Caldy Vs London Scottish

CALDY RFC CALDY RFC RFC CALDY RFC CALDY CALDY RFC CALDY RFC RFC CALDY RFC CALDY CALDY RFC CALDY RFC RFC CALDY RFC CALDY CALDY RFC CALDY RFC RFC CALDY RFC CALDY CALDY RFC CALDY RFC RFC CALDY RFC CALDY

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President’s Welcome Graham Armitage

A very warm welcome to you all today including our visitors from London Scottish for this their first ever visit to Paton Field. We met previously back in early December at the Athletic Ground, a game which Scottish won by 19 points to 9 and we therefore hope to square the series today although Scottish will no doubt have other ideas.

Last week Caldy travelled to Coventry to face a side in good form in 3rd. place in the league although they did lose on their last outing the week before down at Cornish Pirates. Caldy started well scoring first but were gradually worn down following a number of mistakes which were severely punished by the home team. Despite possibly having parity in terms of territory, each time Coventry attacked they seemed to score whereas the reverse was true for Caldy whose forward display probably deserved a better return. Sam Dickinson, Ruben Birch and the pack as a whole never gave up and were eventually rewarded when scrum half Chris Pilgrim scored in the final minute following forward pressure and a rare mistake by the Coventry forwards.

Other fixtures on the day saw Scottish playing Pirates, who are in good form, last weekend at home and where

somewhat unfortunate to lose by 2 points outscoring the visiting side by 5 tries to 4 apparently. In fact they have lost by close margins against a number of teams recently including Jersey away which is both indicative of their current form and belies their position in the league table.

Today’s game therefore presents a further challenge against a Scottish side at the bottom of the league who will be determined to close the gap between our two clubs in terms of league points in their efforts to climb to safety. They have a number of quality players who presented us with problems in our previous fixture, and, dependent on the team they bring, will no doubt be very competitive today. Scottish are a team with a famous history since their inception in 1878 and have provided over 200 international players mainly as you may suspect to the Scotland side over the years. Names like Mike CampbellLamerton, Gavin Hastings and Kenny Logan amongst others come to mind. A number of these players went on to play for the British Lions including 4 of whom who captained the team. In 1998/99 Scottish were playing in the Premiership but following administration were forced to drop 9 leagues by the RFU ( one rule for some, one rule for others

Caldy Rugby Business Club

Caldy Rugby Club, Paton Field, Telegraph Road, Wirral, CH48 1NX

What is the Business Club?

Caldy Rugby Business Club has built a membership of 25+ businesses; a number that is always growing as we have new members join. This has provided a solid foundation for commercial activities at the club.

We have had some fantastic speakers join us – Ian Ayre, Simon Halliday, Kenny Logan, Lawrence Dallagio, and most recently, former England and International Rugby Player Charlie Hodgson.

Members will have access to a programme of quarterly breakfast events, with speakers from a wide range of commercial, business and sporting backgrounds.

Access to a range of partners, to whom Business Club members will have exclusive access to help develop their own business interests.

Annual membership fee of £500 +VAT plus £250 joining fee.

Benefits:

n Pitchside advertising board at Caldy RFC for your business

n Two Caldy RFC season tickets –enabling you and a guest to attend Caldy RFC home games at Paton Field

n Two breakfast invites for the guest speaker events per quarter

n Company logo in the Caldy RFC matchday programme – 15 per season

n Entry into the International ticket ballot

n Logo and write up on the Caldy RFC website

n Priority booking for the hire of the Club house for events, parties, meetings

n Free entry to Caldy 7’s

If you are interested in joining Caldy Rugby Business Club, please contact Jonathan Kemp at Jonathan@aev.co.uk

www.caldyrugbyclub.com/business-club

! ) before promotion after promotion saw them regain Championship status by 2011, a fantastic achievement, and a level at which I think they have remained ever since. We hope that, whatever the result today, Scottish enjoy the Caldy experience on this their first ever visit to Paton Field.

We welcome in particular their Director Nick Grecian and other members of his family and other board/committee members some of whom will be joining us for lunch today. Nick was a great player who’s daughter has married our own Andy Darlington recently and to whom we send our warmest congratulations.

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 early season 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. 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 for the remainder of the season come wind, rain or shine and give them the positive support and encouragement they deserve. We have increased the capacity of our prematch lunches which have become so popular that I think we are fully booked for the remainder of this season. We also need your support, however, in terms of sponsorship in whatever form and if you wish to become a member/purchase a season ticket or help us in any other 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 can all fully appreciate the fantastic level of rugby now on offer at Paton Field. Let’s celebrate this wonderful game of ours in the spirit intended, renewing old friendships and possibly sharing a few drinks in the traditional way after the game.

Today’s Opponents

London Scottish

London Scottish have been slowly building throughout the 2022/23 season but have been plagued by a number of close losses and tough breaks. With four losses coming with a margin of three points or less, London Scottish have been much more competitive than their league position has indicated. Going into the final run of games, the Exiles are looking to turn their fortune around and put together a run of wins before the end of the season

Three to watch!

Dan Nutton

Position: Scrum Half

Height: 175 cm

Weight: 83kg

Previous: Edinburgh, Scotland u20s

Dan came to London Scottish ahead of the 2021/22 Championship season having previously been contracted to Edinburgh. He impressed greatly in his first season for the Club and continues his stay at London Scottish into the 2022/23 season.

He signed his first professional deal with the capital side in October 2020 after impressing during a handful of appearances at the back end of the 2019/20 campaign.

Matas Jurevicius

Position: Second Row

Height: 190 cm

Weight: 108kg

Previous: Tonbridge Juddians, Harlequins (Current)

Matas played his junior rugby with London Scottish and was one of the leading lights in the Colts programme last year. He impressed so much that he received England Counties Under 18 recognition and thus a contract with the London Scottish 1st XV for the 2018/19 season.

Jurevicius had a highly successful first season in the professional set up at London Scottish. He has been part of the Professional Entry Programme and has developed physically whilst improving his game on loan at National Two South Tonbridge Juddians

Position: Flanker

Jack Ingall

Height: 188 cm

Weight: 98kg

Previous: Christchurch

Jack joined London Scottish ahead of the 2018/19 season after coming through the Club’s Professional Entry Programme. After being born in High Wycombe, Jack attended Wellington College which helped him with his rugby, before he travelled out to New Zealand. When he was there, he played for the Crusaders Academy and provisionally with Christchurch.

That Friday Feeling John Lyon

This week the focus is very firmly on the 1st xv’s crucial home fixture against London Scottish – one of the most famous sides in UK rugby.

London Scottish are a young and talented side with strong support from Premiership Harlequins. They have steadily improved throughout the season and with their own Championship survival dependent on winning their 5 remaining fixtures they will be one of the most dangerous opponents to visit Paton Field this season.

The maths are simple. If Caldy win they will secure their place in the Championship for another season but if London Scottish win it could give them the momentum to climb the table and potentially overhaul Caldy. Everything rides on this fixture and Caldy’s Director of Rugby Gareth Davies knows what is at stake.

“For Caldy to reach the Championship was an outstanding achievement not just for Caldy but also for rugby on the Wirral as a whole. The Wirral has some great schools producing a wealth of rugby talent and this local talent is the backbone of Caldy’s squad. Caldy RFC has been uplifted by the support we have received from all the other Wirral clubs as we have embarked on our Championship journey. Tomorrow we can all help to ensure the Wirral will be able to support their lads in the Championship for another season. This game is that important. It is as big a game as against Sale FC on 23rd April 2022, which gained us

promotion to the Championship.

“I am sure the Wirral public will give us their loudest and most passionate support.”

Tim Kilpatrick has the following message for all in the mini/junior and youth sections. We need everyone’s support this weekend in this crucial game for Caldy.

Minis, Juniors, Girls, Colts, Women & Touch rugby, just every Caldy RFC Community member and supporter will hopefully come to Paton Field to provide their most vigorous and passionate support to help the 1st xv secure the club’s place in the Championship for next season.

Please purchase discounted tickets online in advance or use your complementary season ticket. Let’s try and make this our biggest attendance ever and beat last season’s record turnout against Sale FC! Thanks to our Caldy u8’s coaches, parents & players for volunteering this Saturday to help with the gate, parking, raffle & litter picking – much appreciated.

SUNDAY – good luck to all 32 teams entering our 30th Caldy Junior Rugby Festival – our biggest Junior Festival ever !

Group games KO 11.00 am on all six rugby pitches, Caldy RFC and Calday Grange Grammar School Glasspool, with Finals scheduled to play from 3.00 pm

Please come along to support and enjoy!

2022/23 Player Sponsors

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A Perfect League Season

Whilst today’s focus is very much on Caldy’s 1st xv game against London Scottish time should be taken to congratulate Caldy’s 2nd xv on another ‘Perfect League Season’ as they completed this feat in the Halbro Premier League with a home win by 57-5 last Saturday against Stockport RFC.

Played 25 Won 25, Including cup games Points for 1139 , Points against 247. They are now unbeaten for 67 games since April 2019 That is some achievement made all the more remarkable by recording a clean sweep against all other Premier League clubs for the third season in succession!

Sooty, CJ and all of the 2nd xv squad deserve huge congratulations for a record that is unlikely ever to be surpassed. The squad have no game today but they Paton Field to support their team mates who will be turning out for Caldy v London Scottish with a 3 pm kick off. Get there early, enjoy a pint and search out Sooty, CJ and the 2nd team squad to give your thanks personally!

David Brewster Managing Director

2022/23 Player Sponsors

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Sam Dickinson

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Caldy Coach’s Report Matt Cairns

Welcome back to Paton field for a game which could have huge significance. A win for us today ensures we will remain in the championship for next year. January was a hugely important month for us and the 4 wins saw us open a significant gap to the bottom which means in reality Scottish have to win every game to catch up with us. Scottish’s only win this year came against us in a game where we just didn’t fire

a shot and we will be hoping to put that right this week. We all know that there is a heavy Quins involvement with Scottish and I’m sure they will be trying everything they can to ensure that there is championship rugby again for them next year. I hope you all enjoy the game and hopefully the unbelievable home support the team receives can be enough to push us to the result we need!

Andrew Soutar - Coach Sponsor: Heatons

Gareth Davies - Director of Rugby

Matt Cairns - Head Coach Sponsor: Caldy Under 16’S

Richard Vasey - Coach Sponsor: Premier Guarantee

Today’s Squad vs London Scottish