Caldy Vs Ampthill - Championship

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 Ampthill in this our return league fixture this season. We have already met 3 times this season, twice in the Cup with each team winning the home game and once in the league away which Ampthill won by two points 26 -24. We hope to square the series today although Ampthill will no doubt have other ideas.

Last week we travelled ‘abroad’ for the first time as a Championship team to visit Jersey on their home turf, although no passports were required. An amazing number of Caldy supporters, estimated at between 3 and 4 hundred in total, made the trip to celebrate this event and whilst the result was difficult to take, the population of Jersey is no longer in any doubt as to where Caldy is on the social, geographical and rugby map. The game itself was mainly one way traffic with Jersey showing their credentials as a potential Premiership team, playing with both pace and guile that Caldy found difficult to handle from the outset. Whilst Caldy never gave up, and in fact had scoring chances at the end to retrieve a losing bonus point, Jersey were well worth their record breaking victory. As Matt our head coach reported after the game the difference between a fully

professional team and a team that trains two evenings a week was fully exploited on this occasion.

Today’s game presents a further challenge against an Ampthill side just below us in the league who fared reasonably well in the Cup competition, and who will be determined to close the gap between our two clubs in terms of league points. They have a number of quality players who presented us with problems in our previous fixtures, which will have no doubt been scrutinised by the home coaching team. Hopefully we will have learnt much from our recent games and can rediscover some of our form from earlier this year.

We welcome in particular their President Pat Sherry, Chairman Alex Radley, Director of Rugby Mark Lavery and other members of their committee some of whom will be joining us for lunch today. They have become old friends, our two clubs having now met on many occasions in the past decade. Ampthill have more recently proved their credentials over several years of playing Championship rugby having been admirably coached by ex Welsh international Paul Turner and retaining their league status, with some noteable successes against top sides in previous

Caldy Rugby Business Club

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

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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.

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seasons. Like ourselves Ampthill will be determined to ensure a further year of competing at Championship level, so no doubt this will be yet another tough encounter but also a further opportunity to rediscover winning form for both sides after difficult matches last Saturday. We hope that, whatever the result, Ampthill also enjoy the Caldy experience today on their 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 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 and particularly last weekend which will be so memorable for many of us. 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 pre-match 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.

Three to watch!

Charlie Beckett - Lock (C)

DOB: 03.11.1995, Height: 1.94m, Weight: 119kg

Joined the club from Gloucester in August 2020 and made captain for the 2021-22 season. A product of the Leicester Tigers academy and previously played for Jersey Reds in the Championship before joining the Mob. An inspirational leader for a young squad.

Conor Rankin - Full Back

DOB: 21.05.2001

Height: 1.86m, Weight: 90kg

Joined Ampthill from Ulster in July 2022. Capped 3 times by Ireland at U20s. An ever present in the Mob starting XV this season and was giving kicking responsibilities in absence of Tom Hardwick. As effective in defence as attack – chips in with a few tries!

Tom Hardwick - Fly-Half

DOB: 24.03.1999

Height: 1.86m, Weight: 90kg

Joined Ampthill in the summer of 2022! Tom was educated at Rugby School and part of Leicester Tigers Academy. Tom made 32 senior appearances for Leicester Tigers scoring 117 points plus 10 appearances for England U20s.

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That Friday Feeling John Lyon

Last weekend Caldy’s senior sides had very mixed fortunes, with the 2nd xv clinching the Halbro Premier Division title after a 26-12 home win against Fylde whilst the 1st xv slumped to a 71-14 loss away against Jersey.

Caldy’s 2nd xv coach Andrew Soutar was delighted with the win which came in slightly unusual circumstances. “This was an important game but unfortunately Fylde arrived shorthanded. To ensure it was a good contest we lent Fylde a couple of players. It was nearly a banana skin of our own making. Sam Olyott who has been excellent all season volunteered to play for Fylde. Sam was again in inspired form and was very clearly the Man of Match…… playing for Fylde against Caldy! In the end rugby and Caldy were the winners. It was a proud day for the squad.”

This week Caldy’s 2nd xv are away at Rossendale in a league and cup double header with the kick off scheduled for 3 pm. In contrast the 1st xv’s recent impressive league form deserted them in Jersey as they went down to the heaviest defeat in their inaugural Championship season. The squad was perhaps somewhat undercooked after their momentum in the league was stalled by the recent run of matches in the Championship cup

competition and a fallow week before the Jersey fixture. A very impressive Jersey squad took full advantage. Their combination of power, pace and accuracy was too much for the Ravers. There were chances for Caldy to snatch a 4 try bonus point but Jersey’s ferocious determination meant that the Ravers and their 400 or so travelling supporters left the island pointless but with memories of a hugely enjoyable pre- and post-match experience. This week Caldy has a huge home fixture against Ampthill. Ampthill sneaked the win earlier in the season. With both clubs at the wrong end of the Championship table there is a lot riding on the outcome of this match. A vociferous and supportive home crowd will be massively important to help the Ravers to shake off last week’s disappointing result.

Caldy RFC is pleased to record that former Caldy youth player Louis Fletcher who started in the Caldy minis and played through all the age groups before moving to Wales to study at Swansea University has been selected in the Wales Under 20 squad for this evening’s Under 20 international fixture against Italy in Treviso. Congratulations to Louis on this honour.

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Caldy Coach’s Report Matt Cairns

Today’s Squad vs Ampthill