Champ rugby is a serious and competitive business which tests and stresses every organizational facet of the 14 participating clubs. These pressures come together most acutely on the morning of an away fixture. Last week’s 215-mile journey to Cambridge had its typical challenges.
A 5.30 a.m. alarm call for Caldy’s President Graham Armitage in his West Kirby home is matched by a corresponding alert for Caldy winger Rhys Tudor in Conway. Morning rituals may vary very slightly for Graham and Rhys, but both are on top of their preparation with match day nutrition and game day paraphernalia checked and loaded into the car by 6 a.m. Rhys picks up Dan Owen, Jordan Jones and Lewis Barker before arriving to meet the Caldy team coach on the Chester High Road at 7.15.
Graham’s 7.5-minute journey to Paton Field is meticulous and without incident. At 7 a.m. the coach trundles down the Paton Field drive with a small entourage of senior statesmen, a clutch of coaching, medical and support staff together with a small number of players. There will be 5 stops along the Wirral, the M53 and the start of the M6 to on-board the rest of the match day squad. Graham won’t start to relax until the whole squad is safely delivered to Cambridge’s Ellgia Fields ground two hours before kickoff which for the Cambridge game is midday.
By 7.50 am all pick-ups have been completed and everyone except Graham is chilled. Graham doesn’t do chilled. The players and the ‘officials’ have differing nutritional and hydration travel regimes with the players’ being perhaps the more orthodox.
At 8 am the officials have their breakfast refreshment with a gentle plant, spice and fruit-based infusion designed to boost the immune system. Graham chooses coffee over the ‘winter warmer’ and possibly regrets his choice as a cup full of hot milky coffee cascades into his lap, tarnishing his cream chinos.
Ingredients for Caldy’s Winter Warmer
9.45 am and there is a 45-minute stop at Corley services ……breakfast for some, coffee for most and a DIY laundry stop for Graham. His clever use of wash basins and hand dryers distributes the unpleasantly dark coffee splatter more widely but less obviously across his chinos. If the constant rain and poor light holds for the rest of the day his earlier mishap may not necessitate awkward explanations at lunch.
10.30 am and back on the coach the officials enjoy a second fizzy hydration, designed to boost their sugar levels ahead of the quiz. The very interesting questions concerning Cambridge, Six Nations, Champ statistics and Caldy record holders were compiled by quiz master Lewis Barker with help from Caldy’s performance analyst Tom Atherton. Few of the participants knew that open side flanker Dan Owen, with 17 turnovers, was second in the Champ standings or that since 1980 the side that Caldy has played most often is Winnington Park. However, most correctly guessed at the identity of Caldy’s Champ penalty machine.
12 noon and the Ravers coach arrives at Ellgia Fields. Graham can start to relax. Other than the unfortunate positioning of the dark ‘Gold Blend’ tide mark his lunchtime speech holds few terrors for Caldy’s amiable President.
Caldy secure a bonus point win 24-26 building momentum into the forthcoming clash this coming Saturday at Paton Field against Cornish Pirates.
Match Tickets are available to buy here : https://caldyrugbyclub.com/buy-tickets-membership/
The four and a half hour journey home is celebrated in the usual relaxed manner by the playing squad with captain JJ Dickinson leading the singing. President Graham Armitage attempts and encourages numerous renditions of ‘Don’t Fence Me In’ the song made famous by Bing Crosby and the recently departed Caldy legend Kenny Roberts.
Bing Sings “Don’t Fence Me In”
The coach was back on the Wirral by 21.45. Rhys, Chunka, Dan O, Lewis and Big Joe continued their celebrations in ‘The Parrot’ in Buckley but sensibly Graham decided not to join Tim Kilpatrick and Kieran Free in a trawl of West Kirby’s still open hostelries…….he had laundry to attend to.
