Averywarm welcome to you all today including our visitors from Coventry in this our first meeting between our two clubs at Championship level. We have played them before in our first year in National 1 a few years ago with Coventry confirming their pedigree and comfortably winning both home and away games by reasonable margins.
As anticipated it is taking a little time for us to adjust to the full rigours of Championship rugby this season, with our most recent loss coming last weekend at Ampthill. Having led 7 -24 at half time, we were unable to repeat our first half performance, and with Ampthill upping their game in the second half with 3 unanswered tries this resulted in a 2624 defeat by the final whistle. However, 4 tries from Nick Royle (2), Mike Cartmill and Ollie Hearn together with a losing bonus point gave us 2 valuable league points moving us up one place to 10th. in the table. Congratulations to Matt and the team whose efforts despite another reverse are proving increasingly competitive at this level.
Today’s game present a further challenge against a Coventry team that has won 4 and lost 2 games this season and will almost certainly be pushing for a top
half finish in the league come April. We welcome in particular their Chairman Jon Sharp, President Peter Rossborough, Chief Exec Nick Johnstone, Director John McGuire and Tom McGuire who will be joining us for lunch today.
Coventry have a fantastic history having played top class rugby for many years since their formation in 1874, with numerous international honours, and were top of the pile in terms of national rugby back in the 1970’s, winning major trophies such as the John Player Cup before professional rugby arrived on the scene. Players such as David Duckham, Fran Cotton, John Finlan and the aforementioned Peter Rossborough graced their ranks whilst providing the backbone of the international rugby side for a number of years as a result. The advent of league rugby saw a decline in Coventry’s fortunes but unlike some sides they always retained a presence in the national rugby scene, never falling below National 1 in the league structure, and have regrouped to become a force again near the top of the Championship.
This will undoubtedly be yet another serious test for Caldy and whilst a win may prove difficult, a good performance will provide further indication of our
progress towards achieving our ambition of maintaining rugby at Championship level. We hope that, whatever the result, Coventry also enjoy the Caldy experience today on their return visit to Paton Field.
Off the pitch we have continued to upgrade our facilities with further improvements to the floodlighting and to the bank now virtually complete. Other improvements have been carried out to satisfy Championship requirements both on and off the field and within the clubhouse areas. Our thanks go to all those responsible for putting in so much effort in such a limited timescale to ensure that we can all enjoy the level of rugby that is now on offer, and to our sponsors who have made this financially possible.
Our thanks must also go to our team of ground staff, the Last of the Summer Wine (LOSW for short), who freely give enormous amounts of their time to produce and maintain the standard of pitches that we all possibly take a little too much for granted. You only had to be here for the pre -season game against Sale Sharks and the recent home games to appreciate the wonderful aspect and playing facilities that the club now has to offer. I also need to mention the contribution of all those involved in the day to day operation and management of the club including our bar, catering and other members of staff without whom the club could not effectively function.
Thanks also to all of our members, supporters and spectators for your incredible support so far this season and
hopefully going forward as we continue to face the mounting challenges ahead. Your contribution cannot be underestimated and is an essential part of our effort to maintain our status with our centenary season just around the corner. We have certainly benefitted from larger crowds as a result of promotion, so let’s all get fully behind our team in the weeks and months ahead come wind, rain or shine and give them the positive support and encouragement they deserve. We have increased the capacity for our pre-match lunches which are becoming increasingly popular and are available to book on line. If you wish to do this or become a member/ purchase a season ticket or help us in any way please refer to our website for further details.
Finally, I sincerely hope that you enjoy your visit to Caldy today, come win lose or draw, and that we will all fully appreciate the fantastic level of rugby now on offer. Let’s celebrate this wonderful game of ours in the spirit intended with camaraderie and possibly a few drinks in the traditional way after the game.
Graham ArmitageHistoryIn 1874, a group which included members of the Stoke Cricket Club took part in the first organised game of Rugby Foot ball to be played in Coventry. Since then, the blue and whites have become one of English rugby’s most storied and historic clubs. Located in the heart of the city, Butts Park Arena has been their home since 2004
The Ipswich schoolboy, who was part of the Northampton Saints for five seasons first came to Coventry on dual registration from the Premiership side in 2019, be fore joining on a permanent basis. Having gained Premiership experience, as well as developing his game down under in Australia for a season, Trinder mixes his scrummaging power with a high level of ball-handling skill. Toby has become an im portant part of the Coventry Rugby senior squad over the last few years. In the ab sence of captain, Jordon Poole, Toby has led the side in the last two weeks in fixtures against Ampthill and Ealing Trailfinders.
The 25-year-old winger, who can also play fullback, joined the club ahead of the 2022/23 campaign from Dragons Rugby. Growing up in nearby Solihull, but qualifying for Wales through his father, Will has featured heavily in the World Rugby Sevens Series, and rep resented Wales at the 2018 7s World Cup in San Francisco. Since arriving in Coventry, the winger has become an integral part of head-coach Alex Rae’s squad, scoring 4 tries from 6 starts so far this season. As well as his dangerous pace, Will also possesses an enormous boot, and is known for taking on penalties from behind his own halfway line.
Last week saw Caldy visit Ampthill – another aspirational club if you follow the Championship Podcast – and we came away with 2 bonus points. But that doesn’t tell the whole story.
After a tremendous half when we dominated play and were 24 – 7 up, and Paul Turner, the Ampthill DOR said it could have been 35 –7 or 38 – 7, the second half saw Ampthill come back into the game to pip us 26 – 24. Great play and it shows that we are more than competitive against a team that has been in the Championship for 5 years. Fine margins seem to determine results, but the spirit, organisation and skill of our boys now mean we are disappointed not to be winning games against top Championship sides. What a journey it is, and our lads now must be beginning
to believe that they deserve to be in the top 25 clubs in the country on merit and they can fancy their chances against the “professional” sides.
As an aside, it was great to visit Ampthill. Lovely people and a real rugby club, and there must always be room in rugby for clubs to aspire and achieve what they have done for the last 5 years, and we are doing now. Rugby, like so much in life, is about people achieving the best they possibly can, and clubs should be allowed to aspire and achieve and by doing so inspire others. It is what makes sport exciting, and I am proud that our local rugby club, with local rugby players, has the 3rd highest attendance in the Championship.
Tomorrow, we see the visit of Coventry. The once mighty Coventry was a force to be reckoned with in the past. Stellar past players that included David
Duckham, the great winger who played on the famous 1971 Lions tour, and their Director Peter Rossborough, who won 7 caps as a fullback for England and had also had success with England 7’s both as a player and manager. A great history and in the years preceding leagues they were one the strongest teams in the country. We welcome Coventry to Caldy tomorrow and, also, our past player Lucas Titherington, who is sure of a warm welcome on his return after leaving Caldy to join Coventry in the summer.
The match against Coventry is sponsored by the one and only Richard Williams. A legend of Caldy and far, far wider. There are still people around the world who went to the 2003 World Cup who are relating experiences of having met Mad Dick Willy. I asked friends for stories about Richard and although several were hilarious and all showed Richard in a great light, I am not sure they can be published for legal reasons. What I can say is that Richard has a massive heart, a great love for all things Caldy and a liver that must be in the top 0.0001% in the country. Genuinely a legend and happy 74th Birthday, Richard!
With the recent news that
Worcester and Wasps have gone into administration, several thoughts come to mind. The first is what a shame for all those connected with both clubs, and we wish everyone affected well and hope both clubs reappear next season and we get the chance to play against them in the Championship.
The second is how could rugby clubs get into such a financial mess, and has the very structure of the Premiership and relationship with the RFU caused it?
30 years ago: a Japanese reader had written in, and he said that in Japan on a ship the Purser counted the money and the Captain decided where the ship should go. In the UK, he wrote, the Purser counted the money, and he then told the Captain where to sail. He said this was the difference between the UK and Japan business – and I inferred it meant that money men with little knowledge of their industry made decisions to make a short – term profit rather than planning for long term success. Sadly, it seems to the author of this newsletter that the Japanese letter writer was correct. Short term gain rather than long term strategy seems the way we now operate in many areas of life – and the failure of Wasps and Worcester seems to be a product of it for rugby.
A great shame, but whilst the RFU must take a degree of blame for having little or no governance and having reduced funding elsewhere to spend money on the Premiership (amazingly, they called giving over £400 million to Premiership clubs over 15 years an investment – when it most likely caused wage inflation with no clear return) the problem is a wider one. Unfortunately, despite
the best efforts by the RFU and Premiership clubs, club rugby is currently a niche sport and does not get the attendances or television viewers to justify the amount being spent at the elite level. And, as we all now know from only recently, borrowing money to meet operating costs will result in misery whether you are the Government or a business if circumstances beyond your control change. How World Rugby and the RFU grow the appeal of rugby to the wider public is a considerable challenge.
Hopefully the RFU, in collaboration with not just the elite clubs but the wider rugby fraternity, will find a way forward that will benefit all English rugby, and is financially sustainable. A difficult challenge as it is always easier pointing out what is wrong than finding solutions and we will all need to put aside our vested interests, and support for what benefits our own clubs, for the way forward to be successful.
Perhaps it is better for us state what Caldy is about and the principles and values that drive us. We want to remain a community club with strong mini and youth sections and thriving girls and touch sections; we do not want to
be a one team club and we want to develop our own young players, and those in our geographical locality, to be the best they can be. All our players have other jobs and careers, or are students, and are not solely dependent on rugby financially and as such play rugby as a sport. We are not dependent on only one sponsor and don’t want to be, and we don’t spend money that we don’t have and therefore have no debts and have no plans to take any on. We have improved our facilities for spectators and wish to replace our ageing clubhouse – but being on Green Belt, with the land held in trust by the National Trust and requiring Planning Permission, it is not something that happens quickly. Most of all we want our rugby club to be sustainable for the long term where players achieve the best they can at all levels, and all can enjoy themselves.
Other clubs have different models, and we not only recognise and respect those clubs but enjoy challenging and playing against them. There is no one size fits all in rugby and we shall continue to aspire to be the best we can be without fundamentally changing what we are. Hopefully, there
will remain a place in the higher echelons of rugby for clubs that aspire but don’t want to go down the full-time professional route and for reasons beyond their control, are unable to build a stand. With success down to achievement rather than meeting a list of criteria that could potentially cause a closed shop unless debt is taken on. It is what makes sport exciting and attracts crowds and interest –playing the best teams regardless of everything else. We will wait and see, and fingers crossed that English rugby comes out of this stronger and with a more stable financial base.
Enjoy the rugby tomorrow, and for Caldy, it is about enjoying the experience of playing against a fine, old rugby club like Coventry and I am sure it will be a cracker of a game with Coventry in very good form at present.
Finally, why not join our Caldy Breakfast Business Club. A great chance to network with over 60 local businesses, great speakers and all will have Caldy Rugby in common. Support Caldy!
Welcome to Caldy and I would firstly like to thank everyone who has been coming to the games and supporting the squad. At the last home game we had the biggest attendance in the league that day, which, considering we are newly promoted is fantastic and shows that we really are a championship club and pushes us to make sure we can establish ourselves in the division this year.
Jersey was a great challenge and to be leading at halftime shows that we are competitive. In the end we made a few too many mistakes second half which we were punished for but as always the lads stayed in the fight with a late try. Last week away to Ampthill
was more disappointing as it was a game we should have taken all 5 points from. We had a big lead at halftime and the lads will be disappointed with the number of errors in the second period. We are acclimatising well to the level and will be disappointed not to have had at least 2 more wins so far.
Coventry are another full time club with an experienced squad which they have added to recently with lads who have been caught up in the Worcester debacle. This will make it another huge challenge but as ever with the support of the home crowd we will give it everything we have to try and get the points!
Andrew Soutar - Coach Sponsor: Heatons Gareth Davies - Director of Rugby
