After starting the Champ campaign with four successive bonus point wins the Ravers have momentum…
A View from JJ’s Bank
| 1st xv result – Cornish Pirates 34 – 27 Caldy |
| Champ Rugby round 5 – Saturday 1st November 2025 Cornish Pirates ………34 pts Tries: Hallam 21, Moody 24, 45; Hiscocks 27, King 38 Conversions: Robson 22, 28, 39 Penalty: Robson 62 Caldy ………………. 27 pts Tries: Sanders 12, Hearn 31, 51, Penalty 43 Conversion: Wilkinson 32 Penalty: Wilkinson 72 Sunday morning 1.30 am and with 30 minutes or so still to travel Tom Sanders’ 6ft 8 inch frame was stretched out at the front of the Caldy coach. His eyes barely open, the giant second row haltingly engaged in a stuttering conversation with some of Caldy’s senior players and even more senior representatives. His Cornish road trip, which had started from the Wirral at 3.30 am on the Saturday morning, wasn’t the only reason he was cream crackered. 80 minutes in the boiler room alongside Max Laboda in a furious arm wrestle against the full-time Cornish Pirates squad was as draining for the players as it had been entertaining for the spectators at the ground and those watching on Clubber TV. The Ravers had come up just short, losing by a single converted try at the Mennaye Field. Despite picking up two bonus points on the road, there was still a somewhat flat atmosphere in the Ravers’ party as Welsh maestro Lewis Barker explained. “For the first time since we have travelled to the Mennaye Field we were confident we could pick up a win. Not doing so was disappointing. The difference between the sides was probably the slightly better composure by the Pirates in the key moments. We left a couple of scores out there and gave ourselves just a bit too much to do after shipping three quick tries in the middle of the first half.” The effort had been there from the whole squad including a mightily impressive contribution from hard-hitting front row forward Monty Weatherby who played the entire 80 minutes alongside his other front row colleagues. The Rugby Paper rightly picked out Weatherby, two try hooker Ollie Hearn and tight head prop Nathan Rushton as Caldy’s top performers. Coming off the back of a sequence of four bonus point wins and sitting second in the table, Caldy were full of confidence and deservedly took the lead after 12 minutes when Tom Sanders muscled over from a driven line out. With the Ravers seemingly in control a burst of three tries in six minutes by the Pirates could have completely changed the momentum. However, a score just before the break by Hearn closed the gap and brought the Wirral side right back into it. Down 26-12 at the break it was crucial that the Ravers scored first in the second half and they did so through a penalty try after continuous pressure from the Caldy pack led to repeated and cynical infringements by the Pirates giving referee Henry Pearson little choice. A score by Pirates’ Sol Moody and a penalty kick by Arwell Robson were cancelled out by Hearn’s second try and a penalty from the composed boot of Kieran Wilkinson. Despite finishing the stronger the Ravers were unable to score from a few promising positions in the Pirates’ 22 metre area and the home side held on for the win. The whooping and hollering at the final whistle by a relieved Pirates’ squad was testament to the closeness of the result. As the wheels on the bus went round and round Tom Sanders briefly re-entered the conversation “In past seasons we would have been delighted with two points from a visit to Cornwall our disappointment says everything about this squad. We need to keep this winning mentality” Cornish Pirates : Price-Thomas, Ward, Ribbons, J Elderkin, Cambriani (Yates 63), Robson (Sinclair 63), Hiscocks (c), Heaney (Young 47), Moody (Pritchard 47), Petch (French 47), Bell, King, Hallam, Forsythe (Ratcliff 19), Agbongbon, B Elderkin, Rigelsford Caldy : Kilcourse (Barker 47), Tudor, C Wilkinson (Mitchell 73), Barlow, Robinson, K Wilkinson, Akehurst (Wynn 47), Weatherby, Hearn (Gallagher 47), Rushton (Rabbette 66), Loboda, Sanders, Olyott (Parry 47), Owen (Jones 66), JJ Dickinson (c), HigginsonReferee : Henry Pearson Attendance : 1,504  On Saturday 8 November the Champ’s new Big Dogs Worcester Warriors come to Paton Field for a first ever encounter between the sides. Tom Sanders and his fellow Ravers will need the absolute best support that the Wirral can offer if they are to prevail. The match kicks off at 2.00 pm with gates open at 11.00 am. Match Tickets are available to buy here : https://caldyrugbyclub.com/buy-tickets-membership/ It promises to be a thunderous encounter as 2nd placed Caldy RFC take on 4th placed Worcester Warriors at Paton Field in round 6 of the Champ.  Image – Francesca Rowley Rugby coming up Saturday 8th November – Champ Rugby round 6 Caldy v Worcester Warriors kick off 2.00pm at Paton Field Match Tickets are available to buy here : https://caldyrugbyclub.com/buy-tickets-membership/ Hospitality available for more details & bookings please contact Kenzie email : [email protected] Saturday 8th November – NOWIRUL Premier League Sedgley Park 2nd xv v Caldy 2nd xv kick off 2.00pm at Park Lane, Whitefield, Manchester M45 7DZ Sunday 9th November – Cheshire Junior Cup 1st round Wilmslow u18s v Caldy u18s kick off 2.00pm at King’s Road, Wilmslow SK9 5PZ – Date for your diary Thursday 13th November – Caldy Sports Club AGM 7.30pm start in the clubhouse, Memorial Hall, Paton Field Please note the AGM agenda includes proposals to allow Oxton Hockey Club to join as full members of CSCL |
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