent 1st vs 2nd game away to Dartfordians. It has been a game in the calendar that I know they have been looking forward to and will be a great test to their unbeaten run.

Matt Corker, Head Coach

CAN WE TOPPLE THE LEADERS?

Posted on | by David Haigh

CANTEBURY v ESHER

For us as a team to be considered as contenders in this league we must be able to perform against the top of the table. So far this season our performances against the top five have not been of the level we expect from ourselves. We ran Dorking close after giving away two early tries but in all the fixtures against the top five we don’t feel that we have shown what we think we are capable of. Its all very well thinking you can do something, but it only counts if you can show it.

Watching and reviewing Saturday was frustrating. We created many opportunities that we failed to capitalise on; the obvious difference between ourselves and Bury was their ability to execute when it counted. The players have really moved on their ability to review games and our conversations in meetings have become very honest and focused on which areas we need to improve and which areas are the strengths of our game. To take our performance to the next level we need to convert this understanding and good conversation into actions on the pitch. There isn’t a better test for us than against top of the table Esher, who visit the Marine Travel ground tomorrow. They are top of the league for a reason, and we are going to find out how we measure up against this seasons favourites for promotion. There are changes to our line-up as we recalibrate the back division while fitness problems have also influenced selection.

And the Pilgrims register another win: if I had a pound for every time I have written that this season… (I’d have 13 quid!). This one was as impressive as those that preceded it due to the number of changes to the team. Tom Mackenzie had his first outing as captain since joining the club in preseason and the players fought back from a 16-5 deficit to again score over 40 points on the road.

That leads me to remind you that we have another Saturday where both the First team and Pilgrims are at home. With two very big games on offer why would you want to be anywhere else?

Proud Of Our Progress

Posted on | by David Haigh

It’s great to be able to wish you a happy new year. We went into the break on a high after a great win away at Tonbridge, finishing the block in style. It went down to the wire as we were defending our own try line in the final minutes and the players gave everything for us to walk away with the points. When I look back at the block of games following the break for the World Cup final, we registered 5 wins from 6 with some really important victories. This is something that we are really proud of and as we look to this next block of games we must challenge the teams above us in the league table. This is the only way that we will be able to crack the top end and we now have the chance push on. That is easier said than done and we travel on Saturday to Bury to face an in-form side who are strong at home. We know the size of the task and are really looking forward to the opportunity against a team who are fourth in the league.

The Pilgrims are also on the road, away to Cranbrook. Teams will be well aware now of the threat that the Pilgrims pose and winning will become more of a challenge. They are more than up for the battle and it will be another exciting contest.

Matt Corker, Head Coach

Match Preview v TJs

Lessons From Alex Sanderson

Posted on | by David Haigh

TOBRIDGE JUDDIANs V CANTERBURY

Recently I shared a clip with the team of Alex Sanderson talking after Sale’s defeat at Quins. Going into the game Sale were six wins from seven and top of the premiership. That evening they lost by 30 points. He sums up rugby well for me; he says that if you aren’t right in the top two inches, if you’re off by only a small amount you are miles off it on the scoreboard. That was also the tale of our Saturday. Against a very motivated 4th in the league, we didn’t match their intensity for 50 minutes and conceded seven tries. At home that is unacceptable regardless of how good an opposition team is and in front of our home supporters it wasn’t good enough. Our late rally, scoring four unanswered tries of our own, shows what we are capable of but by that point we had left ourselves too much to do.

This weekend’s fixture needs very little introduction, as most derbies don’t, and the lesson from Henley has to be that we need to turn up ready to work for each other, and the club, from the first minute to the last, that’s the only way you can earn a win in this league. The players know what is required; our week has been spent preparing for the first whistle tomorrow.

The Pilgrims reached the halfway point of their season with their convincing victory over Bromley. With eleven wins out of eleven, and only one point short of maximum. Their introduction to Counties 1 has been impressive to say the least. Who doesn’t love a Friday night game and Thanet visit the Marine travel ground this evening looking to break the Pilgrims unbeaten run. Two Christmas crackers in one weekend, what a way to finish the year.

Matt Corker, Head Coach

Friday Night Lights

Pilgrims Friday Night Derby

Posted on | by David Haigh

Floodlit rugby is on the Friday night pre-Christmas menu this week (December 15th) when Pilgrims serve up a tasty East Kent derby against Thanet Wanderers 1st. The Counties 1 Kent clash kicks off at 7.45pm and is a great appetizer for those supporters planning to travel to the first team game at Tonbridge Juddians on Saturday. The Pilgrims are flying high at the top of the league and are playing great entertaining rugby. Admission to the match is free. The bars are open and food is available.

Match Preview v Henley Hawks

HAWKS WILL TEST US

Posted on | by David Haigh

CANTERBURY V HENLEY HAWKS

The frozen pitch at Bury may have put the chance to continue our good run of form on hold, but it came at a good time for us. After four physical encounters the opportunity for the players to rest some niggles has been welcomed and training this week has been full of energy. This will be needed this weekend as we welcome Henley who are sitting in fourth.

As part of our review at the end of last season we looked at our final league stats in comparison to Henley. We felt that both our games against Henley were close, we averaged one score behind over the two games, but they won 17 games compared to our 9 and finished fifth compared to our tenth place finish. This season we have been very focused on close not being good enough and we know Henley will be a test of how far we have progressed. If we want to be in the same part of the table as Henley, we need to be able to close out games against good teams, being plucky losers won’t change our situation.

The Pilgrims returned to action away at Ashford with a solid 0-19 win. It is a phenomenal stat that this is the first time in ten games that they haven’t earned a bonus point and It is very easy to forget that this is the team’s first season in this league. Fifth place Bromley come to the Marine travel ground on Saturday to try and halt the Pilgrims unbeaten run.

With both the 1st XV and the Pilgrims at home I’m looking forward to another cracking Saturday at The Maine Travel Ground.

Matt Corker, Head Coach

Match preview v Bury St Edmunds

Pleasing the Middle Man

Posted on | by David Haigh

BURY ST EDMUNDS V CANTERBURY

After another five points on Saturday, we are up to 6th in the league table as well as chalking up our fourth win in a row. It has been a long time since we have achieved this and it has been hard earned by the lads on the pitch. That isn’t the whole story though. From a really commanding position, with a 19 point lead after scoring early in the second half we finished defending a five point lead, with a top draw turnover from Jamie Stephens to close out the win. From my perspective the root of the problem in the last 35 minutes was our relationship with the man in the middle. 11 penalties, our normal average for a whole game, and two yellow cards put us under pressure and even after some strong defence sets, we were pulled back due to infringements. One of my favourite coaches I played under always said that the referee was the most important person on the pitch, and we have spoken this week about how to avoid our most common penalties and how to work back from a rocky period. It is important to not gloss over the great tries that we scored, most built on speed and accuracy and the change in our defence. After our reflection at the end of last season this was the main area needing improvement and the players have turned it into a strength. This week sees a test of our credentials at Bury St Edmunds who sit one place above us in the league table and are always formidable opposition on their own ground. Back in our starting line-up after recovering from injury is lock Shay Kerry but we lose flanker Cam Murray who, sadly, has suffered a family bereavement. The only question mark is over the weather as there have been heavy frosts in Suffolk this week. We hope to have an early decision on the fitness of the Bury pitch.

Matt Corker, Head Coach

V Crowborough

TOP TABLE CLASH

Posted on | by Denys Andrianjafy

PILGRIMS v CROWBOROUGH
The clash of the only two unbeaten sides in Counties 1 Kent make Saturday a special day at the Marine Travel Ground. Pilgrims with eight wins from eight, take on second placed Crowborough with a 2.30pm kick-off. Like the first team, the Pilgrims scored fifty points on the road last week but this game will present a completely different challenge. With Elliot Lusher called up for the Guernsey trip, there is a change in the front row but skipper Alex Evans still has the core of the squad that performed so well at Charlton Park..We are going for our third week of double wins as a squad and we know that both our teams will need to be at their best on all fronts.

Matt Corker, Head Coach

Vs Guernsey

CHANNEL ISLAND CHALLENGE

Posted on | by Denys Andrianjafy

GUERNSEY V CANTERBURY

Fifty points on the road, and five added to our league tally is exactly what we wanted from last Saturday. Long journeys and performing at your best is a mental challenge that we are beginning to get to grips with. This will be tested again on Saturday as we get on a plane to play Guernsey. There are still things we are working hard to improve, as there always will be, but I can really see growth in our understanding of what are the foundations of our best performance. The old cliché of the top two inches wins you games rings true for us at this point in our journey, and the players know the importance of mental preparation leading up to kick off. And can the Pilgrims keep up their fine unbeaten record in their home game with Crowborough? We are going for our third week of double wins as a squad and we know that we are going to have to be at our best on all fronts to keep on a roll.

Matt Corker, Head Coach

Match Preview North Walsham v 1st XV

Bringing The Energy

Posted on | by David Haigh

NORTH WALSHAM v CANTERBURY

Last week getting the job done in a tense local derby, played in torrential rain, is something the players and I were proud of. If we have learnt anything from South Africa lifting the world cup after closing out their last three games by a point, the only thing that matters is the score at the final whistle. There are things that we can improve on but we increased our physicality from the loss at Barnes which was a big target for us. We also finished some good tries. We know that we still need to improve our conversion rate in the opponents 22, which will make our attack more ruthless, but the energy that we brought to this area is moving us towards that goal.
Frank Reynolds spoke really well to the team at Thursday’s training session and his focus is getting us to the same emotional level this Saturday, away at North Walsham, as we did against Westcombe Park. This is the responsibility of the whole team and is the only way we will get the performances that we want.
We are saying goodbye again to Billy Young after his brief return following the sad demise of Jersey Reds. Billy is moving down to Cornwall for a new challenge with the Cornish Pirates. It has been great to have him back in the group and we wish him all the very best down in the west country.

The Pilgrims march on and made it seven from seven with a convincing win against Dover. After losing this fixture both home and away last season it was another great result as this group continues to get better week on week. The strength of the whole 1st XV and Pilgrims squad continues to push us forward as players move between both teams driving the environment. The Pilgrims travel to Charlton Park this week as they to continue to stake their claim for the top spot in the league.

Matt Corker, Head Coach