Caldy – That Friday Feeling 24th Oct ’25

Tomorrow is game day, and Cambridge RFC are coming to Paton Field for what will be a pivotal game for both clubs. The Ravers will be looking to go 4 wins from 4 games, and the Blood and Sand will be looking to open their Champ account in the 2025/26 season.

The contrasting fortunes in the opening 3 fixtures has little or no bearing on tomorrow’s fixture as Caldy’s Head Coach Matt Cairns explained “As we have shown in previous seasons in this league on their day any team can beat any other. Cambridge have been competitive in each of their opening games; they will be targeting a win at Paton Field to open their Champ account for sure. We are all pleased with the winning start we have made to the season but in all honesty there is still a lot to work on to get our performance up to the level we are capable of. Our start and first 40 minutes against Nottingham was poor. We cannot afford to do the same against Cambridge this weekend.”

Cambridge came into the Champ after winning the National 1 title in the closest ever finish just pipping Rams and Sale FC to the title in the 2022/23 season. Caldy and Cambridge have been bracketed at the bottom of the league in the last two seasons with both league matches at Paton Field being extremely close with the Ravers winning the first encounter 31-28 and the Blood and Sand prevailing 21-26 last time out.

Former All Black and Leicester Tigers player Craig Newby joined Cambridge as Head Coach in May 2025 after two seasons coaching in Japan. Cambridge are a big physical side and have enjoyed significant periods of ascendancy in each of their opening fixtures against Doncaster Knights, Ampthill and London Scottish. They refreshed their squad during the close season and under Newby’s experienced guidance they will surely be on an upward trajectory.

Caldy will need to be focused and committed for the full 80 plus minutes if they are to keep up their winning momentum.

Match Tickets are available to buy here : https://caldyrugbyclub.com/buy-tickets-membership/
Gates will be open from 12 noon.

Image – Lewis Barker

Matt Cairns has selected the following squad for Saturday’s Champ fixture at Paton Field against Cambridge. The match kicks off at 3.00pm.

1. N Rushton ( Capt )
2. O Hearn
3. J Sproston (50th Caldy appearance)
4. M Gerrard
5. T Sanders
6. S Olyott
7. J Jones
8. R Logan ( Caldy debut )
9. N Thomas
10. K Wilkinson
11. W Robinson
12.  M Barlow
13.  C Wilkinson
14.  O Ene
15.  M Kilcourse

Replacements ; M Gallagher, M Weatherby, R Higginson, M Loboda,
D Owen, T Akehurst, L Barker, J Mitchell

Image – Francesca Rowley

Match Tickets are available to buy here : https://caldyrugbyclub.com/buy-tickets-membership/
Gates will be open from 12 noon – Adults £20, Juniors 17s-18s £5, Children u16s free

Caldy clubhouse ‘President’s Bar’ & Marquee Bar open from 12.00 noon
Plus live streaming on clubhouse tv – Fylde Hawks 2nd xv v Caldy 2nd xvkick off 12.30pm

Outside Trailer Bar, Poretti Stand & Scoreboard Bar all open from 2.00pm
Outside catering Burrito Shack, Dough Bros & Ginger Cat Coffee all open from 2.00pm

So please get down to Paton Field tomorrow afternoon & support your Ravers.
Let’s pack JJ’s Bank & the Ravers party stand to create a proper Paton Field atmosphere !

plus live music after the game “Harry James” in the marquee from 5.00pm – 7.00pm

Image – Lewis Barker

Thanks also to our u11s players, parents & coaches for organising their curtain raiser, guard of honour & raffle tomorrow, plus volunteering to help with car parking. Please buy your raffle tickets from u11s on the day to win fabulous prizes !

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Community Rugby – Sunday 26th October 
With Half Term on the horizon, it’s time for the Minis to consolidate their learnings over the first few matches of the season with a training session at Paton Field.
Juniors have an eclectic mix of fixtures with Macclesfield and Mold travelling to Paton Field and the u16s off to mid-Wales to play Cobras.
The Colts have finished their preliminary leagues and rewarded with a week off. Senior Colts finished 2^nd in League A to Chester and the Junior Colts finished hard on the rails with 2 victories and a walkover, also in League A. We await fixtures for the Colts Conference League proper.

Minis
u6s, u7s, u8s, u9s, u10s, u11s, u12s all training at home
Juniors
u13s at home v Mold
u14s training at home
u15s at home v Macclesfield
u16s away v Cobras
Girls
u12s, u14s, u16s, u18s training at home 
Junior Colts
u17s rest week  
Senior Colts
u18s rest week

Good luck to everyone & enjoy your rugby this weekend !

But please remember “No referees, No games” – disrespect or verbal abuse of rugby match officials is totally unacceptable & has no place in rugby.

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Rugby coming up
Saturday 1st November – Champ Rugby round 5
Cornish Pirates v Caldy kick off 2.30pm at The Mennaye Field, Penzance 

Saturday 8th November – Champ Rugby round 6
Caldy v Worcester Warriors kick off 2.00pm at Paton Field
This will be the weekend’s Champ Rugby Live Streaming Showcase game with the Champ Rugby trophy coming to Caldy together with massive pitch banners, guard of honour flags, extra tv cameras to capture all the build up, action & match day atmosphere 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]

Plus
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