That Friday Feeling – 7th October 2022

Rugby in the Championship embraces a diversity of club goals, squads, and financial structures, and playing styles. Tomorrow at Paton Field Caldy which is at one end of the Championship spectrum will be facing Jersey Reds who are one of the Championship clubs at the other end of the spectrum. It should make for an intriguing matchup.

The fully professional Jersey Reds, with 4 wins out of 4, are presently in 2nd place behind leaders Ealing and they will be coming to the Wirral as extraordinarily strong favourites to make it 5 wins on the bounce. There are some vague similarities between Caldy and Jersey. Over a similar time period both have risen up through the leagues to arrive at the 2nd tier of English rugby.

In 1987 Jersey started their rise from level 7 with an ageing wooden clubhouse and arrived in the Championship in 2012 with a home ground at the impressively named Stade Santander International stadium adjacent to the Jersey international airport. In 2021 the British Lions and the England side both used Jersey Reds home as their preparatory base for a week or more, ahead of the South Africa v British Lions and the Autumn internationals campaign.

In 1997 Caldy started their ascent from level 9 with an ancient wooden clubhouse and arrived in the Championship in 2022 with the same prehistoric wooden club house at their home ground of Paton Field. In 2022 Ramsey from the Isle of Man played Caldy’s 3rdxv as part of their early season preparations.

Jersey Reds, who reputedly have the biggest pack of forwards in English rugby (and possibly one of the biggest in world rugby), are likely to pose different challenges for Caldy than last week’s opponents Bedford. The Blues attacked with quicksilver pace and movement, which so bemused the Wirral side they were 38-5 down at the break. It took a spirited fight back and tactical adjustments for the Ravers to come back to the prehistoric wooden hut with a valuable 4 try bonus point.

With little other local senior rugby being played tomorrow, the Ravers will be spurred on by the support of their friends from Birkenhead Park, Anselmians, Hoylake, Wirral, and New Brighton, who will be supporting their former players who have helped elevate Caldy into the Championship.

Caldy’s Head Coach Matt Cairns has selected the following 23-man squad for the Championship game against Jersey Red which kicks off at Paton Field at 3 pm.

1. A. Aigbokhae 2. O Hearn 3. A. Darlington 4. S Dickinson 5. M Gerrard 6. H Crowe 7. C Ridgway 8. JJ Dickinson 9. N Thomas 10. E Hinchcliffe 11. D Bibby 12. M Barlow 13. M. Cartmill 14. N Royle 15. E Gourlay16. T Clarke 17. N Rushton 18. R Higginson. 19. T Sanders 20. T Parry 21. J Murray 22. R Hayes 23. B Jones

Tickets for the game may be bought online at £10 for each adult here https://caldyrugbyclub.com/buy-tickets/

Tickets bought at the gate are £15 per adult.

Community Rugby – A message from Tim Kilpatrick

Calling all Caldy RFC Community members – Minis, Juniors, Girls, Colts, Women & Touch rugby – we need your support this Saturday for the vitally important Championship fixture against the high-flying Jersey Reds

Please purchase discounted tickets online in advance or use your complimentary season ticket to boost our Caldy 1st XV Championship Rugby attendance.

Everyone is welcome to come along to Paton Field on Saturday & help us make as much noise as possible in support of our senior side.

Thanks to our u9’s coaches, parents & players for volunteering this Saturday to help with the gate, parking, raffle & litter picking. It is very much appreciated by everyone.

Congratulations to our U16s for their impressive home win last Sunday v Hoylake on the main pitch & thanks to everyone’s support from the Bank.

Well done, Caldy Senior Colts, who also won 21-12 last Sunday. Next up this Sunday for the Senior Colts in the second round of the U18s National Cup round is a tough match against Blackburn with a 2 pm kick-off at Paton Field.

Good luck to everyone & have a great rugby weekend!