John Lyon

For the Ravers squad the story of this thrilling Friday night away win in the capital began with a hasty 1 pm dash from the day job to catch the 2.08 from Lime Street to Euston. That a few of the squad were unable to travel and a few missed the train was understandable, the day job has to come first. Then the trip across rush hour London for a 7.45 pm kick off under lights at old friends and newly promoted Blackheath.

It was obvious from the off that Blackheath fully deserved their promotion. Led by hooker Billy Harding who last season scored a record breaking 48 tries, Club had the up-front muscle to challenge the Ravers renowned pack. Within 5 minutes the home side also showed they possessed power, pace and invention right across the pitch and they deservedly took the lead with an early try in the corner. After 25 minutes the home side stretched their lead to 12 points when debutant full back Iwan Price- Thomas crashed through two would be Caldy tacklers to score Club’s second try.

With the journey still in their legs the Ravers were doggedly hanging on without really threatening the Blackheath line until man of the match Nye Thomas’s decisive break from the base of the scrum reduced the deficit to 5 points. The Ravers went into the break 5 points down at 12-7. It could have been worse.

Caldy’s Head Coach Matt Cairns was a calming influence at the break. “Friday night in London is a very tough assignment for Caldy’s part-time squad, and I reminded the lads that we were still very much in the game. My instructions were to stay in the contest and if we were in touch with ten minutes to go, we would win through.”

Despite turning around to face a stiff swirling wind the Ravers followed Cairns’ instructions to the letter. Blackheath stretched the lead to 19-7 courtesy of another Price-Thomas score but Caldy stayed connected with another score from Nye Thomas to cut the deficit to 5 points.

The freshness from the Caldy bench reinvigorated the visitors and they started to play with the impressive Reuben Logan leading the charge. When winger Rhys Tudor powered over in the corner just before the 70-minute mark to give the Ravers a slender 19-21 lead it looked as though they had just clinched their first victory of the campaign, but Blackheath weren’t done. With time winding down Ed Scragg dived over from a ruck to restore Club’s lead to 24-21 and now the jubilant home side just had to hold out for a couple of minutes to record their first ever Elior Champ win.

It wasn’t to be. Caldy’s relentless determination allied to Blackheath’s ill-discipline gave the visitors field position which they clinically and patiently exploited for the win rather than securing the draw through a very kickable penalty.

A succession of driven penalty line outs would surely have led to a penalty try if Ollie Hearn hadn’t touched down with the clock in the red zone. Final score Blackheath 24 Caldy 28

Caldy will be pleased to have come through a tough Friday night encounter against a good side who are equipped for life in the Elior Champ. A perfect goal kicking performance from Ollie Davis and Ben Parkin, impressive discipline to only concede a total of 6 penalties throughout the game and Caldy’s relentless doggedness was the difference.

This season Ravers supporters will need to acclimatize to differing kick off times due to the demands of television coverage. The Ravers’ second home fixture is on Saturday 3^rd October when the Ravers welcome Chinnor to Paton Field with a 1pm kick off time (Yes, you have read that correctly 1pm!).

Gates will be open at 10 am and you can buy your tickets here.

It will surely be another Stella (or Guinness or Prosecco) day at Paton Field

                                                   Wirral 2^nd xv 7   Caldy 2^nd xv 62

Caldy’s 2^nd xv opened their league campaign on Wirral’s 3^rd team pitch against their fiercest of local rivals. Nonetheless, such is the pull of a local derby, this competitive fixture was watched by a decent crowd that compared favourably with the numbers on the adjacent pitch supporting Wirral’s 1^st xv against Bowden in their starting level 5 fixture.

The home side fielded a number of experienced players and no little size in their pack, but the young Caldy side had their own experienced players to call on in Ryan Higginson and Charlie Attis but unfortunately the expected appearance and experience of JJ Dickinson was thwarted by a hamstring concern.

There was a lot to admire about the 2^nd xv’s 100^th consecutive league victory which showcased a lot of talent and precision in ball presentation and recycling. The early exchanges showed no shortage of effort and endeavour by both sides. Caldy’s young second row Malama Faasavalu carried powerfully, frequently denting the Wirral defence to set up promising positions.

After the young Ravers had raced into a 0-19 lead through Wiggins, Carroll and Wilson, some early season rust was evident. Two further try scoring opportunities were fluffed and an always committed home side scored a well-worked try to leave the score at 7-19 after a hectic 20 minutes.

This reverse was what the visitors needed. Stand off Charlie Attis limited his kicking and started moving the ball through hands. The home side had no answer to this as their resources were continually stretched by Caldy’s attacking pace.

Wingers Dylan Carroll and Lucas Wiggins both scored hat tricks with Dylan notching up a fourth for good measure. Up front outstanding hooker Max Wilson caused havoc in the loose, scored a couple of tries and provided good line out service to Adam Boodhun who cleaned up in the air. As the visitors clicked into full gear the introduction of powerful youngsters Gabe Mault and Matt Sangare piled further pressure on the home side with Gabe clocking up a score before Max Wilson and Dylan Carroll finished off Caldy’s 7-62 fixture.

Everyone in Caldy’s squad played their part in this good win and all looked to have the real potential and capability to push on and achieve the standards necessary for 1^st xv Champ rugby. 18-year-old hooker Max Wilson was deservedly given the Man of the Match award for his tireless aggression and accuracy throughout a whirlwind of a performance.

Caldy coaches, Andrew Soutar and Christian Jones and onlooking Head Coach Matt Cairns will have been pleased with the progress by this young group of players

The Rav3rs 3rd team will have to wait an extra week to start their campaign after the match on Saturday was abandoned and rearranged due to the referee’s car breaking down on the way to the match!

Finally, the Colts started their respective league campaigns on Sunday Afternoon, with the Senior Colts losing out to a tough Heaton Moor side, while the Junior Colts won on the road at Trafford MV, scores below

Senior Colts – Caldy 0 – 20 Heaton Moor
Junior Colts – Trafford MV 5 – 36 Caldy

Midweek Musings – 30/09/26

The end of September and the Ravers have five points after two challenging games against Hartpury and Blackheath. But of course, every game in the Elior Champ is challenging and no more so than this weekend’s Elior Champ home match at Paton Field against Chinnor, which kicks off at 1pm with gates open at 10 am.

As part of the drive to reach a wider television audience this season’s fixtures in the Elior Champ contain differing kick-off times from the normal slot at 3pm on a Saturday. For the Ravers many but not all matches will kick off at the unfamiliar time of Saturday at 1 pm. Supporters will need to be vigilant and check kick-off times to avoid the disappointment of arriving at Paton Field after the match has finished!

This Saturday’s showdown is against one of the toughest sides in the league in Chinnor.

The Official RFU table currently records 6 league points for Chinnor placing them one place above 6^th placed Caldy. This is a slight surprise given that despite Chinnor’s outstanding 8 try 33-52 demolition of Bedford away at Goldington Road last Saturday, which also gave them a winning 4 try bonus point, Chinnor didn’t pick up any league points in their opening home 26-43 loss against Ealing Trailfinders.

The new points system only awards try bonus points to the winning side and only if they have also scored at least 3 more tries than the opposition.

Notwithstanding league table glitches Chinnor are an outstanding side. Their 5^th place in last season’s league table demonstrates their ambition and to thump Bedford at Goldington Road is a massive early season statement which The Rugby Paper called a ‘Chinnor Power Show’. A well-deserved description exemplified by Chinnor hooker Alan Walker’s hat trick against the Bedford Blues.

Chinnor’s vibrant and accurate attacking game tempo built off a dominant forward platform ripped last season’s 2^nd placed side Bedford apart. It will have been a long, long time since an away side recorded more than 50 points in a winning performance at Goldington Rd.

The Ravers will certainly need the vociferous full-throated support from the Wirral to record their first ever Elior Champ win against Chinnor.

Although it is an early 1 pm kick off, there will be rugby at Paton Field for the whole of the afternoon which also marks Caldy’s Ladies Day. Following the Elior Champ game a young (and perhaps a couple not so young!) Caldy 3^rd xv will kick off their league campaign at 3 pm in a derby fixture against Port Sunlight’s 1^st xv.

The glamour of Caldy’s Ladies Day, a 5-hour rugby extravaganza, hot food and cold beers and prosecco throughout the day. Must be irresistible!

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Story of the Stats

ELIOR CHAMP RUGBY · ROUND 3

Caldy

• Cam de Beer leads the league for total successful tackles this season with 34, contributing to Caldy’s 2nd-place ranking for total successful tackles as a team.
• Caldy lead the league for mauls won this season with 23, and their ability to convert that set-piece dominance into points is reflected by their 4 maul tries scored (2nd).
• Caldy lead the league for jackals this season with 8, underlining their threat at the breakdown and their ability to disrupt opposition ball.
• Nye Thomas is 2nd in the league for tries scored per 80 minutes this season with 2.2, and also ranks 3rd for jackals per 80minutes, making him a threat on both sides of the ball.

Chinnor RFC Thame

• Alun Walker leads the league in tries scored per 80 minutes this season with 2.4, and also tops the league for successful lineout throws with 25, making him a dual threat at both set piece and in open play for Chinnor RFC Thame.
• Chinnor RFC Thame have won 71.4% of all head-to-head meetings with Caldy, claiming victory in 5 of their 7 fixtures, and have won all 3 of their visits to Paton Field.
• Chinnor RFC Thame lead the league for box kicks with 25 this season, and their 39 kicks in play places them 2nd, reflecting a disciplined and territorial kicking game.
• Jack Metcalf leads the league in interceptions this season with 2, and ranks 2nd for total turnovers won with 3.

Thanks to Oval Insights for the stats