FRIDAY FEELING – 17th September 2021

The Friday Feeling isn’t just a snappy name for an article it is real and if there are doubters Caldy’s burly tighthead prop Jack Parker can put them straight.  

As Jack walked through West Kirby with his family last Friday, he was ebullient, so much so his wife Rachel was prompted to ask why. “It’s rugby tomorrow “said Jack “the coach trip, the game, the craic with the lads, I have missed it so much and its back”. 

Although Jack and his teammates lost narrowly 29-21 away to Cinderford the quality of the match and their performance left its mark. 

“As it was their second league match, they were a tad sharper than us on the day” said Jack “and they just squeaked the win. It wasn’t a downer; we had the edge in the tight exchanges, and we also knew where we were a bit rusty. On the coach trip home, we all felt the buzz of being back in National 1. It was so good to be back”

If Jack was buzzing last Friday, he will be super excited today because tomorrow is Caldy’s first senior home game since April 2019 and the match up just couldn’t be better.  The visitors are Birmingham Moseley rugby club. 

As well as being Birmingham’s premier side, Moseley are one of the most famous clubs in England with a glittering array of former players including Keith Fielding, Sam Doble, Victor Ubogu, Mike Teague and more recently in 2005 Caldy coach Rich Vasey and subsequently in 2013 Caldy backrow Sam Dickinson. At that time the powerhouse No 8 was on loan from Premiership side Northampton Saints as he battled his way back to fitness.

Caldy captain and No 8 JJ Dickinson knows just how resilient Moseley are. 

“We faced Moseley four times during our two previous seasons in National 1 and every game was just so tight. Our stats man Roger Flashman told me that we are level with two wins a-piece and surprisingly also level on points scored over the four games with 72 points each. Mose are a top club, and they play a great brand of rugby. As a squad we are delighted that our first home game is against them.”

The last time the sides met was on the final day of the 2019 season at Moseley’s impressive Billesley Common ground when both sides were in a three-way relegation battle with Cambridge. 

2 minutes to go and Caldy were ahead 10 -7 and Moseley were in the relegation spot. But a dramatic last gasp try by Moseley’s Jacques Le Roux from the last play of the game gave Moseley a tight 12-10 win to reprieve the home side. With fellow strugglers Cambridge surprisingly recording a big away win at Sale FC, Jacques Le Roux’s score sent Caldy tumbling down to National 2 North.

According to JJ Dickinson none of this recent history will have any bearing on tomorrow’s game.

“We are a league season in National 2 and a Covid pandemic further on from our last meeting with Mose. Although we fell short last week at Cinderford, Mose have won both their first two games against DMP and Blackheath. But we are playing on our pitch tomorrow and with the hit out against Cinderford under our belts we will be ready for Moseley”

Caldy’s Head Coach Matt Cairns has picked the following squad for the home game against Birmingham Moseley which kicks off at Paton Field at 3 pm on Saturday 18^th September:

1. Rushton 2. Stagg 3. Parker 4. Gerrard 5. Sanders 6. Crowe 7. Dickinson 8. Dickinson 9. Thomas 10. Bennett 11. Cartmill 12. Barlow 13. Titherington 14. Jones 15. Hayes 16. Hearn 17. Clarke 18. Ridgway 19. Aigbokhae 20. Gourlay

Caldy’s 2^nd xv is also in action at home on Saturday in a Halbro Premier League clash against Macclesfield. After two impressive opening wins on the road including last week’s 33-5 win away against Preston Grasshoppers Caldy’s 2^ndxv forwards coach Christian Jones was keen to press the importance and the quality of the 2^nd xv squad.

 “A lot of these players are likely to get game in National 1 this season. It is a huge step up to that level and it is our job to make sure they are ready and able to perform. They are all playing for 1^st xv places

Cadly’s 2^nd xv Head Coach Andrew Soutar is able to select from the following impressively strong squad:

1. Williams 2. Sanders J 3. Bretherton 4. Smale 5. Greenway 6. Davidson 7. Sanders 8. Jones 9. Ainscough 10. Wyman 11. Jones 12. Lewtas 13. Hinchcliffe 14. Gray 15. Isaacs 16. Mountney 17. Ovien 18. Harman 19. Hardisty 20. Kelly 21. Williams 22. Spencer -Wolfe 23. King 24. Doyle 25. Eaves 

Caldy RFC thrives because of the commitment, effort, and financial support from an exceptionally dedicated group of individuals. These range from our hugely generous sponsors who provide the essential funding necessary to operate at this level, all the way through to the pinnacle of our club, the august and venerable ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ gang who work continuously and tirelessly to keep our pitches and surroundings to an exceptional standard. 

They are all so deserving of the highest praise, our game and our club couldn’t survive without them. We applaud and thank them collectively for their efforts. However sometimes a person puts in such a shift that they have to be singled out.

Today at Caldy a big marquee has been erected to accommodate a terrific start of the season lunch and tomorrow to host a Past Players event. The marquee is sited on a newly levelled area at the top of the much enlarged ‘Caldy Bank’. This remodelling of our basic infrastructure has been a massive undertaking carried out during the worst of the pandemic. Nearly 1,000 tons of stone and soil have been moved and remodelled with all the necessary hidden support to the enlarged Caldy Bank.

This huge effort will allow today’s guests to attend the event without the need for ropes or crampons, enabling them to drink their wine and eat their meal in a normal horizontal plane until they become bewildered by the occasion.  

The funding for this project has been led by Gary Devaney and his group of sponsors but none of this would have happened with out the indomitable and unrelenting drive and energy of Bob Cooke. 

Bob has not only continuously led, managed, and physically worked on this project he has also led and immersed himself in the process of professionalising the club’s event management beginning with the events over the next two days.

Cooky mate you are a bloody star!