Friday Feeling – 21st January 2022

There are days when any inspiration, flair, or talent that you may possess just goes walk-about. No matter how hard you try nothing happens and you realise you just need to grind it out. 

This is easier said than done. It takes a certain mentality, stubbornness, toughness, and durability to win through when nothing is easy. Just the qualities that epitomise Caldy’s second row pairing of Tom Sanders and Sam Dickinson. 

This rugged and uncompromising duo were the difference last week at Billesley Common as Caldy won through 15-11. Moseley’s onslaught was broken by the hard graft, hard yards, and hard tackles from Caldy’s pack with Tom and Sam leading the way. 

The decent sized Moseley crowd housed in the impressive stand were vocal in their encouragement for the home side but for all the exhortations from their supporters a pumped-up Birmingham Moseley just could not find a way to breakdown Caldy. 

Caldy’s on field resistance was being mirrored in the stand. Every time the chants from the home support quietened, a dignified lone voice boomed out a repetitive one-word response. It unsettled the locals……..” Who is Colin?” they wanted to know, “He isn’t on the team sheet……..have they got in a new player?” Eventually, with obvious mirth one of the many puzzled Brummies deciphered that there was no Colin and Rod Walker’s shouts of encouragement were for Caldy. 

It certainly was not pretty or fluid rugby but this relentless and unyielding resistance from everyone summed up what this Caldy squad is all about. They trust each other and when the chips are down, they give everything for each other. Caldy’s DoR, coaches, players, officials, supporters and sponsors collectively known as the ‘Ravers’ are a team and that matters more than anything else.

Ravers are warriors and before the season is finished it is possible that Al Roberts and Charlie Barwood will thrill everyone in the wooden shack with their bare chested explanation of what it really means to be a ‘Warrior’.

Bob Cooke has asked that the Friday Feeling put a shout out to all Ravers to provide their online support to the club’s planning application for the new clubhouse. It only takes a few minutes to register support and everyone’s support will be needed to make this happen.

The plans and access to the planning portal can be found here  https://caldyrugbyclub.com/caldy-new-proposed-club-house

Head Coach Matt Cairns has selected the following squad for the home match against Blackheath which kicks off at 2.00 p.m. at Paton Field

1.Aigbokhae 2. Hearn 3. Rushton 4. Dickinson S 5. Sanders T 6. Crowe 7. Ridgway 8. Dickinson JJ 9. Murray 10. Hinchcliffe 11. Royle 12. Barlow 13. Titherington 14. Jones B 15. Gourlay 16. Clarke 17. Higginson 18. Jones D 19. Gerrard 20. Cartmill

Caldy’s record breaking 2^nd xv have no game this week.