Category: Match Preview

A few forced changes this week unfortunately. Tyler Oliver has a thumb injury, no fracture but will be out for between 1-3 weeks depending how it responds. Jamie Stephens moves to Number 8 and Harvey Furneaux comes on to the bench. Part of Lewis Hollidge’s loan agreement was for him not to play against Blackheath, therefor he is unavailable. Ross Gladdish starts at 13 with Vaughn Meredith joining the replacements. Cam McMillan starts at hooker after a good performance last week. Nathan Morris moves to the bench as he is managing an ankle injury.

Last week was exactly how we wanted to start the new year. I think it’s important to acknowledge that Westcliff are on a difficult part of their journey and their players battled hard for 80 minutes. All clubs go through difficult periods, and I want to wish them all the best for the rest of the season. From my perspective, I was really pleased to see the way the players performed and how their hard work keeping fit over Christmas had paid off. Three weeks without a game is a challenge and the players managed to pick up where we left off. Another positive from the weekend was seeing Will Waddington be acknowledged for his consistently strong performances by being awarded NCA National 2 East player of the week.

This weekend poses quite a different challenge for us as we face Blackheath who are sitting at the top of the table. When they visited us at home we were humbled, conceding 57 points and our focus this week has been on giving a much better account of ourselves. We have a good understanding of what our strengths are and we know if we commit to these we are a very good team, we just have to be brave enough to show it.

Matt Corker, Head Coach

Today’s game against Henley Hawks is to go ahead following a pitch inspection on Friday. Kick-off 3pm.  The Canterbury squad will be without captain Jamie Stephens who was injured in the Guernsey match. Jamie must now undergo return to play concussion protocols and is ruled out for a minimum of two weeks. Tom Best will lead a side which sees Tom Halliday start at centre and Jake Dengate in the back row.  Newcomer Ross Gladdish is named among the replacements.

Centre Ross Gladdish makes his first team debut at Guernsey on Saturday. The former Blackheath and Westcliff player is In the starting line-up after featuring in Pilgrims victory at Park House last week.  Scrum half Tom Williams is also handed a starting place after recovering from the shoulder injury which kept him sidelined for three months.  Tom Halliday and Ben Cooper move to the bench while the pack is unchanged from the Old Albanian game.  Back row Alex Evans is recovering from illness so has been given another week to regain full fitness before he comes into consideration.

Head Coach Matt Corker says that while he is clearly not happy with the team’s current league position he believes that we are close to getting results.  ‘We have played some good rugby in recent games but we must stop giving sides an advantage through our slow starts”, he said.    “Guernsey away always offers a unique challenge in our season. We are privileged to be able to get on a plane to go and play a game of rugby and the last few games between us have been full of drama. Last season we started strongly, forging ahead 21-0 in the first half. The second half was a very different story and ill discipline opened the door for Guernsey to come back into the game and it took a penalty try in stoppage time for us to earn a draw. The game before that, a similar driving lineout in the last few minutes earnt us a dramatic win in our promotion season. We are taking a strong squad with us this weekend across the water, and I am expecting similar fireworks to our previous meetings.” The Pilgrims have a vital Counties 2 Kent league clash at home to Vigo, one of the three sides who have narrowly beaten them this season. Kick-off is 3pm

Canterbury travel to West London on Saturday to meet third placed Barnes knowing that they have very rarely come second at the host club’s ground. Last season the game at Barn Elms ended in 20-20 draw and a squad buoyed by last week’s victory over Rochford Hundred will be looking to put in a strong performance. There are two selection changes with wing Guy Hilton returning after completing mandatory concussion protocols while front row man Eoin O’Donoghue joins Guy on the replacements bench.. This will be Eoin’s first team squad debut. Kick-off is 2.30 pm. The weather forecast for Barnes is light rain so supporters should come prepared as there is very little shelter at the ground. AT The Marine Travel Ground the Pilgrims take on Sidcup 2^nd, a side currently one place above them in Counties Kent 2, kick-off 3 pm, and on Sunday the Womens’ team are at home to Kent rivals Medway Ladies with a 2.30 pm kick-off. Unfortunately, the 3^rd team’s Kent Invicta league home fixture has been cancelled as opponents Beckenham cannot raise a side.

Head Coach Matt Corker writes: “Last Saturday, turning round at half time with a lead of 10 points to nil playing up the hill, we were in an identical situation to the game against Dorking. The growth in the team over the last few weeks really shone through in the next forty minutes and there were many positives that contributed to a strong win. The way we controlled the territorial battle and applied pressure through our kicking game was one of the biggest improvements. Another hallmark of a good performance was the composer that we showed after conceding two quick tries to narrow the scoreline. The team made a plan and stuck to it, and I feel you could see the clarity of purpose that this gave us.

Barnes are eight places above us in the table and have had some good wins in the first eight games but the important thing for us to focus on is that we are only separated by 10 points. Each weekend is an opportunity for us to climb the table but to do this we know our attention must be on getting better every week.”

MATCH PREVIEW
Saturday’s game will be seen as a real opportunity to end to a four game losing streak. Rochford Hundred have three victories this season, including a shock win at Tonbridge Juddians, and are three places above Canterbury in the league table. However, the Essex side have a poor defensive record, averaging 32 points per game in the ‘against’ column’. They suffered a 28-3 reverse at Barnes last week. Matt Corker makes a couple of changes to the squad which did service at Sevenoaks with Dave Irvine returning to the second row and Frankie Morgan to the wing. Guy Hilton is still undergoing concussion protocols so Will Calder takes the Number 14 shirt, with Max Halliday moving to the replacements bench.
The Pilgrims travel to meet Sevenoaks 2 who are currently the undefeated leaders of Counties Kent 2.
Matt Corker says: “When you have lost a game, it is much harder to find the positives. We obviously still have things that need work, but even though results haven’t been going the way we want, the team has been making improvements week on week. So why aren’t we winning? We have some clear areas that we need to be more clinical in, and this week they have been our focus on the pitch but I have also spoken to the players about the quote below from Jacob Riis, the American 19th Century journalist.
“When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”
This has been used by other sporting teams, but I think it applies to our situation. All good teams go through difficult times, it’s what we love about sport. My message to the players has been don’t put down your hammer just keep pounding the rock, because when your back’s against the wall it’s the only way out.”

Wings Guy Hilton and Frank Morgan are unavailable so Head Coach Matt Corker shuffles his back division for Saturday’s trip across Kent to Sevenoaks, kick-off 3 pm. Scrum half Will Calder is given a new role in place of Morgan with Max Halliday starting on the other wing. Sherif Lanre makes his senior squad debut after impressing in the Pilgrims win last week. The forward pack is unchanged from the Dorking game. The match at Sevenoaks will be played on the club’s main pitch for the first time this season. Earlier problems with the state of the pitch forced a postponement of Sevenoaks’ game against Blackheath and other home matches were played at Sevenoaks School. Canterbury will be looking for a first win in four outings against a side which is below them in the National 2 East table.
Matt Corker writes: “To lose in the last play of the game is always a hard to take. Last week against Dorking we squandered too many chances in the first half. Had we capitalised on half of our visits in the Dorking twenty two we would have gone in at half time with a very different score line. Again, some good attacking endeavour in the second half always ended in errors and although there were some great defensive sets, often defending for long periods, we came unstuck in the final play. We have talked this week about managing failure. Our reaction to last week’s result is crucial and we have worked on some of the fundamentals to support our game. We know that Sevenoaks will be looking for a strong performance in their first game at their home ground and I’m expecting another close contest.”

Canterbury v Dorking

A return to form is Canterbury’s priority for the visit of league newcomers Dorking. Defeats in the club’s last two games have shaken confidence and Head Coach Matt Corker is looking to address the problems. He says: “Last week the new league structure gave us our first weekend off and it has given our season a much better rhythm. Players were able to refresh, and it has also given us a week to reflect. I feel that we have moved away from some of the things that make us dangerous as an attack. Our focus in preseason was “knowing our strengths is the key to us winning” and this still is something that we are still learning and I want us to be better at. Dorking may be new to our league, but they are sitting high in the table in third after a strong start to their season. Their attacking style and entertaining rugby has helped them get three good wins and I am expecting a great game at the Marine travel ground on Saturday. Some of you may recognise a familiar face in their team sheet and it will be good to see Will Scholes back at Merton lane

Changes to the Canterbury squad see Royce Cadman in the starting line-up, in place of Dave Irvine who was unable to train this week. Harry Andrews is recalled to the back row and Alex Evans returns to the replacements bench. The backs are unchanged from the Worthing game.