Kent 1:  Odd that this fixture was scheduled for today given that NAG were scheduled to appear in the Junior Vase so they were probably thankful that Seaford conceded.  So a plus and a negative for NAG as they fell to a 34-15 league defeat to Southwark, a result that moves the Sth London club into the top half of the table.

RFU Cup Competitions:  When I wrote this blog in October summarising the cup competitions I mentioned how disappointing it was to see a high number of walkovers.  Unfortunately that trend has continued, now reaching almost epidemic proportions with just over 70% of this weekend’s cup ties resulting in a walkover. One might understand the odd concession but the raft of walkovers must be disappointing for the competition organisers and ultimately could potentially see the demise of these valuable competitions if the commitment to honour fixtures is no longer there. Elsewhere in the country the issue doesn’t appear as prevalent with only 20% (4) of the Midlands cup ties conceded (unfortunately for the author, who being away had intended to watch Mkt Rasen & Louth v Coalville, but that match fell to the dreaded walkover).

The Northern and SouthWest divisional cup competitions are conducted in a different format but even they aren’t immune to the issue, but as with the Midlands, to nothing like the epidemic extent of the London & SE Division.

Intermediate Cup:  Half of the eight fixtures resulted in walkovers with Gravesend progressing at the expense of Chiswick and Dover conceding their outing to O Reigatians. Having been reinstated after Romford & GP were disqualified for playing an unregistered player Beckenham should have travelled to local rivals Charlton Pk in what looked the pick of the fixtures, but in the end Charlton Pk progressed without having to kick a ball. The other walkover saw Harpenden not fancying the trip to play Norwich.  Of the matches that did get played Colfes beat Farnham 16-36 to progress, whilst Maidstone suffered a heavy 3-62 loss to a very tidy O Cranleighians outfit.  Letchworth were 39-10 winners against visiting Saffron Walden whilst Horsham were convincing 21-53 winners at Hammersmith & Fulham.

Senior Vase: Of the four cup ties, two resulted in walkovers as Chelmsford and West Norfolk both progressed. In the two matches that were played, Bromley, who have a decent record in this competition lost out 24-10 to Ldn 3(SW) club Portsmouth. The other fixture saw Harrow outgunned by Battersea Ironsides, who progress following a solid 15-43 result.

Junior Vase: Of sixteen scheduled cup ties, just five saw players take the pitch and of those fixtures Basingstoke lost out 19-32 to visiting Reeds Weybridge and Cranleigh hammered E Grinstead 64-0. OMW were 62-10 winners against Fareham Heathens to progress whilst PJF fell to a 15-31 defeat to Sandown & Shanklin.  The last of the matches played saw St Albans lose out 14-53 to Law Society.  Of the walkovers, all of the county’s clubs progressed with Anchorians, Ashford, NAG and Sittingbourne all through to the next round.

For a complete round up of results go to http://rfulondon.com/cups where the draw for the next round will be made on Wednesday.

Thanks to the assistance of sponsors Hospitality Finder, Maidstone Rugby are delighted to announce that  Mike Tindall M.B.E will be visiting the club on Wednesday 28^th November.

Mike will be coaching the junior squad along with children from local charity, Young Lives Foundation.  After training, the children, parents and club members will have a chance to have their questions answered by Mike as well as photo and autograph opportunities.

Hospitality Finder’s strong ties with the game stem from the official rugby corporate hospitality that they have been providing at Twickenham Stadium for the past decade. They firmly believe in putting back into the grass roots of the sport and see this as a great opportunity to do just that by bringing their brand ambassador and global star of the game to the county town club with whom they enjoy a very close relationship.

Hospitality Finder recently formed a partnership with Young Lives Foundation, a Kent charity who strive to improve the lives of disadvantaged children.

Young Lives Foundation CEO Stephen Gray comments: “When Hospitality Finder approached us about getting our young people involved in this event, we didn’t have to think twice. Having the exposure to Mike Tindall, a sportsperson that they look up to can only have a positive outcome”.

Maidstone Rugby have previously hosted an event in 2016 with Mike and are delighted to welcome the former England captain back to the Mote to share his knowledge with their junior section.

National 1: Whilst it remains tight between the leading group of clubs with 5-points covering the top eight club, I think I can say with reasonable certainty that this is the first time this weekly missive has been able to report that Kent clubs hold the top two positions in this division.  Blackheath take over the lead after they posted a 41-24 win against visiting Sale, whilst Elthamians sit level on points after they toughed out a 15-19 win at Plymouth Albion. Rosslyn Pk sit third following a 33-33 draw with Chinnor and Ampthill are fourth following their 22-8 win which ended Rotherham’s recent string of good results.  Of the other leading contenders Caldy hosted Cindeford with the visitors taking the spoils 31-38.  At the foot of the table the bottom two clashed with Loughborough St beating Moseley 35-25, whilst Esher narrowly lost out 24-25 to DMP.  Bishops Stortford are another of the strugglers and they also just lost out by the odd points as they fell 23-22 at Cambridge.

National 2(S):  Of the top five clubs, only third placed Taunton lost out, coming second in a high scoring 51-38 scoreline at Barnes.  At the top, Rams were 33-15 winners against Dings, whilst second placed Henley were 47-12 winners against Clifton.  Canterbury and TJs sit in fourth and fifth respectively, with Canterbury narrow 13-15 winners against Guernsey, whilst TJs had an equally tough encounter for their 29-27 win against struggling O Redcliffians.  The foot of the division saw the bottom two clash, with B&S getting the better of Ldn Irish WG12-19 and moving above their opponents.  Redcliffians occupy the other relegation place, with Guernsey and Clifton also sitting in the danger area.  The other fixture was an upper mid-table clash with O Albanians moving above Redruth thanks to a 27-10 win over their Cornish opposition.

London Premier:  Westcliff’s 22-19 defeat at S&E means that Wimbledon are back at the head of the table following their 29-19 victory against Dorking, with Guildford maintaining station in third place after they overcame Brentwood 32-38.  Tring and Sidcup are below them and just a point adrift following solid 53-8 and 20-44 wins against strugglers Shelford and Chingford respectively.  At the bottom of the division Shelford are beginning to fall away and are some 11-points adrift of Bedford Athletic, who picked up a useful 36-22 win against visiting Tunbridge Wells, Chingford currently occupy the other relegation spot, some 5-points adrift of CS Stags who lost out to Hertford in a narrow 22-24 scoreline

London 1(S): In what’s beginning to look like a breakaway top four, the top two remain locked together with Medway 43-34 winners against fourth placed Sevenoaks, whilst Brighton posted a 34-14 win against Thurrock.  Camberley’s 42-22 win against visiting Cobham keeps them in third spot.  At the foot of the table Hove’s misery continues as they fell to a 45-29 defeat at fellow strugglers Havant, a result that moves the Hamshire club out of the bottom three, to be replaced by Chobham who lost 37-17 at Dartfordians.  Chichester also picked up a useful win with a 29-12 victory against visiting Ldn Cornish.  The last of the fixtures saw fifth paced Westcombe Pk 18-22 winners against Tottonians

London 2(SE):  A tight 34-35 win at Dover sees leaders Beckenham open up a 6-point buffer at the top of the table from Horsham who move into second spot after a convincing 11-50 defeat of struggling Aylesford. Charlton Pk are third after they hammered bottom club H&W 8-69.  At the bottom of the table H&W and Aylesford occupy the relegation places from Thanet Wdrs who fell to a 27-20 loss at D&B, with Maidstone above them after they slipped to an unlucky 17-16 loss at Haywards Heath. The remaining fixture saw Gravesend narrow 18-20 winners at Colfes.

London 3(SE):  Top met bottom result in 17-53 victory for leaders Crowborough at fellow Sussex club Hellingly as they sit 8-points clear of second placed Dunstonians who just edged out Vigo 39-36.  Beccehamians move into third place after a 32-3 win against Lewes whilst Pulborough slip to fourth following an unexpectedly heavy 47-12 loss at Folkestone.  The foot of the table sees Hellingly already 13-points adrift of H&B and Park Hse, with H&B losing 27-21 at Bromley whilst Park Hse beat O Wills 43-26.

Kent 1:  Leaders Ashford were 17-26 winners at NAG in what is a much tighter result than might have been expected, whilst Anchorians ended up with a week off with a W/O against bottom club RBS. A narrow 29-31 win for Kings Coll at Foots Cray keeps them in third spot with OGs fourth following their 24-13 win against HSBC.  The bottom sees RBS well adrift following points deductions, with Sheppey, who lost heavily,53-3 at Southwark the other strugglers alongside Foots Cray.  The remaining fixture saw Cranbrook post a big win for the second consecutive week as the nulled Whitstable by 49 points

Kent 2:   A W/O for leaders Cliffe keeps them at the top of the table and with Sittingbourne sitting this week out, Faversham move into second spot after they were 7-41 winners at bottom club Askean. The other fixtures saw a 17-12 win for Bexley over visiting Lordswood whilst Dartford Valley fell to a 41-17 loss at Brockleians

The club is happy to announce that the new joint heads of Physiotherapy at the club will be Caroline Surtees and Emily Tamsett.

Both of them worked very well as a team underneath Gemma last term and have done a fantastic job of running the clinics, ordering supplies and providing cover in the interim whilst the club took the opportunity to look at the market. It was decided that promotion from within is part of the ONEGREATCLUB ethos and both have worked diligently to deserve the position.

Both Emily & Caroline also help continue the student program, whereby students can learn their craft, whilst also providing a service to the club. They are both supported by Charlotte Knight in her first year at the club, as well as some familiar faces in the support team of students. The online Physio booking system appears to be working well and we look forward to the rest of the season ahead with these two very popular ladies.

Both Emily and Caroline have a joint business venture with C&E Sports Therapy & Rehabilitation, so even if you are not a playing member of the club, you can still look for treatment from the pair.

National 1: Elthamians’ 22-10 win over Esher keeps them top from Rotherham who appear to have recovered from consecutive defeats on the opening weekends to steadily move up the table with a 25-14 win over Plymouth Albion the latest in a string of wins.  Blackheath’s 17-25 win at Caldy sees them in third spot, level on points with Rosslyn Pk who were 39-31 winners against bottom club Loughborough St. the foot of the division now sees Loughborough 7-points adrift of Moseley, who were 31-22 winners against Sale, whilst Esher complete the bottom three.  Both Bishops Stortford and Cambridge sit uncomfortably in the bottom half of the table with Stortford losing 10-29 to visitors Ampthill, whilst Cambridge lost out 14-9 at Cinderford.  The last of the fixtures was a tight battle between DMP and Chinnor, with the Oxfordshire club narrow 21-23 victors.

National 2(S):  A 21-38 win for the Rams at O Redcliffians keeps them top of the table, 4-points clear of Taunton, who hammered BSE 50-0, Henley’s 16-20 win at Redruth keeps them in third spot from Canterbury who were 17-31 winners at bottom club B&S.  Redruth’s loss saw them slip to fifth, with TJs closing the gap in sixth following their 26-20 win against Guernsey.  The foot of the table sees B&S and Redcliffians currently occupying two of the relegation slots with Ldn Irish WG the other, despite a 12-22 win at Clifton.  In the remaining matches, Dings lost out 5-10 to visiting Barnes, whilst Worthing also fell to a home defeat at the hands of O Albanians, 16-21.

London Premier:  With leaders Wimbledon just edged out 28-27 at third placed Guildford, Westcliff take over top spot following their 31-12 win against Brentwood whilst Dorking’s 28-16 win over Chingford sees them move above Tring who lost 20-14 at Tunbridge Wells.  At the foot of the table, Shelford’s 19-26 defeat at the hands of S&E keeps them anchored to the foot of the table from Bedford Athletic, who lost heavily, going down 53-15 at Hertford.  Chingford complete the bottom three with CS Stags just above them after they lost 29-8 at Sidcup.

London 1(S): Medway and Brighton stay locked together at the top, with Medway coming out on top of a high scoring encounter at Cobham 38-40, Brighton also won on the road, despatching Westcombe Pk, Camberley sit third after inflicting a 10-63 mauling on winless bottom club Hove, who look like they’ll be enduring a torrid campaign. Sevenoaks equally impressive 62-6 home win over Tottonians, sees them round out a top four that now have at least a 9-point buffer to fifth placed Combe.  At the bottom of the table Chichester and Havant sit above Hove, with both continuing to struggle as lost out by the odd point in the 32-31 scoreline at Thurrock, whilst Havant went down  by the same margin in a 26-25 result at Chobham. In the last of the encounters Ldn Cornish took the points in a lower mid-table battle with Dartfordians 29-25.

London 2(SE):  Having snatched a last gasp victory last week, Alesford were rought down to earth with a bump as leaders Beckenham hammered them 59-6, to move 6-poinrs clear of second placed Dover who lost 15-8 at Maidstone.  The rest of the leading teams continue to shuffle with Horsham moving into third after they beat D&B 34-15, with Charlton Pk forth following their 23-36 win at Gravesend.  At the foot of the division the bottom two did battle with H&W now bottom after Thanet Wdrs picked up their first win of the season in some style, with a convincing 44-0 result.  The last of the results saw Colfes surprisingly slip up at home, going down to a 14-26 defeat to visiting Haywards Heath.

London 3(SE):  The top two did battle with Crowborough remaining top after a 38-26 win against Dunstonians that sees them slip to fourth.  Both Pulborough and O Wills cashed in with the Sussex club impressive 51-17 winners over H&B, whilst O Wills beat Beccehamians 32-12.  At the bottom of the division Hellingly conceded their fixture at Lewes whilst Folkestone and Park Hse swapped places after the south coast club ran out 33-12 winners in the battle between the two.  The last of the fixtures saw Vigo post a useful 39-29 win over a Bromley side having a somewhat indifferent season.

Kent 1:  Yet another top of the table encounter as Ashford faced Anchorians with the mid-Kent club running out 23-10 winners to move 4-points clear at the top. A 12-87 hammering of bottom club RBS sees OGs close the gap in third place with Kings Coll in fourth after they were 5-55 winners at second bottom Sheppey. At the foot of the table, just above the bottom two Foots Cray are also struggling and lost heavily, going down 50-10 at Cranbrook, in mid-table HSBC were 37-17 winners against Whitstable, whilst the remaining fixture between Southwark and NAG was abandoned (no further details at his time).

Kent 2:   New boys Cliffe are now 6-points clear at the top after a tight 17-14 win against second placed Sittingbourne, with Faversham in third following their 6-51 mauling of Greenwich.  With Brockleians sitting this week out, the only other fixture was between Dartford Valley and Bexley, with Bexley running out 8-24 winners.  The match between Lordswood and bottom club Askean was postponed.

The club will be launching a new online booking system for the Physio department at the club.

The intention is to help the team plan clinics and also help make sure that everyone can be seen in a timely fashion. The priority on Thursday will go to senior players looking to play games on the Saturday, but the booking system will help make scheduling an appointment easier. The online system will be trialled until Christmas.

A booking link will be added to the club’s website and also to the clubs Facebook players page, for members to book. Please remember that treatments are for paying members and you maybe refused service if you are not paid up.

London & South East Division

London & SE Division 2 (SE)

Saturday 17th November

Other Fixtures