Due to circumstances beyond our control the club has reluctantly had to cancel this year's Golf Day at Bearsted Golf Club.

The club apoligises for any inconvenience and if members/participants have already made entry payments then arrangements will be made for any refunds.

Once again our apologies.

National 1: At the top Hartpury concluded an unbeaten season with a 22-43 win at Blackheath, but the main interest lay at the bottom end of the table.  Macclesfield and Blaydon were already relegated and suffered final day defeats to Esher (12-24) and O Albanians (29-24) respectively.  Hull Ionians supposedly had an outside chance of avoiding the drop but even a 26-41 win at DMP proved not to be enough despite Cambridge’s 15-40 loss to second placed Plymouth Albion.  In the remaining results Moseley hammered Fylde 57-0 whilst Loughborough St lost 22-27 at home to Coventry; the last of the fixtures saw a similar scoreline at Rosslyn Pk lost out 21-27 to visiting Ampthill

Promoted: Hartpury College

Relegated: Macclesfield, Blaydon and Hull Ionians

National 2(S): At the top Bishops Stortford’s 28-21 win over visiting Barnes had no effect at the top of the table but the result consigned Barnes to relegation back to Nat 3(SE) after just one season.  The key interest at the top however, was for the playoff spot with Elthamians and Chinnor both locked together at the start of the day.  Elthamians knew their fate lay in their own hands and that a BOP win would secure the promotion attempt and they took their chance with a convincing 68-21 win over struggling Barnstaple, a result that would also have an impact at the foot of the table.  In the end the result proved academic as Chinnor faltered on the final day, falling to a 22-5 defeat to a Ldn Irish WG side that also needed a win to ensure safety from relegation.  At the bottom already relegated Exmouth were roundly beaten 50-5 at Worthing, a result that saw the Sussex club move out of the bottom three.  In the end, of the three sides for the drop were the two promoted last season from Nat 3(SW) in Exmouth and Barnstaple, with Barnes also dropping down a division.  In the remaining fixtures Canterbury were 33-30 winners over Cinderford in a mid-table nettle, whilst BSE beat hosts Clifton by the same scoreline; Henley beat Redruth 32-26 and fourth placed Taunton prevailed in the tightest scoreline of the day with a 33-32 win over Redingensians.

Promoted: Bishops Stortford Playoff:  O Elthamians (v Sale Nat 2N)

Relegated: Exmouth and two from Worthing, Barnes, Ldn Irsh WG or Barnstaple

Nationals 3 SE & SW Playoff:  The promotion playoff between Wimbledon and Bristol based Nat 3(SW) outfit Dings Crusaders proved to be somewhat one-sided as the SW London club roared at to an early lead that turned into one-way traffic as they pushed to a 24-0 half-time lead.  Dings struggles were compounded by a red card for the their inside centre with the score at 29-0 and whilst the visitors did eventually get on the scoreboard at 36-5 the damage was already done as Wimbledon cruised to a 50-5 win and Nat 2(S) rugby next season

Promoted: Tonbridge Juddians and Wimbledon

Relegated: Amersham & Chiltern, Colchester and Chichester        

London 1 S & N Playoff:  Congratulations to Tunbridge Wells who won their promotion playoff in what proved to be a close battle at Chingford. It was the hosts that held the early ascendency and were first on the scoreboard before Wells then responded with an unconverted try to go into a 3-8 lead before a string of kickable penalties conceded saw the home side take a 12-8 lead before a period of sustained pressure saw Wells close to within a point following a drop goal. Further penalties saw Chingford stretch ahead again to be pulled back to level pegging by a converted try from the visitors. A further penalty apiece saw the fulltime score at 21-21 and 10 minutes each way of extra time.  Two Tunbridge Wells tries during the first period saw them stretch to a 21-35 lead and reduced to 14 by a yellow card for the final period Chingford narrowed the gap to 28-35 as they breached the visitors defence for the only time in the match.  It proved not to be enough and Tunbridge Wells join Sidcup and Tring in Nat 3 (S) next season

Promoted: Sidcup and Tunbridge Wells

Relegated: Gosport & Fareham, Dover and Chiswick

London 2 (SE):  Promoted: Medway and O Colfeians

Relegated: Crowborough and Bromley

Kent 1:  Promoted: Hastings & Bexhill and O Williamsonians

Relegated: Snowdown CW and Brockleians

Kent 2:  Promoted: O Gravesendians and Royal Bank of Scotland

Maidstone will play Aylesford in the Kent Plate final this coming Sunday, 30th April as part of the Shepherd Neame Kent Cup Finals day.

The Finals are all held at Canterbury RFC's ground. Get yourself down and support the lads as they look to retain the Plate Trophy for another year.

It's also the Bank Holiday Monday the following day, so temptation to have a drink or two afterwards should get the better of you!!

There are limitations on parking so please read the instructions in respect of timings and administration at Canterbury (click here).

Note;  Since original publication on Sat 22 Apr the position has clarified in respect of the points total for O Elthamians and Chinnor and this is reflected in an amended paragraph covering Nat 2 (S).

National 1: Top faced bottom with a predictable outcome as champions Hartpury narrowly missed hitting triple figure in a 92-7 hammering of relegated Macclesfield.  Second placed Plymouth Albion beat Blackheath 7-48 whilst third placed Ampthill were 35-12 winners against a Cambridge side still not mathematically safe from relegation.  At the bottom end of the table Blaydon are relegated despite a 40-24 win over Rosslyn Pk and Hull Ionians still occupy the relegation places despite their 46-33 win against O Albanians.  The mid-table encounters saw Coventry 36-16 winners over DMP, whilst Esher beat Moseley 35-24 and in the last of the matches Fylde beat Loughborough St 32-21. 

Promoted: Hartpury College

Relegated: Macclesfield, Blaydon and Hull Ionians or Cambridge

National 2(S): At the top Bishops Stortford are confirmed champions after they posted a 7-60 win at bottom club Exmouth, the battle for second spot remains tight between O Elthamains & Chinnor.  Following a 38-29 win for Chinnor at Taunton and Elthamians inflicting on Cinderford their heaviest home defeat in four seasons with a 12-55 win at Cinderford the two remain locked together on the same points total (117).  So it will remain tight between the two clubs going in to next week’s final round of fixtures with a BP win crucial for both club's aspirations, as they both face clubs still looking to avoid relegation.  At the bottom Exmouth are already down but the other two relegation places are still not decided.  Worthing are second bottom and fell to a 43-27 defeat at Redingensians, whilst Barnes, 47-19 win against Clifton still sees them in the bottom three but with their survival hopes still intact.  Still in danger are Ldn Irish WG who won a tight 21-22 battle at Redruth, and Barnstaple who lost 52-27 at Henley. Looking at the last round of fixtures a betting man would probably choose Worthing to escape the drop and Barnes and Ldn Irish WG to take the other two relegation places.  In the only other fixture, BSE were just edged out at home 13-14 by Canterbury.

Promoted: Bishops Stortford.  Playoff: O Elthamians or Chinnor (v Sale, Nat 2N)

Relegated: Exmouth and two from Worthing, Barnes, Ldn Irsh WG or Barnstaple

Nationals 3(SE):  Congratulations at the top of the table as a 21-49 result at Southend was just what Tonbridge Juddians needed to clinch both the title and accompanying automatic promotion, with Wimbledon confirmed for the promotion playoff following their 30-40 win at Dorking.  The bigger questions were what was happening in the relegation deciders. Bottom club and already relegated A&C lost 45-24 at S&E, with that result was enough to keep the hosts in the division for another season at the expense of Chichester, despite them posting a good 20-12 win against Westcombe Pk who dropped to fourth spot after Hertford moved above them with a 39-10 win over Westcliff.  Already relegated Colchester lost out on the road against Guernsey 31-17 and in the remaining dead rubber, Shelford were 36-19 winners against Guildford.

Promoted: Tonbridge Juddians. Playoff: Wimbledon (v Dings Crusaders, Nat 3SW)

Relegated: Amersham & Chiltern, Colchester and Chichester 

London 1(S):  with only the playoff place still to be decided, eyes were on Tunbridge Wells and Havant and their respective fixtures.  Havant travelled to champions Sidcup whilst wells hosted local rivals Maidstone.  Havant gave it a good go but eventually fell short, going down 43-30 to a late burst by the home side, whilst Tunbridge wells ran out 46-14 winners to claim next week’s playoff against Ldn 1(N) club Chingford who had edged out playoff rivals Brentwood in a ‘head to head’ last day encounter. Elsewhere in the division a resurgent Brighton drew with fourth placed Tottonians 29-29, whilst CS Rugby hammered relegated Dover 82-26., whilst Chiswick fell to a similar 87-14 scoreline at Cobham and bBottom side G&F lost 19-41 to visiting Sevenoaks. In mid table Chobham lost 6-32 to visiting Gravesend.

Promoted: Sidcup.  Playoff: Tunbridge Wells (v Chingford, Ldn 1N)

Relegated: Gosport & Fareham, Dover and Chiswick

London 2 SE & SW Playoff: In what was a tight battle Colfes will make a return to Ldn 1 rugby after an absence of four seasons following their narrow 17-20 win over Surrey based Camberley.

Promoted: Medway and O Colfeians

Relegated: Crowborough and Bromley

Kent 1/Sussex 1 Playoff: To round off a good day for Kent in the promotion playoffs, O Williamsonians will enter the London leagues for the first time in their history after they beat Sussex based Uckfield 27-20.

Promoted: Hastings & Bexhill and O Williamsonians

Relegated: Snowdown CW and Brockleians

Kent 2:  OGs had already been crowned champions but slipped up 17-25 on the final day against Whitstable who were chasing the other promotion spot, but having done all that was within their hands, it proved not to be enough with RBS running out 34-43 winners at Dartford Valley to maintain an eight point advantage in second place and take the promotion place.  In the other fixtures fourth club Foots Cray were 12-55 winners at Orpington, whilst fifth placed Lordswood slipped to a 17-22 defeat against Askean.  Bexley lost out 12-15 in a tight battle with visiting Faversham whilst in the encounter between the bottom two  Erith were 10-34 winners at Shooters Hill.

Promoted: O Gravesendians and Royal Bank of Scotland

The club is pleased to congratulate former player Piers Francis on his selection as part of Eddie Jones' England squad for the two test summer tour to Argentina.  In a year where Northampton bound Piers was looking forward to running out for Super Rugby outfit the Blues against the British Lions as his swansong in New Zealand, plans have drastically changed as he now finds himself heading for the other side of the Pacific to face the Pumas.

The club has been in contact with Piers to offer their congratulations on his achievement and apart from looking forward to representing his country, he is also looking forward to dropping into the club on his return to the UK.

On behalf of the club we wish him all the best, well done and well deserved.

As a footnote, congratulations also to our friends at Cranrook RFC, who see their former player currently with Saracens, Nathan Earle, also selected for the tour.  A good day for Kent Rugby.

Kent Cup: TJ had booked their place in the final and will play Sidcup in what will potentially be a battle between respective divisional champions, so this was the only opportunity for them to meet given their respective promotions mean they won’t clash next season.  Sidcup booked their place at the second attempt to play the fixture following a floodlight failure at Well Hall on the previous attempt, with an impressive 12-41 result over Blackheath’s Heathens.

Final: Tonbridge Juddians v Sidcup

Kent Shield: The semi-finals proved to be a bit of an anti-climax as both Charlton Pk and Medway received walkovers from their respective oppositions in Thanet Wdrs and Ashford, although a lot will depend on Charlton Park’s priorities as they approach their Intermediate Cup Final at Twickenham the following week.

Final: Charlton Park v Medway

Kent Plate: In what was meant to be a home tie for Maidstone, the inability of both sides to field a team on the only vacant weekend saw the match played at Canterbury as a midweek fixture under lights just prior to the Easter break. Maidstone took what was an extremely competitive tie 22-32, although the gloss was somewhat taken off the result with the match being curtailed 5-minutes of stoppage time due to a serious injury in the 80^th minute.  Maidstone will face Aylesford who played Beckenham on Easter Saturday, with Aylesford coming back from a 0-21 deficit to take the match 41-39 after Beckenham saw what would have been a match winning penalty drift wide of the posts at the death.

Final: Aylesford v Maidstone

Kent Vase:  Kent 2 champions OGs hosted Beccehamians in their semi-final at Easter as they looked to complete a league & cup double but fell to a 37-10 defeat to the side they will lock horns with in Kent 1 next season.  Kings Coll faced off against Southwark for a place in next Sunday’s final and whilst the final score hasn’t yet been ascertained, it is known that a 24-7 half-time lead translated into a winning score for the hospital club who will face Beccehamians in the final. 

Final: Beccehamians v Kings College Hosp

Kent Salver: With both the Salver semi-finals still outstanding, it transpires that Sittingbourne have conceded to Snowdown and similar in the case of the Orpington v Greenwich contest which will see a salver final next week of Snowdown v Greenwich.

Final: Greenwich v Snowdown CW

Shepherd Neame Kent Cup Finals: Sunday 30^th April @ Canterbury RFC

RFU Intermediate Cup: Congratulations to Charlton Pk who make it a hat-trick for Kent clubs in reaching the final at Twickenham for the third year in succession with a 48-27 victory over Cornish club Truro.  Despite falling behind to an early Truro penalty, a dominant all-round first half display with 4 tries at regular intervals saw them romp to a 24-3 lead.  Truro thought they had closed the gap on the cusp of half-time with a try of their own, only for Park to hit back straight away with another try in the last play to take a 29-8 lead into the interval.  An early second half yellow card for Park allowed Truro to take advantage to reduce the deficit to 29-13 but Park again hit back quickly with a try of their own before a loose Charlton Pk pass saw Truro in again.  Truro were then reduced to 14 just as Park were restored to full complement.  Two tries in quick succession in the last 10 minutes took Park to a convincing 48-20 scoreline although Truro finished on a high with a try as the final whistle approached for a final score of 48-27. 

Charlton Park will face Yorkshire side and last years Senior Vase winners in West Leeds, who beat Midlands club Silhillians 13-24 to book their third consecutive appearance at Twickenham.

RFU Senior Vase: Farnham roared to a three try 17-0 lead before Saltash got on the scoreboard to reduce the deficit to 17-7 with Fareham then quickly replying with a penalty. Two tries in the third quarter took the score out to 32-7 before Saltash mounted a late comeback of sorts with 2 tries of their own in the closing stages to see Farnham run out 32-21 winners.

Farnham will face Midlands club Droitwich in the final, who beat Lancashire based Tarleton 23-11.

RFU Junior Vase: In their clash with Gloucester based Spartans, O Whitgiftians started well putting their hosts under a lot of pressure and held a 14-10 lead as half-time approached, before Spartans took the lead for the first time going into the interval with a 17-14 advantage.  Whitgiftians hit back after the break with a try but Spartans responded almost immediately to hold a 24-19 lead.  A penalty and a further try kept Whitgiftians at bay to see Spartans book their place at Twickenham by 34-19

Spartans now go on to face Goole in the final who beat Long Eaton 20-23 in what was the tightest result from all of today's semi-finals. 

National 1: With the top four in action against each other, Hartpury’s pursuit of an unbeaten campaign continues as they were 14-32 winners at fourth club Moseley, with Plymouth Albion now looking assured of second place after they were 19-14 winners against third placed Ampthill.  At the bottom of the table, relegated Macclesfield beat Blackheath 24-12 with avoidance of the other two relegation places being fought out between Blaydon, who beat Cambridge 40-43, although still looking favourites to go down, whilst Hull Ionians also posted a useful win with a 29-30 win at Rosslyn Pk.  Fylde are the last club in the relegation mix but they fell to a heavy 66-22 defeat at DMP.  The remaining results saw O Albanians go down heavily at home, 8-73 to Coventry, whilst only a point separated the sides as Esher edged out Loughborough St 37-38.

National 2(S): At the top Bishops Stortford were pushed hard for the points by Redingensians, just coming out on top in the 36-33 scoreline.  Elthamians stay second on points difference after they were 47-12 winners over BSE whilst Chinnor posted a big 14-73 result at struggling Worthing.  Below the top three, Taunton and Redruth fought out a 33-33 draw.  The foot of the table saw basement club Exmouth lose 36-20 at Clifton whilst four clubs are fighting to avoid the other two relegation spots currently occupied by Barnes and Ldn Irish WG, both of whom posted winning results with Barnes beating Canterbury 11-17, and Ldn Irish 41-35 winners over Henley.  Barnstaple still remain on the edge of the drop zone despite a useful 21-13 result over Cinderford.

Nationals 3(SE):  If TJs were to slip up then today was the most likely date as they faced fourth placed Hertford at The Slade, in the end they kept their nerve and their advantage at the top of the table with a convincing 46-5 result, whilst Wimbledon were 32-18 winners against visiting Shelford.  At the bottom end of the table three sides were looking to avoid accompanying relegated A&C and Colchester; Chichester occupied the place at the start of the day and a 30-24 loss at Colchester combined with other results sees them still favourites for the drop. Southend’s surprisingly convincing 36-14 win at Westcombe Pk sees them now clear of danger whilst S&E will also be looking for a win on the last weekend after a 36-15 defeat at Westcliff.  In the other fixtures Dorking consigned A&C to a 17-34 home defeat, whilst Guildford won 27-17 at home to Guernsey.

Promoted/Playoff:  Tonbridge Juddians or Wimbledon (Playoff v Dings Crusaders [Nat 3SW])

Relegated: Amersham & Chiltern, Colchester and Chichester or Sutton & Epsom

London 1(S):  Sidcup’s march to an unbeaten league season stalled with a 22=-16 reversal at fourth placed Tottonians, but the real interest lies in the battle for the playoff place.  Havant, currently in pole position needed a good win against Chobham given that Tunbridge Wells 85-0 rout of relegated Dover was almost a given.  In the end a 39-12 win was enough to pick up the 5-points and maintain a 3-point advantage over Wells going into the last round of fixtures.  At the bottom of the table, basement club G&F were looking to lift themselves off the foot of the table, but to no avail as they wenty to a heavy 89-10 thrashing at Maidstone.  The key battles involved Chiswick and Brighton; in the end Brightons 38-19 defeat at Sevenoaks was academic, with Chiswick falling to a 19-32 defeat against next door neighbours CS Rugby.  In the remaining mid-table encounter Gravesend14-27 defeat at home to Cobham

Promoted: Sidcup; Playoff: Havant or Tunbridge Wells (v Brentwood [Ldn 1N])

Relegated: Gosport & Fareham, Dover and Chiswick

London 2 (SE): The final weekend of fixtures in this division and a real top v bottom set of matches.  A 10-51 win for champions Medway at relegation threatened H&W saw their hosts fate hanging on what the result of Bromley’s fixture was. In the end they could breathe a sigh of relief as Bromley fell to a 15-31 defeat to Colfes who had needed 2 points to guarantee a playoff place v Camberley, the result also consigning Bromley to relegation alongside Crowborough who lost 44-16 to third placed Dartfordians.  Of course Bromley’s defeat made some other results academic, so Alleynians 55-18 loss to Charlton Pk became a dead rubber, as was the 36-21 win for Beckenham against Horsham.

Promoted: Medway; Playoff: O Colfeians (v Camberley [Ldn 2SW])

Relegated: Crowborough and Bromley

London 3 (SE):  Going into the last day leaders Pulborough needed a BP win to be sure of the league title although a 17-10 result against visiting Lewes proved to be enough Haywards Heath did all they could to maintain the pressure as they were 5-18 winners at Anchorians to take the runner-up spot & promotion, a result that could put the Gillingham club in the relegation zone if other results didn’t go their way.  Thanet Wdrs faced relegated Ashford, coming away with a 12-51 win but it was a February slip up at Aylesford that probably cost them promotion, after setting the pace for so much of the season.  At the bottom it is easier to say who is safe, whilst Anchorians had lost, other results went against them as Park House got the win they needed against already relegated Eastbourne (17-19), which combined with Aylesford’s 22-12 win against Sheppey meant that Anchorians, despite having not really featured in the bottom three all season, would be consigned to Kent 1 rugby next season.

Promoted: Pulborough and Haywards Heath

Relegated: Ashford, Eastbourne and Gillingham Anchorians

Kent 1: The promotion places were already decided and champions H&B confirmed their credentials with a 20-28 result against HSBC who are always capable of being a ‘banana skin’ for leading clubs; O Wills 27-22 defeat at Beccehamians somewhat stalls their momentum as they now shift their focus to the promotion playoff against Uckfield.  The main interest on this final weekend lay at the bottom of the table, with three clubs looking to avoid the drop alongside Snowdown; Sittingbourne got what they required with a convincing 68-7 win against the relegated colliery club. The local derby between NAG & Vigo saw the hosts needing a positive result; as ever in local derbies, there is never much to choose between the sides but a narrow 16-12 win for NAG saw no need for them to sweat on the outcome of the clash between Southwark and Brockleians.  In the end it will be ‘Brocks’ who will drop to Kent 2 next season as Southwark ran out 35-7 winners.  In the remaining fixture Cranbrook were convincing 63-5 winners against Kings Coll

Promoted: Hastings & Bexhill; Playoff: O Williamsonians (v Uckfield [Sussex 1])

Relegated: Snowdown CW and Brockleians

Kent 2:  At the top a convincing 15-80 win for champions OGs at Faversham sees them not taking their foot off the gas although the real interest now is for the other promotion place and it looks very much like RBS have now done enough after they got a HWO against Orpington, Whitstable sit third having done all they could with a 53-15 win over Greenwich, although it would take an unprecedented turn of events for them to now overhaul RBS for the promotion spot; for Foots Cray they are now totally out of contention despite a resounding 76-0 thrashing of Bexley. Elsewhere Ashean were 45-7 winners against Shooters Hill whilst Dartford Valley’s result at Erith has yet to surface.

Promoted: O Gravesendians and Royal Bank of Scotland or Whitstable

This year's awards night and players Dinner will be held at a new venue, Cobtree Manor Golf Club.

Ticket price includes a 3 course meal and all of the dazzling repartee that our Team Captains and other speakers can muster.

Payment can be made over the bar until 23rd April or you can pay here by Paypal or credit/debit card until 

30th April.   Don't delay however, as places are limited to 65 and when the places are gone, they're gone..  

2nd May update.   ITS TOO LATE.  You've missed it.

In a match that went down to the wire, Maidstone U17s became Kent Plate Champions on Sunday at the end of a fantastic season that has seen them win 10 of the 12 matches they have played, also winning their league and so Doing The Double !

Against a Canterbury side whom we had won against in our first game of the season, the teams started evenly matched with Maidstone largely camped in Canterbury’s half but unable to penetrate a strong defensive line. Quick ball from the forwards, both own and turned over, was repeatedly stifled when it got out wide by a canny drift defence out on the wings, closing down the space available to release the wingers. Early on Cowdry made a huge try-saving tackle in the centre, off his wing and working hard, which sadly left him with a concussion that ruled him out of the rest of the match. In the second quarter Maidstone finally scored, Crosbie feeding a perfectly weighted chip from the centre to Gilmore on the wing that allowed him to run in a well-deserved try from the opposition 22, converted by Ayling. A successful penalty kick from Ayling in the centre stretched the lead to 10-0, however Canterbury responded with a well-worked try of their own, pushed through the forwards in the 22 and out to the wing. Late in the second quarter Maidstone managed to work their magic in the backs again, with some positively silky handling & support play allowing Stringer to finish decisively on the wing. Maidstone led going into the break, 15-5.

The second half saw Canterbury come back with a vengeance, and a lack of discipline from a Maidstone side having to take some heavy hits in their own red zone resulted in a yellow card that allowed Canterbury to convert a penalty kick, soon after followed by a poorly defended try that Maidstone allowed to be scored under the posts, and so converted. The score now tied, we entered the final quarter with both sides back to working tremendously hard at the breakdown and making powerful line breaks only to be stopped by ever more determined defence. Canterbury took the lead for the first time with a second successful penalty kick, which was then matched by Ayling at the other end of the park just a few minutes later. With the game looking like it was heading for extra time it was Canterbury who finally cracked, giving away a penalty in the last few minutes that was once more successfully converted by Ayling. The score held at 21-18 until the final whistle, leaving Maidstone deserving winners against a strong and revitalised Canterbury.

National 1: At the top, champions Hartpury were 40-31 winners against visiting Loughborough St with Plymouth Albion looking favourites to secure the runner-up berth after they were narrow 18-21 winners against relegated Macclesfield, Ampthill are third after they consigned Blaydon to a 17-40 loss, a result that all but seals their relegation.  Moseley were 25-32 winners at Blackheath to complete the top four.  At the bottom we know Macclesfield are already down, Blaydon are still mathematically not yet down although survival looks unlikely; Hull Ionians who despite beating Cambridge 31-26 realistically look like they will take the third of the relegation places, with both at least 10-points adrift of Fylde who lost 17-21 to visiting O Albanians.  In the remaining fixtures, Coventry beat Rosslyn Pk 36-27 whilst Esher hit a half-century with a 50-33 win against DMP

National 2(S): Bishops Stortford still have a 7-point cushion at the top despite a 27-25 defeat at third placed Chinnor who are level on points with second placed Elthamians who beat struggling Barnes 27-50.  The leading three are well clear of Taunton in fourth who just edged Henley 24-25.  At the bottom we know Exmouth are already down and they lost 8-22 to visiting Canterbury, whilst Barnes sit  above them with Ldn Irish WG currently occupying the third of the relegation places after a 5-12 loss to visiting Barnstaple, who are by no means safe themselves. Worthing are also on the edge of the drop zone and were beaten 33-29 at Redruth whilst BSE now look safe in lower mid-table after a 29-29 draw with Cinderford.  The last of the fixtures saw Redingensians 41-26 winners against visiting Clifton.

Nationals 3(SE):  The leading pair continue to post BP wins to maintain the 5-pont margin between them as TJs were tight 23-29 winners at S&E with Wimbledon engaged in an equally tough encounter for their 29-38 result on the road in Guernsey. Hertford fell to a 19-20 defeat against struggling Southend which lifted them out of the bottom three, leaving Westcombe Pk clear in third after they beat relegated Colchester 36-14.  At the bottom, basement club A&C were roundly beaten 69-19 at Shelford and with them and Colchester already down the interest is on the battle to avoid the third relegation place.  Chichester may look favourites for the drop after they lost 31-37 at home to Guildford, with the result probably enough to keep them out of danger, although another 2-3 points would secure their status. However, looking at the last two fixtures for Chichester, S&E and Southend it is the Essex club that has the challenging run in as it is pitched against two of the top three in the division.  In the remaining result Dorking beat Westcliff 20-7.       

London 1(S):  Having claimed the title last week Sidcup’s quest for an unbeaten season goes on as thay beat Sevenoaks 27-12; the real interest is in who will take the playoff place to face Ldn 1(N) club Brentwood with Havant slipping up for the second time in three weeks as they lost out 33-31 at Cobham allowing Tunbridge Wells to close the gap to 3-points after they hammered relegated G&F 5-52, and looking at the last two fixtures for both clubs a betting man might just opt for Wells.  At the bottom, both G&F and Dover who lost 24-50 to Chiswick are down, and was a welcome result and probably postpones confirmation of their relegation for another week with Brighton beating Maidstone 20-15.  The remaining matches saw Chobham lose out 19-26 to fourth placed Tottonians, whilst CS Rugby were 36-15 winners against Gravesend.

London 2 (SE):  There is still all to play for at the top and bottom end of this division; at the top Medway dented third placed Dartfordians hopes with a tight 19-15 win that now leaves Colfes 4-points clear in second after they ended Beckenham’s slight playoff hopes with a 33-17 result and now look favourites to face Camberley from Ldn 2(SW).  Colfes win also ended Charlton Pk’s playoff hopes despite a 15-50 win at bottom club Crowborough, although the SE London club still has much to play for in the remainder of the season with one eye on a potential trip to HQ.  At the bottom end of the table a 26-26 draw between Alleynians and Bromley leaves both clubs still in relegation danger along with H&W also losing out 34-28 at Hove whilst  D&B are now probably safe following a 19-17 win against Horsham.  The last weekend will decide things and with the bottom five playing the top five, as it stands Bromley look favourites to go down with Crowborough unless there is a remarkable turn of events.

London 3 (SE):  A Park Hse side fighting for survival put the ‘cat among the pigeons’ at the top of the table as they held leaders Pulborough to a 20-20 draw allowing Haywards Heath to close the gap to a single point after they were comfortable 43-13 winners against Aylesford. Thanet also closed up and whilst the league title is out of reach, their 50-22 win against Dunstonians  keeps the faint flicker of promotion alive. At the bottom relegated Ashford  look to bow out of the division with their heads high as they overturned Sheppey 44-31 whilst above them Eastbourne will drop to Sussex 1 after they lost 65-10 at Folkestone.  The last of the relegation places is now between three clubs, Park Hse, Aylesford and Anchorians, who lost 34-12 at Lewes.  Just 3-points separate the sides and Anchorians probably have the most difficult encounter next week, with promotion and relegation at stake in their match up with Haywards Heath. 

Kent 1: Hastings & Bexhill were finally able to pop the corks on the champagne as they clinched the Kent 1 league title, although not in the style they would have liked, falling to a 31-17 defeat at struggling Sittingbourne; O Wills also clinched the playoff place with a 32-8 win against a dangerous HSBC outfit who have a knack of denting hopes with unexpected result.  Cranbrook finish third after they beat Brockleians 19-45 to put their hosts into the relegation zone.  At the foot of the table, relegated Snowdown lost 5-45 to NAG who along with Sittingbourne are just above the bottom two although the second relegation spot will be decided next week.  In the mid-table encounters, Kings Coll lost out 28-36 to visiting Beccehamians whilst there was a similar 31-27 scoreline between Vigo and Southwark, with the honours going to the village club.

Kent 2:  With there being 13 clubs in the division there are still two rounds of fixtures left after today, but OGs 28-20 win against Foots Cray saw them secure the league title whilst severely denting any remaining hopes their visitors had, RBS look favourites for the runner up spot after they beat Bexley 24-34 with Whitstable still in with a shout despite having no fixture this week.  At the bottom end of the table it is almost certain that Erith will prop up the end of season’s standings after a 55-5 defeat at Orpington, with Shooters Hill just above them conceding their fixture with Lordswood.  In mid-table Dartford Valley lost 10-45 at home to Askean with Greenwich beating Faversham 21-12

National 1: The title was decided a couple of weeks ago but the Hartpury juggernaut rolls on, this time with a 26-34 win at DMP, second placed Plymouth Albion were 45-0 winners against struggling Blaydon.  Ampthill and Moseley stay in third and fourth places after wins against Hull Ionians (31-11) and Macclesfield (28-24) respectively.  In fact it was very much a week of top v bottom and Macclesfield, Hull Ionians and Blaydon looking almost certain to go down with the minimum of a 12-point gap to safety now appearing.  In the remaining fixtures Rosslyn Pk are now fifth after a 36-19 win over Fylde, with Coventry sixth following their 27-36 win at Cambridge.  Blackheath lost out narrowly, going down 35-32 at Loughborough St whilst Esher were convincing 19-65 winners at O Albanians.

National 2(S): Leaders Bishops Stortford were 32-7 winners over Redruth and now look favourites for the title with a 9-point buffer to Chinnor in second who lost 33-17 at Clifton.  Elthamians are only a single point behind following a 97-7 annihilation of bottom side Exmouth and have a 10-point gap to fourth placed Taunton who were 39-20 winners against Ldn Irish WG who stay in the bottom three.  The third of the relegation places is occupied by Barnes who fell to a 24-14 defeat at Cinderford.  Worthing and Barnstaple are by no means out of the relegation battle with the Sussex club losing 24-47 at home to Henley, whilst Barnstaple were beaten 3-29 at home by BSE.  The final fixture saw Canterbury beaten 0-15 by visiting Redingensians.

Nationals 3(SE):  No change at the top as the leading two continue to post BP wins with TJs beating Dorking 28-7 and Wimbledon 45-25 winners against a Chichester side now in danger of the drop. Below the leading two Westcombe Pk and Hertford clashed and are now locked together on points after a 45-13 win for Hertford.  At the foot of the table A&C are already down and lost 12-51 to travelling Guernsey; above them sit Colchester who fell to a 33-20 loss at Guildford, a result that confirms the Essex clubs relegation.  Chichester sit just above them as Southend move out of the bottom three thanks to a convincing 45-12 result against S&E with the result meaning that there are now five clubs battling to avoid the last relegation spot , although the tussle looks to be really between Chichester and Southend.  In the other result went down 12-50 at home to visiting Shelford.          

London 1(S):  After near  misses in the previous couple of seasons Sidcup clinched the league title and promotion with a 19-31 win at Maidstone in match that was by no means secured until the last 10 minutes; Havant’s tight 31-30 win against CS Rugby keeps them in second spot as third placed Tunbridge Wells slipped to a 12-17 home defeat to a Brighton outfit still looking to avoid the drop.  At the foot of the table the already relegated bottom two did battle with G&F comfortable 33-17 winners against Dover; Chiswick now look favourites to join them after a 31-12 defeat at Gravesend which now sees them 9-points adrift of safety.  In the remaining mid-table contests Sevenoaks were 33-22 winners against Chobham whilst Tottonians ran out 41-31 victors over Cobham.

London 2 (SE):  Medway have already secured the title but a 23-40 win at Charlton Pk dented their hosts playoff hopes in a battle between four clubs for the place.  Colfes remain the leading challengers after a 24-50 win at Horsham but Dartfordians stay level on points following their convincing 64-7 defeat of Hove.  Beckenham are still very much in the hunt after they beat Alleynians 27-3. At the foot of the table Bromley narrowly beat relegated Crowborough 27-25 to keep their survival hops alive, with avoiding the other relegation place still being contested by four clubs who are separated by just 2 points.  Alleynians now sit just above the drop zone as do D&B who narrowly beat H&W 13-15 who are the fourth club involved in the battle.  Given the fixture list for the final weekend, next week’s penultimate fixtures could prove decisive in deciding the issue. 

London 3 (SE):  Pulborough’s convincing 54-26 win against Folkestone keeps them at the head of a division that looks like both the promotion and relegation issues  won’t be decided until the final weekend.  Haywards Heath stay second with a 12-41 win at Sheppey with Thanet still third after they were narrow 19-21 winners at struggling Eastbourne who remain one off the bottom.  At the bottom Ashford are already down and suffered a 62-19 defeat to Dunstonians, which moved them into the top half of the table.  The third of the relegation places is occupied by Park Hse who went down 24-3 at Anchorians who are still not by any means safe, with Aylesford’s comfortable 36-0 win against Lewes moving them out of the bottom three.

Kent 1: With the top two clashing the outcome has pretty much decided who will end up champions as H&B were narrow 20-17 winners against O Wills, although the Sussex club will need a single point from next week’s fixture before they can crack open the champagne. Similarly their opposition will have to wait until next week to secure the playoff spot after third placed Cranbrook beat Vigo 36-22.  At the bottom of the table relegated Snowdown lost 36-14 at Southwark whilst Sittingbourne occupy the other relegation place after they fought out a 15-15 draw at NAG who are just a single point above them.  Brockleians are also still in danger and a 38-0 defeat at Beccehamians did nothing to help their survival hopes.  The remaining fixture saw another draw as HSBC and Kings Coll battled out a 29-29 result.

Kent 2:  The battle between the top two went the way of RBS with a much needed 22-10 win against OGs, Whitstable’s 17-20 win at local rivals Faversham keeps them in third and level on points, with Foots Cray in fourth after they beat Greenwich 42-10.  At the bottom Erith were hammered 17-73 by Bexley and Shooters hill had no fixture.  The remaining matches saw Askean 24-10 winners against Orpington with Lordswood 22-0 winners against Dartford Valley.

There will be a Special General Meeting at The Mote to be held on Wednesday 22nd March at 7:30pm for a presentation and meeting to discuss a development opportunity.

This is an important meeting and members should receive a letter informing them of the meeting with some additional detail in the next couple of days.  If you do not recieve a letter then please contact either the President - Jim Tinsley of Hon Sec Craig Tuffrey by email via the Contacts page of the website.

Attendance is highly recommended for this important event.

Spitfire Gold Veterans Trophy finals day

The finals were brought forward by a month for this year’s tournament, and what a feast of rugby the eight teams in the respective finals served up.  Kicking off the day were the Bowl and Shield finals with Sittingbourne and Sheppey contesting a Swaleside derby in the Shield final.  It was Sittingourne who prevailed after having stretched to a half-time lead they were able to withstand a second half comeback from their local rivals to take the trophy 17-10.

​Meanwhile Aylesford Bulls were taking on holders and three time finalists New Ash Green in the Bowl final and despite being first on the scoreboard it was the holders that demonstrated why they have won the trophy before as they ran out 31-5 winners to retain the trophy.

The plate final was a combative affair contested by Ashford and Metropolitan Kent’s Westcombe P​ark​ both making their first appearance in the tournament this season. In what was a great advert for veterans rugby Ashford appeared the dominant side, but it was resolute Westcombe P​ark defence combined with clinical execution of the chances they created that was the difference as they took the trophy with a 17-12 ​win that did not necessarily reflect the amount of pressure that the opposition had exerted on their line.

The Cup final was a cracking match worthy of a cup final between the holders Sevenoaks and previous finalists Thanet W​anderers.  In what was a full blooded contest the game swung back and forth. Thanet were first on the scoreboard establishing an early lead but appeared to be dead and buried when Sevenoaks came back to lead 24-12 going into the final quarter. Remarkably, Thanet then posted 19 points from 3 tries to establish a 7 point margin, with a minute to play. Sevenoaks were by no means beaten and having won the title last year with a dramatic finish created yet another as they broke out of their own half rom the re-start to score under the posts, the conversion bringing the final scores level at 31-31.

Thanet took the trophy under competition rules by virtue of their scoring five tries to Sevenoaks four.  

With this being the third year of the tournament its popularity grows as it continues to expand, with the Metropolitan Kent clubs joining the tournament this year and it looks likely to expand to 32 clubs for the 2017-18 season.

Finally, congratulations to all the finalists for a great day of rugby and thanks to all the volunteers at the club for making the day such a success and not least to the tournament sponsors Shepherd Neame who do so much to support grassroots rugby across the county.

When: Friday 5th May (7:00pm for a 7:30pm sit down)
Where: Cobtree Manor Golf Course
Cost: £25 (includes 3 course meal and various witty puns throughout the evening....
Dress: Club shirt, tie and chinos

Northampton Saints has today announced the signing of Piers Francis into the club’s squad ahead of the 2017/18 season.

Over the past year the 26-year-old has emerged as one of the most exciting talents to be playing in Super Rugby. After following in the footsteps of the likes of Martin Johnson and the Saints’ own Tom Wood in heading to New Zealand eight years ago to develop his game, Francis caught the eye of the Auckland Academy while playing club rugby and was quickly gaining experience in the National Provincial Championship for Auckland and Waikato.

After a short stint in Edinburgh Francis was back in New Zealand and impressing for Tana Umaga at Counties Manukau, so much so that he was drafted into The Blues’ squad for 2016.

Francis’s play-making abilities in his 11 appearances earned him the Rookie of the Year honours for the Super Rugby outfit, and later in the year he was at fly half guiding Counties Manukau to a first win over Auckland at Eden Park in 39 years, en route to the Mitre 10 Cup semi-finals.

It is likely that Piers final appearance for the Blues may well be this summer's fixture against the British & Irish Lions.

For more information click here

Given that this weekend is primarily dedicated to the RFU Cup competitions, this week’s blog will start with the three regional finals before covering results in the league and other competitions.

RFU Intermediate Cup: Congratulations to Charlton Pk who travelled to Ldn 2(SW) leaders and previously unbeaten this season Ldn Cornish to contest the Intermediate Cup regional final. The Se London club maintained what has been Kent dominance in this competition over the past three seasons as they emulated Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells achievements coming from behind at half-time to post a solid 17-32 win.  They now go on to face the SW regional winners Truro who beat Swanage & Wareham with a home tie in the national semi-finals.

RFU Senior Vase: The regional final was an all Ldn 3(SW) affair as league leaders Farnham travelled to face an O Cranleighians making their first foray into this tournament following promotion from Surrey 1 last season.  In the end the result went with form in what was a tight contest with the visitors just edging it by the narrowest of margins 29-30.  Farnham now host Cornish club Saltash who beat SCOB in the national semi-final.

RFU Junior Vase:  Surrey 1 league leaders O Whitgiftians proved too strong for their hosts Royston as they ran out comfortable winners.  Roaring to a 0-26 half-time lead playing with the elements, they demonstrated too much resilience for a comeback by their hosts to secure a 10-31 win and now go on to face Calne or Spartans (there is some doubt here as the RFU results show a 7-50 win for Spartans, but the Ldn RFU website shows the opposition as Calne), whoever the opposition they have drawn an away fixture so it will mean a trip to either Gloucester or Wiltshire.

Kent 1: The only fixture in the division was a postponed fixture between Southwark and NAG, in the end NAG conceded the fixture to remain just a point above the drop zone and in a three fight to avoid the drop.

Kent 2:  Tow fixture played here with league leaders OGs giving host Orpington a 10-76 thrashing to go 18-points clear at the top of the table and they can clinch the title next week if they overcome their nearest rivals RBS.  Whitstable beat Lordswood 40-15 to very much stay part of the promotion battle in third place, but level on points with second placed RBS, so very much still all to play for.

Shepherd Neame Kent Cups

Shield: Still no news on the Shield semi-finals between Ashford v Medway and Charlton Pk v Thanet Wdrs, although given Charlton Pk’s success in the Intermediate Cup and the upcoming national semi-final, it will be difficult to see how they can now fit all their commitment into the remaining  weekends.

Plate: In the remaining quarter finals Dover put out a development side for their trip to Aylesford and suffered a heavy 41-0 defeat for the troubles, Aylesford will now face Beckenham after their midweek floodlight clash with Tunbridge Wells was conceded with wells withdrawing from the Plate competition.  The confirmed semi-finals are Maidstone v Canterbury and Aylesford v Beckenham.

Vase: No updated information since 25 Feb

Salver: Semi-finals to be played on 22^nd Apr are Snowdown v Sittingbourne and Orpington v Greenwich

Congratulations to the Under 16s and their coaches as they win the Kent Cup, defeating defending champions Old Elthamians 22-18 in an exciting final at Ashford RFC.

Match Report below

12 March 2017, Kent Cup Final: Maidstone 22 v O Elthamians 18

After the rain, hail and mud of their semi final the previous week, Maidstone U16s were greeted by spring sunshine for their Kent Cup Final against holders Old Elthamians in Ashford.

Both teams started well and set out their tactical stalls.  OEs were dominating territory with clever kicking, forcing the Stones to kick back in to the hands of a talented back three. The Stones meanwhile were looking for opportunities to draw their opposition in to a close quarters battle. One searching OEs kick went slightly too long, in to the arms of Stones full back Gabe Roberts who out sprinted the defence over three quarters of the pitch for an unconverted try after 6 minutes.

OEs continued to dominate territory but could not breakdown the steadfast Stones defence.  The OEs’ pressure presented them with the platform for a drop goal on 20 minutes to pull the score back to 5-3.  With scant reward at the line out, OEs kicked for goal from a series of penalties and the Stones were fortunate to see several sail wide before one was converted to end the half with OEs leading 6-5.

The Stones had been tighter spots this season and the spirit from a group of lads, many of whom had been playing together for nine years, was tremendous.  Stones looked sharper at the start of the second half, electing to keep the ball in hand to draw in the OEs defence and create space for the backs.  Quick hands from the Stones saw wing James Hoyte storm through from deep and take a perfectly timed pass to wrong foot his opposite number, touching down in the corner for an unconverted try, 10-6 to the Stones.

The OEs backline continued to be inventive as they constantly moved their strike runner but were met time and again by crunching tackle from the centres and a backrow eager for turnovers.  Buoyed by their defensive efforts the Stones ventured deep in to OE territory with a series of hard hitting rucks and driving mauls.    With the OE’s backs spread wide keeping a wary eye on the Stones’ nippy Wingers, Centre Louis Skinner cutback towards his forwards, powering through flailing tackles to score the Stones third try which Oli Leyland converted to leave the Stones 17-6 up with 10 minutes to go. 

Stung in to action and needing tries OEs launching another aerial assault with some towering kicks and used the driving maul to good effect before they finally breeched the Stones’ defence and the conversion put OEs back in touch at 17-13 with 6 minutes to go. 

The Stones were by no means done in attack either. The forwards were in the ascendance, with Jack Royden and Tom Haywood’s rampaging runs fully occupying OEs’ defence and creating space for the backs.    The Stones’ ball carriers made significant gains at every contact, resulting in OEs running out of defenders and wing Charlie Booker crossing the line for the Stones 4^th try of the day.  The conversion was missed but the Stones were still two scores ahead at 22-13 a minute to go.

Booker’s try was to prove vital as OEs turned the ball over at the restart and an outstretched OEs hand touched down a ball that the Stones wing seemed to have covered in the dying seconds of the game, leaving the Stones running out 22-18 winners.

National 1: A 57-21 result for Hartpury against O Albanians confirmed what we’ve all known for some time as they took the league title and promotion to the Championship.  In the battle between the rest of the division, Plymouth Albion lead the pack after a 26-47 win over a Moseley side in fourth and which had challenged for much of the season, Ampthill sit third but slipped up 29-19 at Coventry.  There is then another gap to the midfield pack although most interest now lies at the foot of the table where mathematically nothing is yet final, although bottom side Macclesfield still look certain to go down, despite a 42-38 win over Loughborough St.  Hull Ionians and Blaydon look the most likely candidates to join them, and a 17-17 draw between the two probably did neither side a favour, although it did narrow the gap to 8-points on Esher who lost 18-24 to Rosslyn Pk on Friday evening.  Elsewhere Blackheath stopped the rot with their first win in six matches with a 26-21 result against DMP, whilst Fylde went down 28-46 to visiting Cambridge

National 2(S): With five matches to go leaders Bishops Stortford appear to have timed their run just right as they head the table by 4-points and beat Henley 28-38, Chinnor stay second after they were 47-19 winners over mid-table Canterbury, whilst Elthamians are still in with a sniff in third spot following a hard fought 7-20 win at Redingensians.  At the foot of the division Exmouth are now 13-points from safety following a 12-36 loss to Cinderford, with Barnes also looking favourites to go down following their 31-43 defeat by BSE.  Ldn Irish WG currently occupy the last of the relegation places and lost out to 34-39 to Worthing who move out of the drop zone, whilst Barnstaple’s tight 22-21 defeat at Taunton keeps them on the edge of the drop zone.  The last of the fixtures saw Redruth beat Clifton 26-7.

In Nat 2(N) it’s very much a two-horse race, with Caldy currently heading the division with an 11-point buffer to second placed Sale who look favourites for the playoff place given their 18 point lead over the third placed club.

National 3(SE):  Both the leading contenders continue to post bonus point wins as leaders TJs proved too strong for Shelford with a 17-50 win to stay 5-points ahead of Wimbledon who were 18-34 winners at struggling Colchester, Westcombe Pk and Hertford although both out of the promotion battle are their nearest competition, with both posting similar results.  Combe winning 48-14 against Guildford and Hertford 14-46 winners at S&E.  At the bottom already relegated A&C lost 39-15 at Chichester, Colchester look favourites to go down with them with the last place being taken by Chichester, Southend who won 17-20 at Dorking, and possibly Guildford who have been drawn back to the edge of the danger zone in recent weeks.  In the remaining match Guernsey beat Westcliff 26-20.

Looking across at who may be going up from Nat 3(SW), O Redcliffians are a point away from securing then league title but the playoff battle is still up for grabs with three clubs with realistic hopes (Dings Crusaders, Camborne and Ivybridge) but a further two not out of contention (Bournemouth and Bracknell).

London 1(S):  Leaders Sidcup beat third placed Tunbridge Wells 39-23 and need just two points to secure the title.  Second placed Havant couldn’t capitalise on T Wells’ loss and surprisingly lost out 15-7 at Chiswick who are playing to avoid the drop.  At the bottom the relegation of G&F was finally confirmed with a 38-0 defeat at Brighton and Dover’s 15-69 defeat at home to Gravesend means they are also relegated with the last of the relegation places now a survival battle between Brighton and Chiswick.  In the mid table battles CS Rugby were 48-29 winners against Tottonians with Cobham 28-21 winners against Sevenoaks.  Maidstone lost out by a point in an entertaining 32-31 result at Chobham with a last kick penalty to win the match just drifting wide of the upright.

Across in Ldn 1(N) the promotion places are still to be decided, Tring currently have the box seat from Brentwood with Chingford still mathematically in the contest although it would need the wheels to really come off the top two’s bandwagon for them to be in with a realistic shout.

London 2 (SE):  As predicted Medway secured the league title with a 60-5 rout of struggling Bromley with Colfes and Dartfordians locked together in second spot after wins against O Alleynians (14-48) and D&B (14-32) respectively.  Charlton Pk and Beckenham are by no means out of the picture as they both posted wins at Hove (22-29) and bottom club Crowborough (19-26).  It could be in interesting run in as some of the promotion protagonists go head to head in the last three matches.  At the bottom the results mean that Crowborough are all but relegated, but the second of the relegation spots could see any one of four clubs go down, with Bromley currently occupying the space but looking at the run in for all four clubs it looks a difficult one to call.

In Ldn 2(SW) Ldn Cornish are promoted as league champions and unless something extraordinary happens Camberley will provide the opposition in the promotion playoff against the Ldn 2(SE) protagonist, as they have an 8-point buffer over O Reigatians with three to play.

London 3 (SE):  The top two went head-to-head with Pulborough emerging 22-32 winners at Thanet Wdrs to go 4-points clear at the top.  With Haywards Heath winning 22-43 at Lewes they move into second spots and Thanet drop out of the promotion places for the first time this season and looking at the remaining fixtures for them and H Heath, it could well be that the East Kent club may well dip out in the promotion battle.  At the foot of the table Ashford won 27-12 at home to Eastbourne but are now relegated despite the win and the result also drops Eastbourne further into the relegation battle.  The third of the relegation places is taken by Aylesford, who went down 25-20 at fellow strugglers Park Hse, who are by no means themselves out of the woods. Folkestone’s 26-8 win over Anchorians keeps the Gillingham club still involved in the relegation battle whilst Dunstonians 36-24 win against Sheppey sees them in mid table although both sides are still not mathematically safe. In fact any two of five clubs could realistically join Ashford for the drop.

Kent 1: No change in the top three as leaders H&B were 19-36 winners at struggling NAG, with O Wills 21-31 winners at Kings Coll.  Third placed Cranbrook nulled bottom club and already relegated Snowdown by 53 points but are reliant on O wills slipping up if they are to have any realistic promotion hopes.  At the bottom Snowdown are already down and the other relegation place is between Sittingbourne who lost 15-23 to Southwark, NAG and Brockleians who were beaten 18-38 by HSBC.  The remaining fixture saw Vigo run out 48-32 winners against Beccehamians.

In Sussex 1 it looks like Crawley are favourites to take the league title and automatic promotion place but the battle for the playoff spot is still a three-way battle, with five points covering  Burgess Hill currently leading that battle from Uckfield and Hellingly.

Kent 2:  With OGs receiving a HWO aainst Erith, the league title is within their grasp as they have a 13-point buffer over second place RBS who hammered Greenwich 21-71.  Foots Cray sit third after they beat fourth placed Whistable 29-47.  In the only other fixture to take place Bexley were 32-29 winners in a tight contest with Askean, whilst Dartford valley and Lordswood received W/O against Shooters Hill and Orpington respectively.

The club’s sponsorship campaign for the 2017-18 season is already well underway and has had a minor overhaul since last season with the various sponsorship levels being retitled and an additional tier inserted.  In addition the club is pleased to announce that long term sponsors Crowe Clark Whitehill and Hehku have already confirmed their continued support as Gold level sponsors.  In addition Oakley Capital, who joined the club’s sponsors at Gold level for this season have also confirmed they will be continuing their support into next season.  Longstanding Bronze level sponsors and locally based Earl St Employment Consultants have also signed up for another season and renewal discussions are ongoing with all of our current sponsors as well as a number of other interested companies.

If you feel your company might be interested in supporting grassroots community based sport through Maidstone Rugby, or you have business contacts that may be interested, then please contact Bob Hayton for more information.

Congratulations to those listed below who have won prizes in the latest 500 club draw conducted at the end of February

£100 - Bob Hayton

£50 - James Findlay

£50 - Barry Topple

£30 - Hugh Fox

Thank you for supporting the 500 Club - You've got to be in it, to win it!!

National 1: Despite a hard fought 28-36 win at Rosslyn pk, Hartpury will have to wait another week to claim the league title thanks to Plymouth Albion’s 26-7 win at struggling Hull Ionians, Ampthill’s 43-24 win over Fylde keeps them in third spot in a division where the league title looked to have been all but decided quite a while ago.  At the bottom of the table Macclesfield’s 48-12 defeat at DMP means that next week could see their relegation confirmed and for Hull Ionians and Blaydon, who lost 19-25 to Coventry, there is a gap beginning to grow that may well seal their fate as the other two clubs for the drop.  Of the sides above them it is Cambridge and Esher that look potentially vulnerable as the two clashed with the 22-36 result in favour of Esher seeing them now locked together 9-points above the drop zone.  In the remaining results Moseley beat Loughborough St 20-29 whilst Blackheath’s indifferent February form continued into March as they lost 36-10 at O Albanians.

National 2(S): A 53-5 win over Ldn Irish WG for leaders Bishops Stortford keeps them at the head of the division and Chinnor’s 31-34 win at third placed Elthamians now sees them favourites for the playoff spot. Redruth move into fourth after an 18-29 win at Canterbury whilst Taunton’s 36-33 loss at struggling Worthing sees them slip to fifth.  At the foot of the table Exmouth lost out 33-28 at BSE, with Ldn Irish WG’s defeat seeing them drop to one off the bottom, Worthing still occupy the third of the relegation places despite their win, with both Barnes and Barnstaple still vulnerable after they clashed with the Devon club taking the points after tight a 10-3 result.  In the remaining results Cinderford lost 12-25 to visiting Redingensians, whilst in the other mid-table clash Clifton were just edged out 27-29 by Henley.

Nationals 3(SE):  With five matches to go, on paper second placed Wimbledon look to marginally have the easier run in after a 36-17 win over Guildford today, but TJs still head the table after they were 32-26 winners against Guernsey.  Combe’s 10-16 win at S&E keeps them in third but well off the pace, with Hertford fourth following their 19-6 win over Dorking.  At the bottom it now looks like three from four to go down with A&C now looking certain for the drop after a 20-28 loss to fellow strugglers Colchester, for whom survival is looking less likely despite the win.  Southend occupy the last of the relegation places, although a handy 25-0 win against Shelford keeps their survival hopes alive and narrows the gap to safety to just 2-points with Chichester who sit just above the drop zone losing 3-5 at Westcliff.         

London 1(S):  Across all the regions divisions Sidcup are the first to hit triple fiures in league points as the league leaders ran in 77 points without reply against the bottom club G&F to take their tally to 100.  Havant stay second with an 18-10 win over Gravesend whilst Tunbridge Wells narrowed the gap to only 4-points after they beat Chobham 45-10.  At the bottom Dover sit just above G&F and lost out 43-10 to Brighton who continue their good form to move clear of the drop zone and are helped by Chiswick’s 35-29 loss at Tottonians, which now sees them favourites to complete the relegation trio.  In mid-table Sevenoaks lost 31-42 at home to CS Rugby whilst a lethargic Maidstone suffered their heaviest home defeat in over 6 years with a 12-55 loss.

London 2 (SE):  Leaders Medway could have wrapped up the league title this weekend but instead lost their unbeaten record as they went down to a surprise 33-28 defeat at fifth placed Beckenham to boost their playoff hopes, although such is Medway’s margin of advantage that the league title is likely to be a formality next week against struggling Bromley despite their 38-31 win against mid-table Hove this week.  Colfes and Dartfordians remain locked together in the battle for the playoff spot, with Colfes 41-10 winners against bottom club Crowborough and Dartfordians 55-10 winners against a H&W side that still sit dangerously close to the drop zone. The same can be said for D&B who lost out 34-24 to a Charlton Pk side still very much in the playoff hunt.  In the last of the fixtures Horsham were 36-17 winners against O Alleynians.

London 3 (SE):  With four matches remaining there remains interest & keen competition at both the top and bottom of this division.  At the top it is now looks a three horse race for the two promotion places with leaders Pulborough comfortable 57-14 winners against bottom club Ashford, Thanet in second place racked up an equally comfortable 5-44 result at Anchorians with Haywards Heath just a point shy of them in third following their 31-10 win against Park Hse.  Those results see Park Hse drop to second from bottom, above Ashford, with Eastbourne occupying the third relegation spot after they were beaten 12-34 at home by Dunstonians.  That result combined with Aylesford’s 0-41 home defeat by Folkestone sees the two clubs swap places just outside the drop zone. In the last of the fixtures, Sheppey’s 13-10 win against Lewes pulls the island side into mid table and probably kills of any promotion aspirations for their Sussex opposition. 

Kent 1: A 52-5 hammering of Kings Coll keeps H&B at the head of the table with O Wills looking secure in second spot after a 44-13 win over Brockleians.  Cranbrook stay third after a resounding 69-0 win against struggling Sittingbourne.  at the foot of the table Snowdown lost 47-3 at Beccehamians a result that confirms their relegation.  The big question is who will join them? Sittingbourne currently occupy the position, with NAG just above them and their match at Southwark today was abandoned by the referee due to a serious injury; Brockleians are also by no means clear of danger either.  In the last of the fixtures HSBC lost out 20-23 to visiting Vigo

Kent 2:  A 0-76 thrashing of Askean keeps OGs at the head of the table whilst the chasing pack shuffles as RBS move into second spot after they were convincing 39-6 winners at promotion rivals Whitstable.  Foots Cray’s 38-7 win over Faversham keeps them very much in the hunt in fourth spot.  At the bottom Erith lost out 7-29 to Greenwich whilst Shooters hill lost 13-48 to visiting Orpington.  The last of the fixtures saw Lordswood 18-12 winners over Bexley whilst Dartford valley had no fixture this week.

National 1: The two outstanding fixtures here really only affected the bottom of the table as basement club Macclesfield lost out heavily, going down 45-21 to Hull Ionians just above them,  Blaydon complete the bottom three and their 25-12 win against Moseley narrows the gap to safety to 5-points.

National 2(S): With the matches in the division above all having an impact on the relegation battle, the outstanding matches to be played in this division largely had their focus on who would be going up a division to replace them.  Bishops Stortford now sit five points clear after a 46-30 win over Canterbury.  Third placed Elthamians narrowed the gap with a bonus point 21-51 win at struggling Worthing whilst Barnes moved out of the bottom three to be replaced by Barnstaple thanks to a losing bonus point in their 18-16 loss at Henley.

Nationals 3(SE):  Two previously postponed fixtures here and in the first, any residual hopes that Westcombe Pk had of staying close enough to take advantage of a slip up by the top two were probably dashed by a 17-15 defeat at Shelford, which now sees them 15-points adrift of second placed Wimbledon.  At the bottom a 59-5 hammering by Westcliff means that A&C are now almost certainly relegated despite the mathematics to the contrary, at least for this week.

Kent 2:  A full card of fixtures in this division for some reason, with O Gravesendians continuing to head the table after a comprehensive 53-5 win over Lordswood.  Whitstable sit second following an 83-10 hammering of Erith with RBS in third after a much tighter 13-22 win at Faversham.  At the bottom Shooters Hill have endured a torrid time of late and a 64-0 hammering by Bexley won’t help matters.  In mid-table Greenwich were 24 -7 winners against Askean whilst Orpington came out on top in what was probably the tightest fixture across the county today, with a 3-0 win over Dartford Valley.

RFU Intermediate Cup: For the third season in succession Kent will have a representative in the Ldn & SE regional Intermediate Cup final as Charlton Pk were 45-15 winners against Ldn 2(SW) club Portsmouth.  They will now face the league leaders from the same division in Ldn Cornish who comprehensively beat Ldn 2(NW) club Harrow 63-20.

RFU Senior Vase: The semi-finals in this competition were dominated by clubs from Ldn 3(SW) as the league leaders Farnham clinically disposed of Ldn 3(NW) club Hitchin with a 12-53 scoreline.  The second of the ties was an all Ldn 3(SW) affair with the result going with league form as third placed O Cranleighians defeating mid-table Battersea Ironsides 12-25.

RFU Junior Vase:  Kent 1’s Hastings & Bexhill’s cup run came to an end as they lost out 14050 at home against Surrey 1 club O Whitgiftians, they will go on to face Royston from H/Middx 1 who overcame Essex club Maldon 24-30.

Kent Cups: Trying to update results for the various Kent Cup competitions is often like trying to push water uphill, clubs fail to list them in their fixtures schedule, are tardy about putting the results up, so the only way to keep up on events is the combination of the internet, telepathy and a large portion of voodoo drums. Nevertheless, I’ll try and recap where we are in each of the competitions.  By all means contact the author to correct any errors or provide updated information.

Cup:  TJs had already reached the final, having played their semi-final v Westcombe Pk back in December as a double-header with their scheduled league fixture.  Blackheath were due to play Sidcup in the other semi-final last Fri (18^th), unfortuntely a floodlight failure after 35 minutes with Sidcup holding a narrow 0-5 lead meant the match had to be abandoned; both clubs have apparently agreed to the fixture being replayed at a date tbc  

Shield: No record of any results for the semi-finals, Ashford v Medway and Charlton Pk v Thanet Wdrs and they may well be played in March, obviously dependant on Charlton Pk’s Intermediaate Cup commitments.

Plate: The only one of the fixtures to have been played so far was todays match as Folkestone hosted Maidstone with the result 19-41 to the visitors who now face the winners of the clash between Canterbury & Sheppey whenever it is scheduled.  There is no trace of when the other two fixtures will be played to decide the other semi-final as follows: Aylesford v Dover, Beckenham v T Wells

Vase: Beccehamians received a W/O against Brockleians , and the clash between O Gravesendians  and Cranbrook is scheduled for next week (05 Mar). There is no trace of results or scheduled dates for the other two fixtures as follows:  Kings Coll v Askeans, Southwark Lancers v Dartford Valley

Salver: The enigma that is the Salver looks like the semi-finals being competed between the winners of  New Ash Green v Sittingbourne, with Snowdown, Orpington and Greenwich all still in the draw.

The Times Alex Lowe writes:  There are probably 20 English rugby players with realistic ambitions of playing for the British & Irish Lions this summer but only one whose target is to line up against them. The date of June 7 and the second match of the Lions’ tour to New Zealand has long been inked into the diary of Piers Francis, the Auckland Blues fly half.

To read the full article in saturday's Times click here

National 1: A 45-36 result for leaders Hartpury over Cambridge keeps them 29 points clear at the top and they could potentially clinch the title on 4^th Mar in the next full round of fixtures, second placed Plymouth Albion were tight 18-20 winners at Loughborough St although it really is honours only for the rest of the leading clubs in what has really been a one-horse promotion race since very early in the season.  Ampthill sit third after a 15-46 win at Esher with Moseley slipping to fourth after a 19-21 defeat to DMP.  Rosslyn Pk move into the top five at the expense of Blackheath, who they defeated 15-36.  At the foot of the division, bottom side Macclesfield lost 19-50 to O Albanians with Hull Ionians also losing out 50-38 at Coventry. Blaydon stay third from bottom after a 26-17 loss at Fylde and are 10-points adrift of Esher and safety.

National 2(S): Chinnor and Bishops Stortford remain locked together at the top with both picking up useful wins against Cinderford (42-17) and Taunton (10-39) respectively; Elthamians sit third and keep up the pressure after they fought out a tight 17-20 win at fifth placed Redruth.  Canterbury lost out 33-22 at Henley but sit comfortably in mid-table, as do their opposition.  The foot of the division is still anchored by Exmouth despite a 32-25 win against Barnes who sit third from bottom; between them lies Worthing, who also posted a useful 32-28 win against fellow strugglers Barnstaple, whilst Ldn Irish WG and BSE are both also mired in the relegation battle after defeats at the hands of Clifton (12-34) and Redingensians (25-21) respectively.

Nationals 3(SE):  At the top TJs stay 5-points clear after a 17-47 win at Chichester which also keeps the host club on the edge of the relegation zone.  Wimbledon stay second after third placed Westcombe Pk were unable to narrow the gap, losing out narrowly 15-18 at home and now 16-points adrift of the promotion battle.  At the foot of the table, basement club A&C lost 36-20 at Guildford whilst Colchester suffered a heavy 5-48 loss to Essex rival Westcliff. Another Essex club completes the bottom three as Southend occupy then third relegation spot after a heavy 60-14 loss at Guernsey.  In the mid-table battles Dorking were edged out 20-23 by S&E whilst Shelford beat visiting Hertford 26-22.   

London 1(S):  Sidcup now look comfortable at the top, with a 37-24 win against struggling Brighton keeping them 12-points clear of Havant who recovered from last week’s loss with an 18-33 win at Dover whilst Tunbridge Wells maintain station in third with a 22-35 win at Cobham.  At the bottom end of the table Chobham ran in 52 points for just 5 in return against basement club G&F, whilst Chiswick drop into the bottom three after they lost 25-36 to Sevenoaks thanks to Brighton picking up a bonus point in their match at leaders Sidcup.  The remaining fixtures saw Gravesend lose out 29-32 to Tottonians, whilst CS Rugby came from behind in the closing minutes to beat Maidstone 33-29.

London 2 (SE):  The top two did battle with leaders Medway doing the double on Colfes with a 25-10 result to extend their lead to 21-points.  A 53-17 win for Dartfordians over Horsham moves them into third after Charlton Pk tripped up 19-13 at struggling H&W, with Beckenham in fifth after a 12-22 win at Hove.  At the bottom Crowborough are not dead yet after a good 41-19 win against Alleynians, whilst the two sides above them clashed with D&B taking the points with a 38-5 win over Bromley

London 3 (SE):  A 21-34 win for Pulborough at struggling Dunstonians sees them go top after Thanet Wdrs slipped up 19-22 to visiting Aylesford, who move out of the bottom three.  Haywards Heath sit third after they beat Folkestone 7-31 with Lewes fourth following a 20-36 scoreline at Park Hse.  Bottom club Ashford lost 12-29 to Anchorians with Sheppey on the receiving ends of a 50-3 hammering at Eastbourne.  The top of the table in this division now looks a three-horse race for the promotion battle whilst with three going down, any of the bottom 7 clubs are still very much part of the relegation battle.

Kent 1: The top of the table now looks decided as leaders H&B were 13-38 winners against Southwark and second placed O Wills 3-46 winners at Vigo.  Third placed Cranbrook were 14-48 winners at struggling NAG but look to be too far off the pace to trouble the top two.  At the bottom Snowdown lost 15-34 to mid-table HSBC whilst Sittingbourne occupy the other relegation slot just below NAG, following their 10-28 defeat by Beccehamians.  The remaining fixture saw Brockleians nilled by 45-points by visitors, Kings Coll.

Kent 2:  OGs sit 9-points clear at the top following a W/O against Shooters Hill, with Whitstable moving  into second after they beat Askean 5-33 and Foots Cray losing out to fourth placed RBS 23-19.  Erith stay bottom after defeat by 7-53 at the hands of Faversham and Dartford Valley beat Bexley 21-0, the last of the fixtures saw Lordswood with a W/O, whilst Orpington had no fixture this week.

The club marked Lucien Morosan’s 100^th 1^st XV appearance at the fixture with Gravesend and we acknowledged another milestone against Chiswick last week for a player who has been a great servant to the club over many years.  Unofficially, Matt Iles has well over a century of 1^st XV appearances but since we have been keeping more accurate records his run out against Chiswick marks what we called the Official Milestone and recognition of that achievement, with skipper Ben Williams asking him to lead the side onto the pitch before kick-off.

Without wanting to over inflate his ego, Matt is one of those players who seems blessed with a talent for ball sports given he is also a talented cricketer.  Those who have watched the side over a number of years will know of Matt’s utility and that he has represented the 1^st XV in every position between 1-15, with the exception of the front row.  Of course there are some who might say he has also been a victim of that all-round talent, often sacrificing playing in his preferred position to help the team.

National 1: First played second as Ampthill entertained leaders Hartpury and the 25-51 win for the league emphasised the difference in stature of the league leaders and the rest.  Plymouth Albion took advantage to go second with a 33-24 win against Coventry, whilst Moseley stay fourth after they were 7-33 winners at O Albanians.  Blackheath slip to sixth following a 23-23 draw at Cambridge with Rosslyn Pk moving into the top five after they were 59-28 winners against bottom club Macclesfield. Elsewhere at the bottom end of the table Hull Ionians were narrowly pipped 29-31 by visiting Fylde whilst Blaydon narrowed the gap on the side above them with a 17-7 win against Esher.  The remaining result saw DMP 27-13 winners over Loughborough St.

National 2(S): A 20-50 win for Chinnor at BSE keeps them at the head of the division, level with Bishops Stortford who were 52-14 winners against struggling Worthing. Elthamians remain third, beating Henley 39-20 with Taunton just a point behind following their 5-25 victory at Clifton.  At the foot of the table, bottom club Exmouth lost out 13-6 at Barnstaple who also have relegation worries, and Barnes also fell to defeat, losing out 22-36 at home to Redingensians. Canterbury were 21-17 winners against Ldn Irish WG, who are also on the edge of the drop zone, whilst in mid-table Cinderford were 23-21 winners in a tight contest against Redruth.

Nationals 3(SE):  It remains ‘nip & tuck’ at the top of the table with leaders TJs picking up the BP win with a 32-14 win against relegation candidates Colchester, Wimbledon in second spot had a more comfortable ride as they crushed bottom club A&C 0-58.  Westcombe Pk sit some way off the pace in third after they were 10-36 winners at Dorking, with Hertford in fourth after they beat Guernsey 28-24.  At the bottom A&C and Colchester look favourites for the drop, with Southend currently occupying the third relegation place despite a 21-12 win against Chichester, who could yet be dragged back into the relegation dogfight.  Westcliff and Guildford are by no means clear of danger and the 25-11 win for Westcliff in the battle between the two will have eased some of their worries. The remaining fixture saw S&E runout 42-19 winners against Shelford.

London 1(S):  A 35-12 win for Sidcup over struggling Dover keeps them top, but a defeat 34-29 defeat for second placed Havant at Tottonians now means they are 12-points off the pace with Tunbridge Wells closing the gap behind them after a solid 34-12 defeat of CS Rugby.  At the foot of the table, bottom side G&F lost out 18-39 to visiting Cobham, Dover’s defeat sees them also looking like the drop is more certain, but Brighton’s return to winning ways as they followed up last week’s useful result with a 22-17 win over Chobham which combined with Chiswick’s 43-26 defeat at Maidstone sees the last of the relegation places being fought out between the two of them.  in mid-table Sevenoaks were 31-24 winners against visiting Gravesend.

London 2 (SE):  At the top Medway thrashed Alleynians 17-70, whilst Colfes stay second following their 46-7 win against Hove.  Charlton Pk and Dartfordians swap places in third & fourth after Park were 18-12 winners in a tight contest. Beckenham beat D&B 15-8 to stay on the edge of the promotion battle, whilst the result also keeps D&B involved in the relegation struggle.  Bottom side Crowborough were beaten 10-3 at Sussex rival s Horsham, but Bromley gave their survival hopes a boost with a 31-18 win over H&W, with the result drawing them in to a 3-way battle to avoid relegation alongside Crowborough who now look certain for the drop.

London 2 (SE):  At the top leaders Thanet Wdrs lost 23-17 at Haywards Heath who move up to third  after Lewes conceded their home fixture against Folkestone.  Pulborough are now joint top after they were 34-0 winners against Eastbourne, a result that puts Eastbourne in the drop zone with Dunstonians moving out of the bottom three after they beat Anchorians 12-29.  Ashford’s 25-0 defeat at the hands of fellow strugglers Aylesford sees them 14-points adrift at the foot of the table whilst that last of the results saw Sheppey beat Park Hse 28-10.  The battle at the top in this division is a tight contest, but equally interesting is the battle to avoid the drop with any two of five sides that could go down with Ashford who now look almost certain to return to Kent 1.

Kent 1: Another win for leaders H&B who were convincing 26-0 winners against Brockleians, with O Wills now looking like they’ll take the playoff spot after they had a HWO against bottom side Snowdown.  Cranbrook’s 46-14 win against Southwark keeps them on the edge of the playoff battle, but realistically too far off the pace.  At the bottom Snowdown look certain to go down and Brockleians are in the survival battle along with Sittingbourne who lost 29-12 at HSBC, and NAG who were beaten 17-6 by Beccehamians.  The last of the fixtures saw kings Coll and Vigo battle out a 20-20 draw.

Kent 2:  A 39-5 result for OGs at Dartford Valley keeps them top of the table whilst second placed Whitstable received a WO against Lordswood; third club Foots Cray also had the afternoon off after their opposition Erith conceded the fixture and fourth club RBS had no scheduled match.  Elsewhere Greenwich hammered Shooters Hill 70-3 and Bexley turned over Orpington with a 25-25 result.  The last of the fixtures saw Faversham 14-3 winners against visiting Askean.

CALLING ALL AGE GROUPS – SENIORS – LADIES – PARENTS AND FRIENDS OF THE CLUB!

Fancy testing your knowledge against other members of the club?

Think that your team can out match others?

Want to have the title of 125 Trophy holders & win some prizes?

Here’s what you need to do!

• Get some teammates/friends together..
• Think of a team name
• £6 per person to enter, maximum of 6 per team
• £10 deposit per team to be paid at the bar
• By all means bring your own food (drinks only from the bar)

To book your team, contact:

Kate Wright M: 07713 811051 or Carol McKenzie via email (click here)

Come and support your club and flex your mighty brain!!!

We’d love to see representation from across the whole club

National 1: Nine games left and Hartpury remain 28-points clear at the top after an 80-19 win over struggling Blaydon. Of the chasing pack, second placed Ampthill were 17-24 winners at fifth placed Blackheath and had a similar result with a 17-20 win at DMP.  Moseley stay fourth after they beat Rosslyn Pk 36-20.  At the bottom it is beginning to look like Macclesfield , Blaydon and Hull Ionians are the prime candidates after Macclesfield lost 24-36 to Cambridge and Hull were beaten 47-19 by Esher; leaving the trio now at least 12-points from safety.  In the remaining fixtures Coventry lost 33-24 at Fylde and Loughborough St were beaten 39-46 by O Albanians.

National 2(S): still tight at the top of the table with leaders Chinnor 24-17 winners over Barnes and second placed Bishops Stortford 35-12 victors against Barnstaple.  Elthamians and Taunton are locked together in third and fourth after wins against Ldn Irish WG (14-43) and Canterbury (30-5) respectively, and Redruth just a point behind following their 10-3 win against BSE.  The foot of the table Exmouth lost 43-21 to Redingensians whilst Worthing lost out 11-15 to visiting Clifton.  The remaining fixture saw Cinderford 17-20 winners at Henley.

Nationals 3(SE):  A full schedule of matches postponed from January and without doubt the big fixture was the clash between the top two, with TJs taking the points after a tight 19-17 win against Wimbledon to go four points clear. Westcombe Pk are third after they beat Westcliff 59-12 whilst fourth placed Hertford were 27-18 winners against strugglers Colchester.  Elsewhere at the bottom end of the division, Southend are still in danger despite a 24-20 win against Guildford, and a 30-36 result at S&E in favour of visiting Chichester looks to have lifted them out of danger for the time being. The only other fixture saw Dorking 30-25 winners over Guernsey       

London 1(S):  Five fixtures outstanding from the 21^st Jan with Sidcup 31-22 winners over Cobham to stay top of the table and second placed Havant winning 29-13 at Maidstone.  In third place Tunbridge Wells beat Gravesend 27-10 whilst at the bottom end of the table only Brighton were in action and gave their survival chances a boost with a resounding 35-7 win over sixth placed CS Rugby to close the gap on Chiswick.

London 2 (SE):  two fixtures here and both affected the bottom two clubs.  Crowborough a useful 43-10 win over Hove whilst fellow strugglers Bromley lost out 26-44 at home to Charlton Pk who remain in contention for the promotion playoffs in fourth spot.

Kent 1: just one fixture here which saw Southwark 24-25 winners against Beccehamians.

Kent 2:  OGs go back to the top of the table after receiving a WO in their outstanding fixture against Bexley, in the other fixture Lordswood fought out a 14-14 draw with RBS who move up to third in the standings.

In the AtG on 21^st Jan the author neglected to cover the RFU Cup competitions, although several were postpone anyway, so this summary will cover results for the respective competitions for both 21^st Jan and today.

RFU Intermediate Cup: Of the fixtures played in January the results saw two of the county’s clubs lose out as Colfes narrowly lost 36-33 at Portsmouth, whilst Charlton Pk were 17-27 winners at Beckenham.  H&F were beaten 20-37 by Ldn Cornish whilst in the outstanding match played today Harrow were convincing 50-7 winners against Welwyn.

RFU Senior Vase: Hitchin had beaten Lowestoft & Yarmouth 14-53 back in January with then outstanding matches played today.  Unfortunately Thanet’s run came to an end with a 35-12 loss at O Cranleighians, Farnham received a WO against Harlow and Battersea Ironsides were 25-5 winners against Teddington.

RFU Junior Vase:  O Whitgiftians were 37-13 victors over New Milton in January and are joined in the semi-finals by H&B who beat Burgess Hill 29-23 in a tight Sussex derby.  Royston were 17-5 winners against Thetford and Maldon received a WO against Ldn Welsh Druids.

Whilst the 1^st XV could not quite manage a win at kent rivals Gravesend, the event did mark a significant milestone for scrum-half Lucian Morosan who joined the ‘100 Club’ as he ran out for his 100^th 1^st XV appearance today in what is his fifth season with the club. Since his arrival at Maidstone he has pretty much been an ever present in the team, with his contributions on the wing or in his preferred scrum-half position always being of a high standard.  To mark the milestone Lucian was presented with a bottle of champagne after the game by Head Coach Mike Hebden; Well done Lucian.

National 1: At the top of the pile Hartpury march on in what has very much turned out to be a ‘one horse‘ race with another win, this time a 7-49 win against struggling Hull Ionians who sit third from the bottom of the table.  Ampthill and Plymouth Albion are locked together in second & third after wins against bottom club Macclesfield (36-10) and Fylde (29-21) respectively, whilst Mosely are fourth after they beat Cambridge 30-39.  At the bottom of the table Blaydon sit just above Macclesfield and a 28-11 win over Blackheath keeps them level on points with Hull Ionians and their survival hopes still alive. In the mid-table clashes Rosslyn Pk just edged out Loughborough St 39-37 whilst the remaining two fixtures ended with similar scorelines as Coventry beat Esher 35-27 and O Albanians lost out to visiting DMP 29-35.

National 2(S):  Chinnor stay at the top of the table with a 20-37 win at bottom club Exmouth, with Bishops Stortford in second after they were 18-43 winners at Clifton.  Redruth’s 0-33 win at Barnes sees them move above O Elthamians into third after Elthamians lost 16-22 at home to Taunton in fifth. The foot of the table sees Worthing in real danger now after they lost out 13-7 at Canterbury, witgh Barnstaple in the last of the relegation places following their 7-14 defeat by Redingensians.  Barnes are by no means safe just above Barnstaple and neither are Ldn Irish WG who were hammered 43-0 at Cinderford, or BSE who were beaten 21-27 at home by Henley.

Nationals 3(SE):  Still just a single point separates the top two sides as leaders TJs beat Guildford 18-39 with second placed Wimbledon beating Westcliff 43-0.  Hertford slip to fourth after losing out 30-22 at struggling Chichester, with Westcombe Pk now third after they were resounding 57-13 winners against bottom club A&C.  At the bottom end of the table Southend replace Chichester in the drop zone after a 31-18 defeat at the hands of fellow strugglers Colchester, combined with a 10-point deduction that now sees them in deep trouble along with today’s opponents and A&C.  The remaining mid-table fixtures saw Guernsey 28-12 victors over S&E, whilst it was honours even between Shelford and Dorking as they fought out a 23-23 draw.       

London 1(S):  A 15-31 win for leaders Sidcup at Chobham sees them 9-points clear and it would need them to hit a monumental banana skin to miss out on at least the promotion places now.  Havant sit second after a 36-32 win over Sevenoaks and they also have a handy 8-point buffer to Tunbridge Wells whose challenge looks to be fading despite an 8-19 at Chiswick.  At the foot of the table CS Rugby hammered G&F 50-5 whilst Brighton went down 45-31 at Cobham; Dover round out the bottom three after they lost 7-24 to fourth placed Tottonians and it’s beginning to look like those three for the drop with Chiswick also flirting on the edge of the drop zone.  The last of the fixtures was a mid-table battle and the two sides swap places in the sixth & seventh places after Gravesend edge a hard fought tussle with Kent rivals Maidstone 20-16.

London 2 (SE):  A 66-12 hammering of bottom club Crowborough sees Medway now 17-points clear at the top of the table, whilst a tight 10-13 win for Colfes at D&B keeps them in second spot and just above Dartfordians who were 33-12 winners against struggling Bromley.  Charlton Pk’s 49-10 win over mid-table Horsham keeps them in the hunt along with Beckenham who were 26-30 winners at H&W. the last of the matches saw hove just edged out 34-36 at home to Alleynians.

London 3 (SE):  Thanet stay top after a tight 16-12 win over fellow promotion challengers Lewes, the result now sees Pulborough clear in second spot after they beat Sheppey 28-14.  At the bottom end of the table, basement side Ashford went down 0-23 at home to Haywards Heath but the big clash of the day was between the other relegation candidates as Dunstonians and Aylesford swapped places following D’s 32-24 win.  Eastbourne sit on the edge of the drop zone and an 18-8 win against Anchorians will help ease their worries, whilst in mid-table Folkestone were comfortable 29-0 winners against Park Hse.

Kent 1: H&B continue to lead the division and a tight 7-9 win at Cranbrook also looks to have ended their opponents challenge with O Wills remaining in second spot after they beat Sittingbourne 0-22.  The bottom of the table sees Snowdown still anchored to the foot of the table and an 8-46 defeat by Kings Coll means they are at least 18-points from safety with survival looking highly unlikely.  Sittingbourne sit just above them and a point below NAG who lost out 29-32 to HSBC, whilst Brockleians are by no means safe after they lost 25-5 at Vigo. The match between Southwark and Beccehamians was postponed due to a still frozen pitch.

Kent 2: with OGs match at Orpington being postponed Whitstable go top following their 5-90 hammering of struggling Shooters Hill.  However the biggest score of the day goes to fourth placed RBS who racked up triple figures in their 0-101 annihilation of Erith.  Foots cray stay in third place after they were 0-30 winners at Askean whilst a similar 29-0 scoreline saw Lordswood beat Faversham.  The match between Dartford Valley and Greenwich was conceded as a WO by Greenwich.

Due to unforeseen circumstances the club still has available 3 pairs of tickets for the England v italy RBS 6 Nations fixture on Sun 26th Feb, KO: 3:00pm.

Ticket values are as follows: 2x £70, 2x £63 and 2x £37 .

If any member is interested in obtaining tickets please contact Steve Vincent via the Intl Tickets or Contacts pages of the website.

Apologies for the delay in this week’s round up, no doubt you know what it’s like.  The rugby gets postponed due to the weather and ‘er indoors’ then decides to take the opportunity to do other things. Whilst I’m all for an evening out, being dragged round shops on Saturday and Sunday hasn’t exactly been the high spot of my year so far!!

National 1: Leaders Hartpury extended their lead to 27 points after a 50-19 win against Coventry, with Ampthill in second spot after they beat Moseley 18-35 with Plymouth Albion third after their 13-18 win at O Albanians, and Blackheath move up to fourth following a narrow 31-29 win against struggling Hull Ionians. At the foot of the table the bottom two clashed with Blaydon coming out on top in a low scoring affair 7-15 at Macclesfield. The result sees the pair along, with Ionians looking favourites for the drop at this point.  Fylde and Esher are by no means out of danger and the 42-29 result in the clash between the two brought welcome points for the Surrey club.  The remaining matches saw DMP just lose out 19-20 at home to Rosslyn Pk, whilst Loughborough St were 42-27 winners against Cambridge.

National 2(S):  With Leaders Bishops Stortford’s clash with Canterbury and Elthamians trip to Worthing both being postponed, Chinnor now top the table after a 16-10 win against Redingensians; Redruth also narrowed the gap in fourth after they just edged out bottom club Exmouth 33-32.  In the other match affecting the relegation battle, Barnstaple lost out 24-22 at Cllifton, Ldn Irish WG edged clear of danger with a 36-24 win against BSE, whilst the clash between Henley and Barnes was postponed.  In the mid-table clash Taunton lost out 20-27 at home to Cinderford.

Nationals 3(SE):  All fixtures postponed due to frozen pitches        

London 1(S):  Only two fixtures survived the freeze and both had an impact on the bottom end of the table. Firstly, bottom club G&F picked their first win of the season with a 25-15 win over a Chiswick outfit that had beaten Brighton last week.  The result doesn’t lift G&F off the foot of the table but narrows the gap to Brighton just above then as well as keeping Chiswick on the fringe of the danger area.  In the other match Dover lost heavily (53-10) at Chobham and were unable to capitalise on Chiswick’s loss and like Brighton remain nine points from safety.

London 2 (SE):  There were no fixtures scheduled in the division except the rearranged match between Crowborough and Hove which yet again fell foul of the weather.

London 3 (SE):  Anchorians clash with Pulborough which was postponed from last week ended in a 24-38 win for the Sussex club which moved them back into second spot, although level on points with Lewes in third.

Kent 1: No scheduled fixtures

Kent 2: strange that Kent 1 should have no scheduled fixtures yet Kent 2 had a full programme with only the match between leaders OGs and Becxley falling to the weather.  RBS, Whitstable and Foots Cray all closed the gap with Whitstable beating Dartford Valley 24-0, Footscray effectively ending any promotion aspirations still harboured by Lordswood with a 37-12 result. RBS stay in touch after they were 36-7 winners against Askean. In the two remaining fixtures Faversham received a HWO against struggling Shooters Hill, whilst Orpington were 7-24 winners at Greenwich.

National 1: Well it really is a one horse race at the top as a 31-57 win at Fylde gives them a 26-point lead over Ampthill who beat Loughborough St 25-3.  Plymouth albion are third following a 29-7 defeat of Esher with Moseley slipping to fourth after their fixture at Blaydon was postponed. Blackheath  slip to fifth after they were well beaten 39-3 at Coventry.  At the bottom of the table Macclesfield’s trip to Hull Ionians fell foul of the weather, with both clubs needing a win to boost any hopes of survival to climb above Esher or Fylde.  In mid-table Rosslyn Pk were 35-17 winners over O Albanians whilst Cambridge lost out 20-25 to visiting DMP

National 2(S):  Bishops Stortford take over top spot from O Elthamians after they edged a tight 14-16 battle with each other with Chinnor in third after an equally tight 15-17 win over struggling Barnstaple.  An 8-22 win for Taunton at BSE keeps them in fourth place, just above Redruth who were 14-28 winners at Redingensians.  At the bottom end of the table Exmouth still prop up the table despite a 20-16 win over Henley, with Worthing just above them following a heavy 53-18 defeat at Cinderford, Barnstaple currently occupy the last relegation spot, but any club from five still sits in the danger area.  In the remaining fixtures Canterbury’s recent good form came to an end with 25-42 loss to Clifton whilst Barnes beat Ldn Irish WG 26-26.

Nationals 3(SE):  It remains ‘nip & tuck’ at the top with what looks now to be between leaders TJs and Wimbledon, with both posting good wins as TJs were 5-37 victors at bottom club A&C whilst Wimbledon beat Southend 50-17. Hertford are now 15-points off the pace in third spot after a 10-42 win at Guildford, with fourth placed Westcombe Pk’s encounter against Westclff falling foul of the frozen weather.  At the bottom end of the table just above A&C, Colchester lost out 31-37 to S&E whilst Chichester were 18-13 winners over Dorking to close the gap to Southend.  In reality both A&C and Colchester now look favourites for the drop with any one of possibly five clubs looking to avoid the third relegation place depending on how the weekly results shuffle.  In the last of the fixtures Guernsey were 39-30 winners against Shelford.  

London 1(S):  There is now a distinct top two in the division, with leaders Sidcup winning 20-29 at CS Rugby who drop to sixth place, whilst Havant maintain second spot after denting third placed Tunbridge Wells’ challenge with a 24-18 win that now gives them gives them an 8-point buffer on the Kent club.  Tottonians stay fourth after a 36-16 win over Maidstone, with Cobham moving up to fifth after they beat Chobham 43-17. At the bottom the relegation battle looks about cut dried for G&F who went down 66-8 at Gravesend, whilst Dover and brighton are looking lioke the other two candidates, after Dover lost out 5-25 at home to Sevenoaks and Brighton lost out 18-5 at fellow strugglers Chiswick, to give the London club a bit of breathing space from the drop zone

London 2 (SE):  A 12-53 win at Horsham sees Medway march on at the head of the table with Colfes consolidating second spot after they beat struggling H&W 48-20 and third placed Dartfordians lost out by the odd point 16-17 at Beckenham.  At the bottom it was no change with the two clubs in Crowborough and Bromley postponing their fixtures against Hove and Charlton Pk respectively due to frozen pitches.  Above them D&B are still flirting with danger after they lost 45-19 at Alleynians.

London 3 (SE):  Leaders Thanet Wdrs won 11-48 at Park Hse (odd that their pitches weren’t frozen, given they are quite literally on the other side of the road from Bromley) whilst wins for Lewes and Haywards Heath against the bottom two in Ashford (39-17) and Dunstonians (34-10) see them move into second and third place after Pulborough’s match at Anchorians was postponed.  At the bottom end of the table Aylesford still occupy the last relegation place despite a 24-15 win over Eastbourne.  In mid-table Sheppey lost out 22-27 at home to Folkestone.

Kent 1: leaders H&B were comfortable 34-3 winners over visiting Vigo whilst second placed O Wills were 17-10 winners against NAG, with Cranbrook beginning to lose ground after they were beaten 19-17 at Beccehamians.  At the foot of the table bottom club  Snowdown conceded to  Brockleians and look favourites for the drop with NAG just above them along with Vigo Brockleians and also Sittingbourne who were beaten 24-17 at kings Coll.  In the last of the fixtures HSBC beat Southwark 34-24.

Kent 2: Leaders O Gravesendians sat this week out, with Whitstable narrowing the gap after a 12-18 win at Orpington with Foots Cray in third after they ran up triple figures with a 7-100 rout of Shooters Hill. RBS slip to fourth as a result of their fixture at Lordswood being postponed. At the bottom Erith lost out 26-19 at Askean whilst Bexley beat Greenwich 24-12; the last of the fixtures saw Dartford valley 19-10 victors over Faversham.

Maidstone Rugby Hosting Saracens Rugby Camp

The Saracens Rugby Camp Programme is aimed at U7 – U14 boys and girls playing age-grades and provides organised, educational, inclusive and structured activities, utilizing Saracens experienced, qualified and award winning coaches from the Community team.

Saracens will be realising a brand new delivery structure that will be in place for the 2016/2017 season giving a fresh new look on Rugby Camps!

Coaches will pass on expert advice and professional tips, creating a fun and enjoyable environment in which participants will work closely in groups of the same/similar age covering all rugby aspects. Individuals can expect to cover content specific to their age group ensuring the best possible chance to further personal development on and off the field.

The club and experienced coaching staff allow access for all rugby abilities and encourage TAG rugby players to attend in addition to those of an older age.

Course: Saracens Two Day Skills Clinic

Venue: Maidstone FC

Date: Tuesday 14^th & Wednesday 15th Feb

Age: U7 – U14

Normal Price: £60.00

Online Price: £54.00

To book your place on this course, please go to https://bookings.rugbycamps.co.uk/index.php?action=view_camp&campid=3065#.WG-kf1OLTIU

or call Sid Young (Saracens) on 0203 675 7242

Firstly, a Happy New Year to you all, and no doubt a relief to you all put the festive season behind you and get back to the more important things in life like Rugby.

National 1: The leaders picked 2017 where they left off in the first half of the campaign with a 66-10 demolition of Esher, whilst second placed Moseley saw off Hull Ionians 38-19 but still sit 23 points off the pace of the league leaders.A 22-0 victory for Blackheath moves them up to third place above Plymouth Albion and Ampthill who both slipped up, going down 17-10 and 14-12 to Rosslyn Pk and DMP respectively.  At the bottom of the division Macclesfield lost 14-37 to visiting Coventry whilst Blaydon were thrashed 42-0 at Loughborough St, with Hull Ionians rounding out the bottom three. In the last of the fixtures Cambridge were 11-24 winners on their travels at O Albanians.

National 2(S):  Two of the top three made a losing start to 2017 as Bishops Stortford went down by a point in the 29-30 scoreline at home to Cinderford, whilst third placed Chinnor slipped to a 29-12 defeat at fifth placed Redruth.  O Elthamians capitalised to now head the table after 17-33 win at Clifton and fourth placed Taunton lost a little ground, being held to a 31-31 draw by visiting Barnes who move out of the bottom three.  At the bottom of the division Exmouth were beaten 59-34 by Ldn Irish WG with Barnstaple losing out 38-32 at Canterbury, Worthing’s 20-23 defeat at the hands of BSE sees them drop into the relegation places, whilst Henley picked up valuable points with a 17-12 win over Redingensians.

Nationals 3(SE):  TJs stay at the head of the division after a 24-0 win against visiting Westcliff, whilst second placed Wimbledon were 14-26 winners at fellow challengers in fourth placed Hertford.  Third placed Westcombe Pk also lost ground on the leading two after they lost out 25-16 at Guernsey. The bottom three clubs all lost with basement side A&C going down 24-12 at Southend and Colchester and Chichester losing to Dorking (25-15) and Shelford (24-7) respectively. Southend’s win combined with S&E’s 21-18 result against visiting Guilford now sees the bottom three clubs eight points adrift at the foot of the table.

London 1(S):  Results in this division pretty much went as predicted, with leaders Sidcup comfortable 40-0 winners against struggling Chiswick, whilst Havant’s 0-36 result at basement club G&F was probably a smaller margin than might have been forecast.  Third placed Tunbridge Wells just edged out Tottonians 31-29 in a tense encounter.  At the bottom end of the table Brighton sit just above G&F and lost out narrowly 5-9 at home to Gravesend, whilst Dover were beaten 24-13 by visiting Cobham.  The result that might be considered against the formbook saw Chobham overturn CS Rugby 20-12, whilst Maidstone were convincing 36-5 winners in the local derby and continue to hold the ‘indian sign’ over rivals Sevenoaks.

London 2 (SE):  Medway look to be powering on towards the title after a 5-41 win at mid-table Hove whilst the four clubs in the chase for the playoff spot all faced each other. Colfes stay second despite losing out 19-18 at third placed Dartfordians, whilst fourth and fifth swap places after Charlton Pk were 15-6 winners against visiting Beckenham.  At the bottom Crowborough stay at the foot of the table despite recording their first win in a hard earned 10-11 result at D&B, Bromley’s 3-20 defeat at the hands of Horsham sees them in the other relegation spot although D&B, H&W and O alleynians are by no m,eans clear of the danger zone after Alleynians prevails in a hard fought 30-34 contest at Heathfield.

London 3 (SE):  A 39-21 win against Folkestone keeps Thanet at the top with Pulborough in second after they beat strugglers Aylesford 41-13, with Lewes level on points after a 25-29 win at struggling Dunstonians.  Haywards Heath are a further 5-points behind after they picked up an AWO against Eastbourne. With two of the bottom three going down against the leading contenders, bottom club Ashford also lost, suffering a 10-22 defeat to Park Hse who now sit comfortably in mid-table.  Anchorians also eased any relegation worries that might be lurking at the back of their minds with a 50-32 win against visiting Sheppey

Kent 1: Wins for the top three, as leaders H&B beat Beccs 10-29 to stay 7-points clear of O wills who were narrow 17-18 winners at Southwark, Cranbrook sit third after a 17-10 win over HSBC.  At the bottom of the division Snowdown look a relegated side as they lost heavily in a 0-69 thrashing by a Vigo side that is also involved in the struggle to avoid the drop.  The two remaining fixtures also involved sides in the relegation dogfight and Brockleians 31-12 win over fellow strugglers Sittingbourne moved them out of the drop zone, whilst NAG’s 5-20 defeat by Kings Coll now sees them occupy the other relegation place.

Kent 2: A raft of concessions in this division, although leaders OGs did at least have to earn their points as they beat Greenwich 3-38. Second placed Whitstable also had to earn their points as they beat Bexley 22-16 whilst RBS in third spot picked up a HWO against Shooters Hill.  Foots Cray were 28-3 winners over Dartford Valley in the only other fixture to be played with Lordswood and Faversham picking up walkovers against Erith and Orpington respectively.

It is with some sadness that the club has been informed of the passing of Vice President & former President John Harrisson (JVH).   JVH was a mainstay as a player in the club, particularly in the immediate post war years (1946-47) as the club re-established itself.  At the time of the clubs centenary in 1980 he had only shortly ended his playing career which had spanned four decades and  covered more than a third of the club's time in existence. Following his playing career JVH went on to become President of the club between 1985-89 which was a time of both challenge and expectation for the club, following the establishing of the league system within the game.

There will be a Service of Thanksgiving in celebration of John's life which will be held at 2:00pm on Tuesday 17th January at St. Mildred’s Church in Tenterden (that is the church right in the middle of Tenterden). Rugby played a significant part in John's life and Club Ties – or old school ties are encouraged to be worn.

Donations in lieu of flowers should be made payable to The Friends of St. Mildred’s – gift aid envelopes will be available in the church.

Our thoughts and condolences go to Edna and the family.

Picture: John Harrisson as Club President (L) being presented with the Courage pennant at the first home Courage National Div 3 league fixture at the start of the 1987-88 season.

Next Pre-Match Lunch

'Old Boys Lunch'

Saturday 11th February v Chiswick.

Bob Beney and Dave Arnold are organising the pre-match luncheons this season and the first two have been a great success (with the bonus of wins for the 1st XV on both occasions), so if you are interested in attending on the remaining dates then please let either Bob or Dave know if you are going to attend - preferably by e-mail. To avoid disappointment and to help with the catering we would appreciate an early reply.

Why not organise a table of 6 and sit with your own friends.

Look forward to seeing you at the lunches.

Remaining dates: Saturday 25th March v Sidcup.

Members may notice some changes to the website. Al Steger-Lewis (from our digital partners Vivid Associates) who does the bulk of the construction work on the website has now completed the template/stylesheet upgrade, which means that the website is now more responsive and adapt to different screen sizes more readily. This will be particularly noticeable on mobile devices such as smart phones or tablets, although the way in which the topline menu bar functions on a standard PC has also been improved to replace some of the navigation buttons in the left margin

Please be aware that you may need to refresh your browser a few times - or even clear your browser cache - to see the changes properly. As with any such upgrade there are bound to be areas that now need to be “finessed” so please be patient whilst any areas are further adjusted in the near future.

Below are the latest 500 Club winners. These were drawn by means of a random number generator at the club by Club Captain Ben Williams and Richard Ewence on Saturday 17th December 2016.

Thank you to all those members that have joined this season and well done to those that have won and good luck for the draws during the rest of the season (February, March and April), more details about that in due course

Profits from the 500 club  goes towards assisting in the the much needed upkeep of the pitches.

500 Club Winners      2016-2017

October:    £100   Steve Milward

                   £50      James Findlay

                   £50      Craig Tuffrey

                   £30      Brian Loveridge

November:£100  Gordon Diment

                   £50      Barry Topple

                   £50      Hugh Fox

                   £30      Nick Cracknell

December:  £800  Geoff Burr wins The Big One

                     £100    Steve Vincent

                     £50     James Findlay

                     £50     Glyn Richards

                     £30     Steve Vincent

National 1: Hartpury’s perfect record at the head of the table continues with a 12-62 bonus point win over basement club Macclesfield, and they now sit 20-points clear of Moseley at the top even though they won 24-6 against Esher.  Plymouth Albion stay third after they beat Blackheath 20-5 meaning ‘Club’ slip to fifth spot and are replaced by Ampthill who beat Cambridge 10-20.  At the bottom end of the division Blaydon’s 51-14 hammering at Rosslyn Pk means thay are just a point above Macclesfield, with Hull Ionians rounding out the bottom three after a narrow 15-13 loss at O Albanians.  DMP are by no means out of the relegation woods after they drew 20-20 with visiting Coventry and Fylde’s 46-17 defeat at Loughborough St could see them drawn into the danger zone as well.

National 2(S):  A 13-13 draw for leaders Chinnor at fourth placed Taunton means they now share the top spot with Bishops Stortford, who were 38-7 winners over struggling bottom club Exmouth.  Elthamians are just a point behind in third place after they won a tight 25-24 contest with visiting Cinderford and it looks as if the promotion contenders will be settled amongst the top four going into the second half of the campaign.  At the bottom Exmouth are 7-points adrift of Barnes who lost out 21-12 at Clifton, with Barnstaple and Worthing a further five points above, with Barnstaple winning 31-24 against Henley and Worthing slipping into danger after they lost 24-29 at Redingensians. In the remaining fixtures a 31-15 win for Canterbury keeps their winning streak going and they now sit level on points with fifth placed Redruth who lost 29-21 at Ldn Irish WG

Nationals 3(SE):  For the leaders TJs a good 3-17 win at challengers Hertford, who slip to fourth, whilst Wimbledon stay just two points behind after they were 17-45 winners at Shelford.  Westcombe Pk stay very much in contention, moving up to third after they beat Southend 40-8 and the promotion battle now looks as if it will be fought out between the top for clubs who have at least a 13-point buffer to fifth placed Dorking who beat bottom club A&C 45-21.  At the foot of the table the two clubs just above A&C did battle with Chichester beating Colchester 40-10 to close the gap to Southend and safety. In the mid-table battles Guernsey were convincing 69-5 winners against visiting Guildford, whilst S&E beat Westcliff 27-22.                                                                                                        

London 1(S):  No change at both the top and bottom of this division as leaders Sidcup convincingly despatched fifth placed Tottonians 53-13 whilst second placed Havant were 18-36 winners at Chobham.  Tunbridge Wells maintain station in third with a 16-28 win at struggling Dover who remain in the bottom three, whilst CS Rugby’s 21-12 win at Chiswick moved them into fourth place. At the foot of the table G&F went down 33-0 to Maidstone, whilst Brighton lost 13-24 to Sevenoaks. The last of the fixtures saw Cobham 34-21 winners against visiting Gravesend.  In large part as we hit the halfway stage there looks to be a confirmed top three contenders in the promotion battle whilst at the foot of the table the relegation battle looks to be three from the bottom four who are at least 17 points from mid-table safety; but having said all that, this division has in recent seasons proved to be remarkably unpredictable in its results through the second half of the season, with quite a bit of shuffling of the pack.

London 2 (SE):  Medway stretched their lead to 11-points with a 27-32 win at Dartfordians who drop two p[laces to fifth; Colfes stay in second spot despite losing out 26-11 at Beckenham and remain in contention for a playoff spot in fourth with Charlton Pk third after they hammered bottom club Crowborough 76-7.  Crowborough now look nailed on for relegation, being 16 points from safety at the halfway mark, with Bromley one of the other likely candidates despite a useful 27-11 win against Alleynians who are by no means safe themselves.  H&W also sit in the danger area even though they also posted a narrow but useful 28-27 win against mid-table Hove.  The last of the fixtures saw Horsham back to winning way after their last outing mauling at the hands of Colfes, with a useful 29-12 win over D&B.

London 3 (SE):  The halfway mark sees Thanet Wdrs and Pulborough locked together at the head of the division, with both picking up wins against strugglers Dunstonians (19-27) and Park Hse (28-15) respectively. A five match unbeaten run for Lewes sees them in third and still in the reckoning after today’s 24-27 win at Anchorians, with H Heath slipping up and surprisingly being held to a 14-14 draw at bottom club Aylesford.  Elsewhere at the foot of the table Ashford went down 30-19 at Sheppey and the relegation places now look like being contested by the bottom five clubs. In the last of the fixtures Folkestone just edged out hosts Eastbourne 28-29 in a tight battle.

Kent 1: At the season mid-point it looks like there are just three sides in contention at the top of the table; H&B stay top after they were convincing 51-10 winners over Sittingbourne, whilst Cranbrook are second following a 65-0 dismantling of Brockleians, with O Wills third after they beat HSBC 8-35.  The foot of the table sees Snowdown well adrift following their 39-8 defeat at NAG, with Brockleains the other relegation candidates, but only 5-points away from Vigo who lost 25-10 at Southwark.  In the last of the fixtures, Kings Coll won the mid-table battle with an 18-22 result at Beccehamians.

Kent 2: Foots Cray slip a place to fifth after they lost out 10-16 to visiting leaders OGs, with RBS moving back into second spot after a 44-24 win over Bexley and also with Whitstable sitting this week out. An 88-3 hammering of Shooters Hill by Lordswood sees them move back into the top four.  At the bottom, the losing bonus point in Erith’s 19-25 defeat to Orpington was enough to see them share bottom spot with Shooters, whilst Dartford valley’s recent improvement continued with a resounding 0-55 win at Askean, whilst in the last of the matches Faversham were 24-0 victors over Greenwich

National 1: Hartpury continue to lead although second placed Plymouth Albion probably came closest to defeating the runaway league leaders, depriving them of a 4-try bonus point for the first time this season in the 24-27 result.  Ampthill sit third after they were 43-19 winners over mid-table O Albanians, with Moseley fourth after they slipped to a second defeat in three weeks, losing out 26-23 at Coventry; and Blackheath stay fifth after they returned to winning ways with an 11-30 win at Esher.  At the foot of the table, bottom club Macclesfield lost out 21-12 at Fylde, whilst just above them Blaydon were beaten 17-24 by visiting DMP while Hull Ionians were able to draw clear of the bottom two and maintain hopes of avoiding the drop with an 18-16 win against visiting Loughborough St.  Elsewhere, Cambridge went down 14-32to visiting Rosslyn Pk.

National 2(S):  Chinnor slip from top to third after they drew for the second week in a row, being held 29-29 by Henley, Bishops Stortford take over as league leaders with a 16-33 win at BSE, whilst Elthamians move to second place after they ended sixth placed Canterbury’s winning streak with an 18-14 win.  Of the other leading contenders, Taunton beat bottom club Exmouth 15-40 whilst Redruth were 15-46 winners at struggling Barnstaple.  Of the other relegation candidates, Barnes were 20-8 winners against fellow strugglers Worthing whilst Ldn Irish WG went down 39-24 at Redingensians.  The remaining fixture saw Cinderford 35-17 winners over Clifton.

Nationals 3(SE):  TJs stay top after they prevailed 22-25 in the local derby with third placed Westcombe Pk, whilst Wimbledon are a point behind TJs in second place following a 59-6 hammering of S&E.  Fourth placed Hertford slipped up, with an unexpected 22-24 reversal at bottom club A&C.  Of the other sides at the basement end of the table Colchester lost 6-32 at home to Shelford and are now 13-points adrift of safety, whilst Chichester also lost out, going down 18-25 to visiting Guernsey.  Southend lost out in the local Essex derby with a 10-7 defeat at Westcliff, and along with S&E are certainly not clear of the danger zone at this mid-season point. In the last of the fixtures Guildford took the honours in the Surrey derby with a 30-17 win over Dorking.                                                                                                              

London 1(S):  A 5-36 win for Sidcup at Gravesend keeps ‘Cup’ clear at the top of the table with Havant in second after they were 35-24 winners against struggling Brighton.  Third placed Tunbridge Wells remain the nemesis of Sevenoaks as they ran out 8-27 in what’s termed locally as the A21 derby and as we go into the New Year the promotion places look like they will go to two of those three clubs, with CS Rugby in fourth spot after a 41-17 win against Cobham.  At the bottom of the table G&F lost out 55-10 at Tottonians, whilst alongside Brighton, Dover complete the bottom three after they let slip an early lead to go down 26-45 to Maidstone.  The last of the fixtures saw a 23-23 draw between Chiswick and Chobham, a result that sees both still flirting with the danger zone albeit with Chobham having a far more comfortable buffer than today’s opponents

London 2 (SE):  Medway’s 35-12 win over D&B keeps them 12-points clear at the top and sees their opponents flirting with the edge of the danger zone alongside two or three other clubs.  Colfes stay second after they beat Charlton Pk 29-17, a result that drops Park to fifth place following wins for Beckenham (27-6) against Bromley and Dartfordians who beat Alleynians 23-43.  Bothe results also had a bearing on the foot of the table, with both losing sides occupying the two places above bottom club Crowborough, who lost out 0-17 to visiting H&W, who are not ‘out of the woods’ themselves.  The last of the fixtures saw a mid-table battle in which Horsham lost out narrowly to visiting Hove 28-32.

London 3 (SE):  A 10-26 win at Sheppey keeps Thanet Wdrs at the head of the division with Pulborough and Lewes locked together five points behind them after Pulborough slipped up 20-7 at Haywards heath whilst Lewes’s good run continued with a 45-5 result against Eastbourne. Folkestone sit fourth after they beat Ashford 37-19, a result that combined with Aylesford’s 31-7 win over Anchorians sees Ashford drop to the foot of the table. In the battle between two struggling sides Park Hse prevailed 12-7 over Dunstonians, a result that moves Park Hse out of the bottom four and above Anchorians.  Whilst the bottom two certainly look favourites for the drop, the third of the relegation places could be fought out between all of the other sides in the bottom half of the table.

Kent 1: Top met bottom with a predictable outcome as leaders H&B ran out 69-0 winners against Snowdown, whilst second met third with O Wills 29-8 winners over Cranbrook and the two sides exchanging places.  At the foot of the table, whilst Snowdown currently look favourites to go down, the other relegation place is likely to be contested between four clubs in action against each other today; of those Brockleians did themselves a favour with a useful 17-15 over fellow strugglers NAG whilst Vigo’s 18-7 win over Sittingbourne sees the climb above their opposition.  In the last two fixtures just a single point decided the issue in both matches, with HSBC 14-13 winners against Beccs and Kings Coll edging Southwark 12-11.

Kent 2: A 67-10 win for leaders OGs over Faversham now sees them 13-points clear at the top from Whitstable now second, who beat Greenwich 11-21.  RBS slipped to third after they unexpectedly lost out 15-12 at Orpington with Foots Cray in fourth following their 25-41 win at Bexley.  At the bottom end of the table Erith went down 71-0, a scoreline that must have warmed Dartford Valley’s hearts, given the times they’ve been on the wrong end of a heavy defeat in the past.  The last of the fixtures saw Shooters Hill lose out narrowly to visiting Askean 16-19.

Christmas specials include Christmas Sweaters for £12 and boxes of Chocolate Rugby Balls for just £1

Visit the shop on Saturdays, Sundays and Tuesday eves in the run-up to Christmas

Clothing Price List

Playing Kit

Post-Match

Notes

·      All of the above are in Maidstone colours with the Maidstone Logo

·      With the exception of shorts and socks we would ask you to leave a £10 deposit and your name – the goods will be delivered within a month. [Sometimes within a week!!]

·      We do have old playing shirts suitable for training at £3 - £5 and stacks of good used boots at similar prices.

The club sat down for its traditional Christmas Lunch prior to Saturday’s home fixture against Brighton.  The event was slightly earlier this year due to the scheduling of fixtures but saw almost of the tickets sold well in advance of the event.  It turned out to be a great occasion with a number of former players in attendance as well as other guests.  We even had a visit from one of Santa’s elves (Richard Ewence really shouldn’t have told his wife it was fancy dress!), which will no doubt appear somewhere in his weekly roundup later this week.

All in all it was a great afternoon at the club, rounded off with a win for the 1^st XV in the league fixture, but only just, and probably not the sort of nail-biting encounter we were hoping for.

Our thanks to Carol McKenzie and her team of assistance for all their efforts in making such an enjoyable event

As most will know, due to changes in the set up with The Mote CC the rugby club now no longer has the services of a full time groundsman.  Much of the day-to-day and week-to-week stuff is done by volunteers.  We are lucky to have one in VP Mickey Back who marks the pitches each week and other ground maintenance and pitch preparation tasks are conducted by volunteers Bob Beney and Eugene Moore.  The club took the opportunity at this last Saturdays pre-match lunch to both say thank you for their efforts and also to ensure that they are kept warm whilst doing their volunteer work as we enter the winter months with the presentation of a samurai quilted jacket each.

On a more serious note, we do need additional volunteers to assist in this, preferably those who have experience with use of a tractor (although this is not essential). The work is not overly time consuming, so if anyone has a couple of hours week to spare, their help would be much appreciated.  This is particularly important during the winter months where the reduced hours of daylight curtail the time when various tasks can be conducted.

An odd week this one with no fixtures for clubs at Level 7 to Level 9 and yet no cup fixtures.

National 1: I was chatting with someone from a National 1 club last week and mentioned that it looked like there were only 3-4 sides involved in the promotion battle, to which he replied “No there’s only one side in it”, and looking at today’s results and standings he is probably right, as leaders Hartpury stretched to a 19-point advantage at the top of the table following a 64-5 hammering of their nearest rivals Moseley.  Plymouth Albion stay third despite going down 24-22 at fifth club Ampthill and Blackheath are fourth after they were 55-10 winners against bottom club Macclesfield.  At the bottom end of the table Blaydon were edged out 14-17 at home to Cambridge whilst Hull Ionians picked up valuable points with a 16-14 win against an in form Rosslyn Pk although it was not enough to lift them out of the bottom three.  DMP sit just above the drop zone after a 31-25 loss at Fylde with the remaining fixtures seeing Esher beat Loughborough St 34-22 and Coventry just take the honours in a high scoring 43-42 scoreline against O Albanians

National 2(S):  Wins for the top three as leaders Chinnor were solid 57-10 victors against Worthing with Elthamians winning 21-31 at BSE and Bishops Stortford winning by the odd point in the 24-25 score at Redingensians.  Taunton change places with Redruth to take fourth spot after they came out 18-22 winners in the battle between the two.  Canterbury continued their recent good form in sixth with an 8-38 win at struggling Barnes.  The other results at the bottom saw basement club Exmouth go down 21-34 to Clifton, whilst Barnstaple drop back into the bottom three after a 29-10 loss at Cinderford.  Ldn Irish WG sit just above the drop zone after they lost 25-24 at Henley, who are themselves still very much included in the relegation battle with five other clubs.

Nationals 3(SE): No change at the top as TJs stay at the head of the table after a 25-11 win against S&E with Wimbledon second following their 39-14 win against Guernsey.  Westcombe Pk were 14-32 winners at struggling Colchester whilst Hertford maintain station in fourth spot after they beat Southend 10-27. There is then a 15-point gap to fifth placed Shelford who inflicted a heavy 22-59 defeat on bottom side A&C.  Alongside A&C and Colchester in the bottom three is Chichester, who narrowed the gap to safety with a 6-27 win at Guildford.  The last of the fixtures saw Westcliff 41-17 winners against visiting Dorking.              

London 1(S):  Leaders Sidcup were solid 16-32 winners at Sevenoaks whilst second placed Havant inflicted a comprehensive 55-10 defeat on Cobham who slip a place to seventh.  Without doubt the result of the day was the 97-5 drubbing of G&F by third placed Tunbridge Wells; Tottonians now complete the top four after they just edged Chobham in a high scoring 36-35 battle.  At the bottom a place above G&F are Brighton who were edged out 20-19 against a lacklustre Maidstone whilst Dover drop back into the drop zone after a 68-0 hammering by Chiswick.  In mid-table Gravesend were 37-19 winners against a CS Rugby outfit that seem to have fallen off the pace in recent weeks.

Kent 2: OGs continue to lead the way after a 48-13 win over RBS who slip to third following Whitstable’s 32-21 victory over near neighbours Faversham in the local derby. A W/O for foots cray against Greenwich sees them move above Lordswood who went down 22-19 at Dartford Valley.  At the foot of the table bottom side Shooters Hill had no fixture and Erith went down to a heavy 55-0 defeat at Bexley.  The last of the fixtures saw another big score as Orpington hammered Askean 78-0.

The club have received notification of our allocation for the Away 6N matches, we will receive 4 tickets for each of the following RBS 6 Nations games:

Wales on Sat 11^th Feb (ko 16:50)

Ireland on Sat 18 March (ko 17:00).

Ticket prices - £95 each for Wales and £98 each for Ireland (plus £5 club admin cost per allocation).  We already have a number of applications for the tickets and should you wish to be included in the random number draw for tickets please confirm to steve.vincent@hbsv.com stating which match you would prefer to attend. For those who have already expressed an interest there is no need to email Steve again.  With such a limited number of tickets available please limit your request to 2 tickets so as to allow at least one other member + guest to attend.

National 1: A convincing 25-47 win over Loughborough St keeps Hartpury top whilst Moseley consolidated second spot with a 22-12 win against Blackheath who slip to fourth.  they are replaced by Plymouth Albion who beat struggling Macclesfield 33-10. Ampthill closed the gap in fifth place with a convincing 50-14 against bottom club Blaydon.  With Blaydon and Macclesfield in the bottom two places the last of the relegation spots is occupied by Hull Ionians who lost 57-31 at Cambridge and they sit six points adrift of DMP who beat Esher 48-31.  In the mid-table battles Rosslyn Pk beat Coventry 33-15 and O Albanians were 32-17 winners over Fylde.

National 2(S):  Leaders Chinnor travelled to face third placed Bishops Stortford, losing out 30-22 with Elthmians closing the gap in second to just 3-points after a 49-3 beating of struggling Barnes. Both Redruth and Taunton are pulling themselves back into contention in fourth and fifth after wins against Worthing (27-29) and Henley (38-27) respectively.  At the bottom Exmouth are at the foot of the table after a high scoring 48-38 defeat at Canterbury, with Henley and Barnes just above them.  Ldn Irsish WG are flirting with the danger zone and lost 27-10 to a Barnstaple side, who like Redingensians last season are beginning to find their feet in the division and moving clear of the danger area.  In the remaining fixtures Clifton beat said Redingensians 25-19 whilst Cinderford were 29-26 winners over BSE.

Nationals 3(SE): A 20=36 win fpor TJs at Dorking keeps them top of the pile with Wimbledon in second after they were 16-21 winners at Chichester.  Westcombe Pk recovered from last week’s defeat with a solid 29-7 win over fellow contenders Hertford with the result seeing the two sides swap places. The bottom three remain unchanged with A&C at the foot of the table after they lost 35-10 to Guernsey, with Colchester also going down 17-24 at home to Guildford and along with Chichester currently fill the relegation zone.  S&E will be the target for safety but a 33-7 win over Southend sees them with a nine point buffer to the drop zone.  The last of the fixtures saw Shelford one point winners over visiting Westcliff in the 17-16 scoreline.                                                                                                           

London 1(S):  Sidcup were made to work hard for the points with a 35-27 win over Maidstone and sit eight points clear at the top with Havant in second after they were convincing 28-46 winners over CS Rugby who slip to fourth.  Tunbridge Wells capitalised with 12-31 win over struggling Brighton whilst Tottonians beat Cobham 32-37.  At the foot of the table, the battle between the bottom two went convincingly the way of Dover as they beat G&F 46-18, a result that sees them move out of the bottom three, Chiswick replace them after they lost 12-24 at home to mid-table Gravesend

London 2 (SE):  A closer scoreline this week as leaders Medway were made to work for the 32-12 result against fellow promotion challengers Charlton Pk. Colfes hammered Horsham 74-12 and stay second with Dartfordians third after they lost 37-22 at Hove and along with Charlton Pk sit 7-points adrift of the top two.  At the bottom it looks ominous for Crowborough after they lost 15-25 to fellow relegation candidates Bromley.  H&W sit just above the bottom two after a 32-25 loss at D&B, with Beckenham beating Alleynians 17-43 in the last of the fixtures.

London 3 (SE):  Thanet Wdrs and Pulborough are locked together at the top of the table with the east Kent club 38-5 winners against Eastbourne and the Sussex club slipped up against Folkestone, going down 33-29.  Lewes narrowed the gap in third after a 38-5 win against Aylesford Bulls who drop back to the bottom of the table, whilst Haywards Heath are fourth after they were 48-20 winners against Sheppey.  In the other results at the bottom end of the table a 26-22 win for Ashford against fellow strugglers Dunstonians moves them of the foot of the division but 10-points from safety after Park Hse were narrow 25-23 winners over Anchorians.  As has previously been noted, Kent clubs occupy all of the bottom half of the division, quite what the implications are for Kent 1 should only the division winners come up is currently not known, but the author is sure the league committee will have things in hand.

Kent 1: Having touched on the implications for Kent 1 with regard to relegation from Ldn 3(SE), it’s ironic that currently the leaders are Sussex club Hastings & Bexhill who stay top despite narrowly losing out 13-12 to third placed O Wills, Cranbrook close the gap in second after they were 17-25 winners at Vigo.  At the bottom Snowdown lost 17-27 to Southwark whilst Brockleians were beaten 20-32 by Beccehamians. NAG sit just a point above the drop zone after they lost 37-8 at Sittingbourne, whilst the mid-table battle saw Kings Coll beat HSBC 37-13

Kent 2: OGs stay top after bottom club Erith conceded their fixture with RBS second after a 41-0 thrashing of Greenwich.  Whistable are third just ahead of Lordswood following wins against Foots Cray (13-18) and Orpington (19-10) respectively. A 3-50 win for Dartford Valley at Shooter Hill sees them move two places off the bottom, with Askean beating Bexley 14-12 in the last of the fixtures as Faversham sat this week out.

The majority of the 1^st Round matches in these season’s Shepherd Neame Kent Cup competitions have now taken place; in the Cup match played in October,Tonbridge Juddians made a great comeback to beat hosts Tunbridge Wells 19-20.  The remaining matches were played on the 9^th Nov with Maidstone falling to Blackheath 20-25 and Sidcup proving too powerful for Canterbury’s Pilgrims XV, winning 51-7, the last of the 1^st Rd fixtures saw Gravesend concede to Westcombe Pk.

In the Shield competition Ashford overcame Sheppey in a fixture played very early in the season and have yet to play Colfes in the 1^st Rd proper.  The other matches saw Medway cruise past Aylesford 69-3 whilst Thanet beat Folkestone 44-15.  In the outstanding fixture between Beckenham and Bromley scheduled to be on 3rd December, Bromley conceded leaving Beckenham to progress in the Shield to face Charlton Pk; should Charlton Pk lose they will face Tunbridge Wells in the Plate, if they win Wells will likely have a Bye (tbc).

Both the Cup and the Shield competitions feed into the Kent Plate and the draw has now been announced as follows:

Canterbury v Sheppey

Folkestone v Maidstone (25th Feb 17)

Aylesford Bulls v Dover

Bye/Charlton Park v Tunbridge Wells

Note: Gravesend do not move to the Plate competition due to conceding their 1st Rd Cup fixture

Fixture dates have yet to be confirmed, but can be played on Saturdays free from RFU league or cup commitments ( 4^th February, 25^th February &18^th March ) or what can be agreed between clubs. Keep an eye on the website for an update once the Fix Sec has done his wheeling & dealing.

For details on what is happening in the Shepherd Neame Kent Vase & Bowl competitions visit the Kent RFU website Competitions page (click here)

Rugby Groundsmen Connected (RGC)

Maidstone's Martin Mayhem has become one of the RFU's first Volunteer Pitch Advisors (VPAs) along with Colin Wooster.  Colin and Martin are experienced, skilled and friendly groundsmen who have been hand picked by the RFU's Twickenham Head Groundsman, Keith Kent for the VPA roles.

They will support clubs in Kent by making visits and providing advice to RGC members, committee volunteers or anyone responsible for pitch maintenance.  This support will be to advise on how pitches can be improved in general, in respect of a specific issue that has been encountered or just for a general chat about the world of grass!

The VPAs will compile a short report about their visits which will be verified by Keith Kent before being sent on to the respective clubs. Kent is the first CB in the country to benefit from this scheme which will be rolled out nationwide by the end of the season.

“We had what we would call an adventure”

Last Saturday saw Maidstone Rugby welcome some elder statesman from Barty House to both the club and the game of rugby, for the home league fixture against Chobham. On what started a crisp autumn day our visitors were pinning their hopes on a rain free afternoon, and a win for the home team. 

Visitors Jim and Richard had been looking forward to the trip out, and were not disappointed; welcomed to the club by Chairman  Shaun Neaves  President Jim Tinsley, the President. Jim and Richard were presented with club scarves and match programme whilst House Chair Carol McKenzie, who was instrumental  in assisting with organising the trip was always on hand with hot tea on the day.

Richard said of the trip out; “We had what I would call an adventure!” Two first half tries saw the visiting Chobham going into the half-time interval in the lead and it looked like one of our guests hopes might be dashed.  the second of their hopes certainly was, as a torrential downpour during the second half meant that our guests were forced to depart back to Barty House earlier than had been planned.  however, they would be pleased to hear that despite not playing their best rugby, Maidstone fought back with the only scores of the second half to win 17-14

Richard said of praying for the rain not to start; “It took me back to my youth”, when he played football at weekends. However, they were only allowed to play if the rain held off because of the need to preserve the pitch!  Both Richard and Jim had a fabulous time watching the match and discussing the tactical moves of the players. Next time a cricket match in fairer weather maybe, so perhaps another trip to The Mote in the summer.

Apologies for the delay in this weeks round up, but a Saturday social engagement followed by a Sunday trip to Welford Rd saw an enforced 24 hour delay in publication.  The author is allegedly allowed a bit of a life (apparently)!!

National 1: Leaders Hartpury demolished DMP 74-0 to maintain their promotion credentials whilst Moseley return to second spot after they narrowly beat struggling Macclesfield 15-17, although the losing BP was enough to move the hosts off the foot of the division.  Blackheath fell to a 26-32 home defeat to Loughborough St, a result that drops them to fourth, whilst Plymouth Albion move above them into third spot after they beat Blaydon 17-38 to leave their hosts at the foot of the table. Hull Ionians are the third of the sides in the drop zone after they lost out 13-49 to Ampthill.  In the mid-table battles Coventry were comfortable 55-12 victors over Cambridge whilst O Albanians and a resurgent Rosslyn Pk both posted similar winning scores at Esher (34-43) and Fylde (34-45) respectively.

National 2(S): A 58-17 mauling of Clifton by Chinnor keeps them at the top, seven points clear of O Elthamians who move back into second sport after an 8-29 win at Exmouth to capitalise on Bishop Stortford’s  24-13 defeat at fourth placed Redruth.  Fifth placed Taunton were beat Ldn Irish WG 24-49 to keep the top five at least 9-points clear of sixth place now occupied by Canterbury after they were 27-31 winners at Redingensians.  The foot of the table is occupied remains occupied by Exmouth, just below Barnstaple who went down 33-27 at BSE with a 30-22 win for Henley moving them out of the bottom three to be replaced by Ldn Irish WG.  The last of the fixtures saw Barnes battle out a 22-22 draw with visiting Cinderford.

Nationals 3(SE): A 27-10 win for TJs over visiting Shelford keeps them at the top of the table, but Westcombe Pk slip to fourth after a surprise 21-14 loss at mid table Guildford.  They are overhauled by Wimbledon and Hertford, both on 41 points after wins against third bottom Colchester (62-7) and S&E (38-20) respectively. As we approach the season mid-point the top four have a 9-point buffer to fifth placed Dorking who won 1027 at Southend.  At the foot of the division A&C remain at the foot of the table but closed the gap on second bottom Chichester after a tight 16-10 win over their fellow strugglers. Westcliff picked up useful points to move clear of the drop zone with a narrow but  welcome 24-23 win over Guernsey who slip back to sixth after having been early season pace setters.

London 1(S):  Sidcup stay top after a hard fought 17-22 win at Tunbridge Wells who slip to fourth spot with CS Rugby now in second following an equally tight affair against fifth placed Tottonians where they prevailed 9-14.  Havant are now in third place following their 33-10 win over Chiswick with Cobham rounding out the top six despite falling to a 32-27 defeat at Sevenoaks.  At the foot of the table G&F are still propping up the division after their narrowest loss of the season against a Brighton side that now sit two places above them, with Dover the last of the relegation candidates after a 53-3 hammering at Gravesend.  In mid-table Maidstone and Chobham exchanged places after the home side won a scrappy contest at The Mote 17-14.

London 2 (SE):  At the top the Medway steamroller continues on its way after they brushed aside struggling Bromley 11-50, with Colfes in second spot after an equally convincing 63-14 result against O Alleynians.  Dartfordians are third after they also won a high scoring battle, running in 53 points without reply against D&B, whilst fourth placed Charlton Pk were 38-34 winners against visiting Hove. At the bottom Crowborough remain winless, going done 52-3 at Beckenham and things now look ominous for them and Bromley at the foot of the table. In the mid-table battle home advantage told as Horsham overcame H&W 17-3.

London 3 (SE):  The top two went head to head and a useful 13-19 away win for Thanet Wdrs sees them close the gap on leaders Pulborough, whilst a 7-10 win for Lewes at H Heath sees them move above their hosts into third spot as Folkestone slipped up in fifth, going down 36-22 at Anchorians.  At the bottom Ashford returned to the foot of the table following a 17-10 defeat at Eastbourne and Aylesford posted their first win of the campaign as they beat Park Hse 22-19.  The last of the relegation places remains occupied by Dunstonians, who drew 22-22 at Sheppey

Kent 1: A 24-10 win for H&B against NAG sees them maintain top spot with a 9-point gap to second placed O Wills and Cranbrook, both tied on points and recording wins against Kings Coll (12-10) and Snowdown (53-5) respectively.  They in turn are 6-points clear of fourth placed HSBC who were narrow 21-20 winners against Brockleians.  At the bottom Snowdown prop up the table 8-points adrift of Brockleians who are a point below NAG.  In mid-table Beccehamians beat Vigo 26-15 and Southwark overcame Sittingbourne 30-24.

Kent 2: Leaders OGs hammered Askean 83-0 and are now 5-points clear of second placed RBS who lost 23-21 at third placed Whitstable.  Foots Cray and Lordswood look to be the only other promotion contenders, with both posting wins at Faversham (5-28) and Bexley (37-55).  With no fixture this week Dartford Valley remain bottom, with Erith and Shooters Hill just above them following a 38-3 defeat for Erith at Greenwich and Shooters conceding their fixture to Orpington.

Hopefully all of you will have received a letter via email from club President Jim Tinsley; if that is not the case can you please contact the Hon Sec Craig Tuffrey via the website contacts page in order that he has your email address to be included on the distribution database.

For those who may not have received the letter which provides an update on a couple of club issues and also information about the Volunteer Evening then please click here to view a copy.

National 1: Fixtures started on the Friday evening as a resurgent Rosslyn Pk continued their move up the table with a one sided 33-0 win against Esher. The Saturday saw Hartpury steamroller on as they beat O Albanians 0-32, whilst Moseley lost ground in second after they lost out 27-20 at fourth placed Plymouth Albion.  Blackheath stay in third, just a point adrift following their 5-31 win on the road at fourth bottom DMP.  At the foot of the table Macclesfield scored 30 points and still lost by a 46 point margin at Loughborough St (76-30), whilst Blaydon moved off the bottom following a 66-14 win against Hull Ionians , with whom they are now level on points.  The last of the fixtures saw Ampthill 22-8 winners against visiting Coventry.

National 2(S):  Chinnor stay top despite falling 16-12 to Canterbury, whilst a 5-22 home defeat for Elthamians sees them stay third but with a 5-point gap to second placed Bishops Stortford after their 22-17 win against third bottom Henley.   Those results meant that Redruth were able to close the gap on the leading group after they posted a 20-28 win at Clifton.  At the bottom Barnstaple moved off the foot of the table after a surprise 22-19 win over Taunton, whilst Exmouth replace them following their 27-12 loss at Cinderford.  Things remain close in the mid table group with Worthing beating Ldn Irish WG 26-22 and BSE narrow 12-10 winners at home to Barnes.

RFU Cup Competitions

This round up will focus mainly on the Kent based clubs, but a full round up of results is available on the London RFU website which can be reached via the Links page of the club website.

RFU Intermediate Cup Rd 2: Mixed fortunes for the county and region’s sides with both Crowborough and D&B conceding their fixtures.  Of those that did fulfil their commitment, Beckenham lost out 15-20 to visiting Ldn Exiles, whilst Charlton Pk were 24-14 winners against Twickenham.  In the last of the ties involving Kent clubs, Colfes were solid 37-5 winners against Camberley.  Other sides remaining in the draw for the next round on Wednesday are H&F, Ldn Cornish, Harrow, Portsmouth and Welwyn

RFU Senior Vase Rd 2:  Thanet progress thanks to the withdrawal of Weybridge Vandals, which was one of four Walkovers in the eight fixtures whilst Aylesford crashed out with a heavy 3-42 home defeat to Farnham.  Of the regions other sides, Eastbourne fell 30-28 at Teddington, whilst Pulborough went down 14-22 to Battersea Ironsides.  In the remaining fixture that did take place, Hitchin were 33-12 winners against West Norfolk.

RFU Junior Vase Rd 2: Four fixtures of interest here, with Cranbrook 29-23 winners against O Walcountians.  H&B were 18-28 winners at Ellingham & Ringwood, whilst Sittingbourne fell to a heavy 59-0 defeat at O Georgians.  The last of the counties representatives in Beccehamians, progressed with a tight 30-34 win at Streatham & Croydon.

Current Super 15 Blues and former Maidstone player Piers Francis is back in the UK for a while and dropped into the club during Tuesday's senior training session.  Currently nursing a hand injury sustained in NZ's Mitre 10 Cup  he's looking to shortly be back in training as the Blues start to build up to the 2017 Super Rugby season.

Piers is a regular visitor back to the club whenever he's in the UK and whilst at the club Piers took the time to present a signed Blues shirt, inscribed with the message 'Never forget my roots'.  The shirt will shortly join the growing collection in the clubhouse.

National 1: Hartpury remain out in front following their 37-27 win over Rosslyn Pk with Moseley maintaining station in second spot after they beat Loughborough St 47-19.  Blackheath’s 13-7 home win against O Albanians keeps them third a further five points behind, although even at this early stage a 13-point gap to top spot looks too big to bridge.  Playmoth Albion in fourth are the last of the clubs within 15 points of the leaders after an 18-24 win at Hull Ionians.  At the bottom end of the division Blaydon drop back to the foot of the table after a narrow 19-17 loss at Coventry, whilst Macclesfield move up a place after a convincing 43-16 result against DMP.  The mid table battles saw Esher beat Cambridge 43-32 and Fylde 13-11 winners against Ampthill

National 2(S): The top two did battle with home side Chinnor convincing 40-22 winners against Kent’s Elthamians to open a six point advantage.  Bishops Stortford’s 31-36 win at Ldn Irish WG puts them level on points with Elthamians in third with fourth placed Taunton returning to winning ways with a 59-19 win against Worthing. The foot of the table is still occupied by Barnstaple despite a 24-24 draw with fellow strugglers Barnes, with Exmouth and Henley the other sides in the bottom three after defeats by BSE (26-29) and Clifton (13-23) respectively. iIn mid table the pack continues to shuffle with Canterbury now eighth following a good 26-34 win on the road at fifth placed Redruth and Redingensians posting a solid 41-24 win against Cinderford to go sixth.

Nationals 3(SE): At the top Hertford fell to narrow surprise 21-18 defeat at the hands of Dorking and slip to third spot, level on 36 points with Westcombe Pk in second who beat S&E 33-7, and Wimbledon who overcame Guildford 14-29.  Tonbridge Juddians move to the head of the division after the posted an emphatic 14-47 away win at Guernsey who stay fifth but now 11 points adrift of the top four clubs.  At the foot of the table the bottom four were in action against each other with basement club A&C losing out 29-15 to Colchester who move above a Chichester outfit that lost 24-39 at home to Westcliff who complete the bottom four.  The mid table battle saw Southend lose out 23-18 at Shelford.

London 1(S):  A 62-5 hammering of bottom side G&F by leaders Sidcup, combined with other results saw them extend their lead to 8 points at the top.  CS Rugby move back to second spot following a 27-15 win against Sevenoaks and a surprise 22-15 defeat for Tunbridge Wells at the hands of Chobham.  Tottonians also fell to a defeat against the run of form, going down 17-14 to Chiswick although the win was more than cancelled out by a 5-point deduction earlier this week. Tottonians slipped to fifth place with Havant moving above them after they beat Gravesend 21-29.  At the foot of the table Dover swap places with Brighton after they beat their Sussex opposition 24-17 and will be thankful for the result and events to enable them to have closed the gap on fourth bottom Chiswick.  In the last of the fixtures, despite much endeavour, Maidstone were unable to unlock a miserly home defence, going down 26-0 at Cobham.

London 2 (SE):  Medway inflicted a heavy 61-7 defeat on fifth placed Beckenham to stay clear at the top with colfes moving back into second spot following an equally impressive 10-70 hammering of basement club Crowborough.  A surprise 32-24 defeat for Dartfordians at struggling H&W sees them slip to fourth, overtaken by Charlton Pk who 24-40 at D&B.  At the bottom, Bromley sit just above Crowborough and unluckily fell to their second 1-point defeat in as many weeks, just losing out 24-23 at Hove and now 8 points adrift of third bottom H&W.  in mid-table Alleynians fell to an entertaining  32-37 home defeat at the hands of Horsham

London 3 (SE):  Top met bottom as leaders Pulborough travelled to Ashford and were pushed all the way in a 24-25 scoreline to preserve their unbeaten record.  Thanet stay second after they beat Anchorians 30-12 with Haywards heath a further 4-points back following their 7-38 win at Park Hse.  At the bottom Ashford’s bonus point lifted them off the bottom and they are replaced by Aylesford, whose 48-12 loss at Folkestone still sees them looking for their first win.  The last of the bottom three in Dunstonians were narrow 30-29 winners at home to Eastbourne, with the trio now at least 8 points adrift of Park Hse, which should certainly still give Ashford & Dunstonians hope given their playing records thus far.  In the last of the matches Lewes posted a solid 50-28 win against visiting Sheppey.

Kent 1: Eight points clear or adrift is almost the theme of the weekend as leaders H&B’s 10-22 win at Kings Coll sees them head second placed O Wills by that margin, after O Wills slipped back following a 20-17 defeat at struggling Brockleians. Cranbrook closed the gap in third after they beat Sittingbourne 22-24 with HSBC completing the top four following their 25-31 win at Vigo.  At the bottom the combination of a 10-29 win at NAG and a points deduction for Snowdown sees them move off the bottom with Snowdown now propping up the table after they lost 10-13 at Beccs

Kent 2: OGs remain top after they beat Lordswood 7-24, with RBS just a point behind following their convincing 45-3 result over Faversham.  Foots Cray had no fixture and slip to fourth, with both them and Lordswood leapfrogged by Whitstable who nilled hosts Erith by 54 points.  At the bottom Dartford Valley stay bottom after losing 17-41 to Orpington, with shooters hill moving clear of both DV and Erith after a 24-13 win against Bexley.  The mid table battle saw Askean move above opponents Greenwich after a tight 13-12 result.

This week’s update is a little later than normal due to the author’s attendance at the inaugural Kent Sports Trust Ball, a great evening and many thanks to Steve Wolfe the trust’s CEO for the invite.

National 1: Hartpury remain top after a 32-54 win at Cambridge, with Moseley second following their narrow 7-15 win at DMP.  Blackheath stay third despite going down 28-3 to a resurgent Rosslyn Pk, whilst a 53-15 win for Plymouth Alb over Loughborough St sees them close the gap in fourth spot.  At the foot of the table a 30-24 win for Blaydon over Fylde sees them switch places with Macclesfield, who went down 49-15 at O Albanians.  Hull Ionians occupy the last of the relegation places after they lost out 21-40 to visiting Coventry; the last of the fixtures saw Ampthill 29-24 victors over Esher.

National 2(S):  Chinnor continue to lead the way after they beat Cinderford 9-26, with Elthamians staying second after they beat fourth placed Redruth 43-25.  A 50-21 win for Bishops Stortford over Taunton sees them in third.  I mentioned last week that just 3 points separated 6^th – 13^th and that weekly results could see a significant reshuffle, and this week’s results have produced some of the churn.  A 17-37 win for Redingensians at BSE sees them top that group, with Clifton & Canterbury moving up several places following wins against Ldn Irish WG (27-15) and Henley (51-17) respectively, whilst Worthing slip places after they lost out 9-8 at struggling Barnstaple.  The foot of the table remains unchanged, with Barnstaple below Exmouth, who lost out 33-28 at third bottom Barnes.

Nationals 3(SE): A slight reshuffle at the top although Hertford still head the table after a convincing 42-6 home win against Shelford, TJ’s kept station and move into second spot following their 44-19 win over struggling Chichester, who haven’t been helped by also suffering a 5-point deduction. Westcombe Pk move in to third after they beat a Wimbledon side that started the day in second place 7-9 in what was a hard fought encounter and saw the hosts slip to fourth spot. Fifth place Guernsey are now six points adrift after they suffered a 34-12 defeat at Southend.  At the foot of the table a 19-17 win for Westcliff over Colchester sees them move out of the bottom three, with only A&C below Colchester as they are still looking for a first win after losing out 14-27 to Guildford.  In mid-table, Dorking recovered from last week’s heavy defeat with a narrow 17-19 win at S&E.

London 1(S):  Sidcup retained top spot with a comfortable 18-65 win over struggling Brighton, whilst Tunbridge Wells moved back into second spot after they put last week’s loss behind them with a 28-21 win against Cobham.  CS Rugby drop to fourth after they were outmuscled 26-12 at Maidstone, with Tottonians moving to third after a high scoring 51-35 scoreline against visiting Gravesend.  At the bottom, G&F went down 12-43 to visiting Chobham whilst Dover were on the end of a triple figure 104-7 hammering at the hands of Havant.  Brighton occupy the last of the relegation berths, 7-points adrift of Chiswick, who went down 45-13 at Sevenoaks.

London 2 (SE): For the first time this season Medway failed to pick up a bonus point in what has been their toughest encounter to date as they edged out Colfes 9-14, Dartfordians took advantage to move in to second spot above Colfes with a 27-35 win at Horsham, whilst Charlton Pk’s 34-10 win against H&W sees them in fourth spot and fifth placed Beckenham suffered a 17-21 reversal at the hand of visiting Hove.  The foot of the table sees Crowborough still propping up the division after they lost 24-14 at Alleynians, with Bromley in the remain relegation place following their defeat by the narrowest of margins in a 28-29 score against D&B

London 3 (SE):  Pulborough stay six points clear at the top after a 41-21 win against Dunstonians, with Thanet Wdrs second after a 17-45 win at struggling Aylesford who despite not being bottom are still looking for their first win this season.  Third and fourth clashed as Haywards Heath swap places with Folkestone after a 31-15 win, but it could have been second were it not for a points deduction.  Bottom club Ashford went down 44-17 at Anchorians, with Lewes 42-32 winners over Park Hse in the mid-table battle.

Kent 1: Southwark were unable to hinder league leaders H&B’s progress as the table toppers ran out convincing 48-5 winners; O Wills stay second after they posted a 23-18 win over Vigo, with third placed Cranbrook also winning, posting a 36-19 result against NAG.  A 9-18 win for Brockleians at Kings Coll sees them move off the bottom of the table to be replaced by Southwark with Snowdown CW just a point above them after they lost out 33-10 at HSBC.  The last of the fixtures saw Beccs move above opponents Sittingbourne in lower mid-table after a 41-12 result.

Kent 2: A HWO over Shooters Hill sees OGs continue to head the table, with Foots Cray slipping to third and replaced by opponents RBS after a 5-13 result in favour of the bank club. Lordswood closed the gap in fourth after they beat Greenwich 10-29.  At the foot of the table Dartford Valley lost out 19-15 at Bexley, with Erith suffering a 69-0 hammering at the hands of Faversham.  Whistable also posted a big score as they thrashed Askean 88-8, whilst Orpington sat out this week.

For those of you who like to follow the progress of former Maidstone players, Eddie Cranston who was part of the club’s RFU Intermediate Cup winning team in 2015 is now playing his rugby along with former team mate Jamie Perigo with Wairapa Bush Rugby in the Mitre 10 Heartland Championship, a nominally amateur domestic competition below the fully professional Mitre 10 Cup (formerly ITM Cup).

After a successful 2016 campaign Eddie has been selected for the NZ Heartland XV on their tour to Fiji next month.  The tour will see the team play New Zealand Marist for the annual Ian McCrae Cup before then travelling on to Fiji to play Nadi and Nadroga in Fiji. 

The Heartland XV is one of several New Zealand national representative rugby teams, and it is drawn exclusively from players in provincial unions that compete in the Heartland Championship.

Have you joined the 500 Club?

What is the 500 Club?  The 500 Club is a cash draw that takes place at regular intervals during the season.

How does the 500 Club work?  The 500 Club works on the basis of members entering the 500 Club Fund, the cost is £60 per year (although you can put in more) and members are allocated a number for each £10 contribution.  Half of the fund goes towards the prizes and the other half to the club.  the size of the fund dictates the size of the prizes, so the more people pay in, the more money is available in prizes.  The winning numbers for each prize draw are drawn utilising an electronic random number generator.

How do you join?  Collect a form in the clubhouse bar or contact the 500 Club coordinator Bob Beney, either via email (click here) or Mob: 07973 118043.

How do you pay?  Payment can be monthly by either standing order or direct debit (available shortly) or annually by cheque or bank transfer.

Can other members of your familly join the 500 Club?  YES

What does the money earned by the club get utilised for?  Of the total money generated 50% goes into the prize draws for cash prizes, with the remaining 50% into club funds.  This season the club has decided to create some additional focus to the use of the 500 Club funds by supporting a specific project within the club.  Discussion has identified that there is a real need for additional equipment and machinery to assist the ground chairman in pitch reparations during both the playing and closed season, the money generated by this season’s 500 Club will assist in funding those ground and machinery requirements.

In line with the club statute and following the proposal passed at the recent AGM; notice is hereby given of the club's Financial General Meeting (FGM), to take place at The Mote on Wednesday 26th October at 7:30pm.

NB: Please mention Maidstone Rugby if you choose to use their services.

The pre-match Christmas Lunch for the Brighton fixture saw former player and long standing club supporter Fergus Wilson and his wife Judith make a significant donation to the club of £15,000.  In an agreement covering a three year period they have agreed on a staged donation of £5000 commencing this season and repeated at the same point in the next two seasons.  The club is extremely grateful for their donation and their altruistic outlook in supporting the county town’s rugby club.

National 1: No change in the top three as leaders Hartpury despatched bottom club Blaydon 5-47 and second placed Moseley winning 24-31 at Rosslyn Pk.  Third placed Blackheath faced Ampthill with both level on points with Birmingham based Moseley at the start of the day, but a 17-31 win for ‘Club’ sees them now clear in third and still level on points with Moseley.  Plymouth Albion’s solid 3-39 win at DMP sees them move above Ampthill to fourth with DMP sixth.  At the basement end of the table, Macclesfield’s 26-20 loss at Cambridge sees them just above Blaydon, with Rosslyn Pk completing the bottom three.  In the other results, losses for both Fylde, 53-24 at Coventry; and Esher, 32-29 at Hull Ionians see them just above the drop zone. In mid-table O Albanians went down 26-35 at home to Loughborough St.

National 2(S): A 28-61 thrashing of Barnes by Chinnor sees them retain top spot with Elthamians a point behind following their 38-17 win against Ldn Irish WG; whilst Taunton’s narrow 22-25 win at Canterbury sees them a further two points behind in third spot.  Redruth and Bishops Stortford stay in fourth and fifth places following wins against mid-table BSE (22-35) and struggling Barnstaple (8-47) respectively. At the foot of the division Exmouth remain bottom despite a 7-7 draw with Redingensians, with Barnstaple, Barnes and Ldn irish WG in the places above them.  In the other fixtures Clifton were 33-22 winners against Worthing, with Cinderford beating Henley with a similar scoreline of 30-23.

RFU Cup Competitions

This round up will focus mainly on the Kent based clubs, but a full round up of results is available on the London RFU website which can be reached via the Links page of the club website.

RFU Intermediate Cup Rd 1: Of the counties eligible clubs Charlton Pk have a bye to Rd 2 alongside 3 other of the Ldn & SE region's clubs.  Of the other Kent clubs, Bromley fell 52-17 to L2SW club Camberley whilst Colfes fared much better as they beat league rivals Hove 67-19.  Alleynians and D&B were drawn against each other with D&B taking the tie 3-13, Beckenham also won on the road, with a narrow 24-29 result against O Reigatians.  The last of the county’s interest was with Dartfordians who went down 46-19 at L2SW strugglers Portsmouth.  Other results of interest saw Crowborough receive a HWO against Ldn Nigerian and Horsham beaten 36-3 at H&F.

RFU Senior Vase Rd 1:  Of Kent’s eight eligible sides only three entered the competition with Aylesford and Thanet Wdrs having byes in the next round.  Sheppey were the only club in action and were on the end of an 89-9 drubbing by in-form league leaders Pulborough. Of the other L3SE clubs; Eastbourne progress after a 49-21 win against US Portsmouth, whilst Haywards Heath lost out 26-22 at Farnham.

RFU Junior Vase Rd 1: All of the county’s clubs had avoided the Preliminary round but with four in action today; Snowdown and Vigo were drawn against each other with the colliery club coming out 29-8 victors to progress.  Sittingbourne received a HWO against Raynes Pk, whilst Southwark fell 17-39 at home to Haringey.  Beccehamians and Cranbrook join Snowdown and Sittingbourne in the next round, along with current Kent 1 leaders H&B. 

National 1: A 43-14 win for Hartpury over Hull Ionians keeps them top of the table with Moseley in second following their 72-14 thrashing of Cambridge.  Blackheath move up two places into third spot after they beat Blaydon 59-17 with Ampthill slipping to fourth despite winning 12-28 at Macclesfield.  Plymouth Albion slip to sixth after losing out narrowly 39-37 at Fylde whilst DMP’s 22-19 win against O Albanians sees them move up a couple of places.  Blaydon and Macclesfield occupy the bottom two places with Rosslyn Pk just above them after at 26-26 draw at Loughborough St. A useful 34-14 win for Esher over Coventry sees them move out of the bottom three.

National 2(S): Leaders Taunton were knocked off the top of the table as they lost their unbeaten record to O Elthamians who move into second, with Chinnor taking over the lead after they hammered bottom side Exmouth 83-7. A 26-20 result for Redruth over Barnes and a 55-0 thrashing of Clifton by Bishops Stortford keeps those two clubs in the top five.  At the bottom Barnstaple’s woes continue with a 31-20 loss at Redingensians, although there appears to be a group of 4-5 clubs that will endure the relegation battle.  In mid-table Canterbury lost out 30-10 at Worthing, BSE were lost out 41-36 at Henley and Cinderford won 24-35 at Ldn Irish WG.

Nationals 3(SE): There is a distinct group of five clubs that head up the table, Hertford lead after a 49-0 thrashing of Chichester, with Wimbledon second after they beat struggling Westcliff 20-55, whilst Guernsey are third after they won 21-32 at S&E.  Kent clubs TJs and Westcombe Pk occupy fourth and fifth places following wins against Guildford (37-5) and A&C (5-46) respectively. The remaining fixtures saw Dorking go down 17-28 at home to Shelford, and Southend edge out local rival Colchester 18-16.  At the bottom A&C and Colchester are struggling, but any of the bottom five clubs could be involved in the relegation battle come the end of the season

London 1(S):  Newly promoted Tunbridge Wells continue to head the table after a 46-18 win over Chiswick, with Sidcup level on points following their 36-8 win against Chobham. CS Rugby and Tottonians sit just below the top two following wins against the division’s strugglers in G&F (19-50) and Dover (54-0). Also at the bottom, an 18-22 defeat for Brighton against Cobham sees them complete a trio that are already falling adrift at the foot of the table.  In mid-table Maidstone slumped to a third defeat as they lost 19-30 at home to Gravesend, whilst Sevenoaks posted a good 24-21 win against Havant

London 2 (SE): Top met bottom as Medway hammered basement club Crowborough 0-62 as their expected cruise to the league title as pre-season favourites continues.  Colfes and Dartfordians sit five points behind after they posted victories against D&B (40-12) and Bromley (19-25), with Charlton Pk in fourth spot after a tight 27-34 win at Horsham.  At the foot of the divisionwith both Crowborough and Bromley occupying the bottom two places, in reality any of the bottom half clubs could get dragged into the battle, with  Beckenham beating third bottom H&W 22-8 and Alleynians 34-15 victors over Hove.

London 3 (SE):  An 18-25 win for Pulborough at Sheppey sees them top the table, with Thanet unexpectedly stumbling to a 39-27 defeat at mid-table Lewes.  H Heath beat bottom side Ashford 41-5 to go third with Folkestone fourth after a 17-41 win at Park Hse.  At the bottom Ashford prop up the division with Dunstonians who thanks to a points deduction sit just above them despite winning 22-29 at fellow strugglers Aylesford.  The last of the fixtures saw Anchorians lose out 20-22 at home to Eastbourne as the division is beginning to separate into two distinct halves, with Kent clubs occupying all the lower half positions.

Kent 1: The top two clashed as H&B narrowly came out on top against Cranbrook 13-11, a result that sees the Wealden club slip to third with O Wills moving above them after a 49-0 thrashing of Sittingbourne, which with Kings Coll receiving a HWO against Snowdown sees Kings and Sittingbourne trade places. At the foot of the table, another defeat for Southwark keeps them bottom as they lost out 26-8 at Beccs, Brockleians sit just above them after Vigo got back to winning ways with a 30-10 result whilst HSBC beat NAG 20-14.

Kent 2: A 66-10 win for RBS over Erith keeps them at the head of the table with OGs and Foots Cray locked together four points behind following a big 52-3 win for OGs over Orpington and Foots Cray 28-3 victors over Askean.  Near neighbours Whitstable and Faversham occupy the next two places following a HWO for the Oystermen against Shooters Hill and Faversham posting a good 22-14 win over Lordswood. Dartford Valley remain at the foot of the table after a 21-7 defeat at Greenwich, whilst mid-table Bexley had no fixture this week.

National 1: Hartpury remain top after their fifth BP win with a 23-27 win at Coventry.  There are five clubs sat behind them on 18 pts, with Moseley leading that group despite losing out 26-8 at Ampthill who sit in third.  A 40-13 win for Plymouth Albion against O Albanians sees them in fourth, with Blackheath fifth after a tight 30-32 win at Hull Ionians.  At the foot of the division Blaydon continue to prop up the table after a 24-24 draw at home to Macclesfield, with Esher just above them following their 26-20 defeat at Fylde.  Rosslyn Pk are still in the bottom three, although they did post their first win, with a 36-16 result against DMP.  The last of the results saw Cambridge come out on top by the odd point in a 35-34 result against Loughborough St.

National 2(S): At the top of the table Taunton, Chinnor and Elthamians remain undefeated, but Taunton’s perfect record sees them head the group after they beat Cinderford 29-34.  Chinnor were 17-32 winners at Redingensians with Elthamians 37-17 winners at home to Worthing.  Redruth sit four points behind Elthamians in fourth despite a 17-60 win at Exmouth, with Bishops Stortford slipping to fifth place after they went down 38-34 to Canterbury who move up to seventh.  At the bottom of the table it remains two of the newly promoted sides that occupy the bottom two berths, with Barnstaple just above Exmouth after a 24-22 win against Clifton; Redingensians are just above them with Barnes also firmly in the bottom half despite a solid 34-16 win over Esher.  The last of the fixtures saw a solid 39-15 win for BSE over Ldn Irish WG.

Nationals 3(SE): A change at the top of the division as Wimbledon suffered their first defeat, going down 12-25 at home to visiting TJs, a result that combined with Hertford’s 20-41 win at struggling Colchester sees them take over top spot. Guernsey are third with all three clubs tied on 20pts after they just edged what was a high scoring and entertaining 50-45 result.  With TJs in fourth, Kent rivals Westcombe Pk are level with them on points after they beat Shelford 42-14.  At the bottom end of the table A&C prop up the division and like Colchester are still looking for a first win after losing out 20-25 at home to Westcliff, who complete the bottom three. In mid-table Chichester just edged out S&E by 15-13 with Guildford overcoming Southend 25-5

London 1(S): Tunbridge Wells stay top after edging a tight encounter at Gravesend 13-17, whilst Sidcup now sit second but level on points after they were 17-33 winners at Cobham. A 61-12 win for CS Rugby over struggling Brighton moves them back up to third spot with Tottonians in fourth following their 29-14 win against Sevenoaks.  At the bottom, basement club G&F fell to their fifth defeat with a 48-7 mauling at Chiswick, whilst just above them Dover went down 6-22 at home to Chobham.  In the mid-table clash, Havant had too much for Maidstone, coming out on top 37-21.

London 2 (SE): At the top Medway continue to stroll through opponents as they brushed aside mid-table Horsham 44-17.  Colfes sit in second spot following an 8-12 result at H&W, with Dartfordians level on points after they beat Beckenham 27-14, a result that sees Beck slip to fifth, just below Charlton Pk, who won 28-16 against Bromley. At the foot of the division following a heavy 41-7 loss at Hove, Crowborough occupy bottom spot, just below Bromley & H&W. In the last of the results a tight 15-14 result in favour of D&B over Alleynians was enough to move both clubs out of the bottom three.

London 3 (SE):  Thanet Wdrs continue to set the pace as they maintained their perfect record with a 31-5 win at struggling Pk Hse, with Pulborough going well in second after they beat Anchorians 44-19.  In fact Sussex clubs largely dominate the top half of the table with H heath in third after a 10-22 win at Dunstonians and Eastbourne fourth following their 36-7 win over Aylesford.  After Thanet, Folkestone are the next highest Kent club in fifth spot despite losing 30-36 at home to Sheppey.  The bottom six in the table are all Kent clubs, with bottom side Ashford still in negative points despite a 31-26 win over mid-table Lewes. Aylesford sit just above them with Dunstonians third from bottom, although there is talk of a points deduction looming that could see them drop to the foot of the table.

Kent 1: A 0-30 win at Vigo for league leaders H&B sees them as yet unbeaten, with Cranbrook remaining in second spot following their 26-5 result against bottom club Beccehamians.  Sittingbourne and O wills sit third & fourth, with both picking up narrow wins against Kings Coll (12-10) and NAG (22-23) respectively.  At the bottom end of the division, Southwark are struggling despite a narrow 22-21 win against HSBC, who sit a place above them.  In mid-table, Snowdown CW were resounding 49-0 winners against Brockleians.

Kent 2: RBS reclaimed top spot in Kent 2 with a 5-57 thrashing of Askean, with OGsin second spot after they racked up triple figures In a 7-116 annihilation of Bexley.  Foots Cray & Lordswood sit level on points with OGs in third and fourth, but with nothing like the same points difference after Lordswood came out in top 31-7 in the encounter between the two sides.  At the foot of the table both Dartford Valley and Greenwich remain winless, with Valley losing 12-35 at Whitstable and Greenwich losing out narrowly 29-24 at Orpington.  The last of the fixtures saw Shooters Hill narrow 31-29 winners against Faversham, with Erith having no fixture this week.

Note:  This week's edition of Around the Grounds is slightly later than usual, the same will also be the case due to other commitments, although the author will endeavour to have it posted at some point on the sunday (9th Oct).

National 1: No change in the top three as leaders Hartpury were 49-14 winners over Ampthill who slip to sixth, Moseley beat O Albanians 56-33 whilst Club were 34-24 winners against Cambridge.  Plymouth Albion lost out by the odd point in the 34-33 scoreline at Coventry but stay fourth, with Loughborough St 29-14 win against DMP seeing them move to fifth.  At the foot of the table, bottom club Blaydon went down heavily 71-24 at Esher, whilst Macclesfield lost 18-36 against Rosslyn Pk who sit just above them. A 58-17 defeat for Hull Ionians at Fylde sees them occupy the last of the bottom four places.

National 2(S): Just a single point continues to separate the top two, with Chinnor 45-14 wieners at home to BSE and Elthamians 20-30 winners at Henley.  Redruth and Taunton are now locked together in third and fourth spots after Redruth hammered Cinderford 54-11 and Taunton fell to a narrow 30-32 defeat at home to Clifton. Bishops Stortford completes a top five that are 12 points clear of sixth place after they beat Worthing 30-36. At the foot of the table the bottom two clubs did battle with Exmouth moving off the bottom after they beat Barnstaple 38-20, whilst a 33-12 defaet for Barnes at Redingensians see them occupy the last of the early season relegation spots. Canterbury sit just above them in 13^th place after losing out 34-29 at Ldn Irish WG, although just 3 points separates 6^th and 13^th places, so a single weekend’s results can see a significant reshuffling of the mid-table pack in this division.

Nationals 3(SE): The top two in Hertford and Wimbledon are only separated by points difference with both posting solid results against Guernsey (17-31)and bottom club A&C (34-17) respectively.  TJs and Westcombe Pk are also locked together 2 points behind with TJs beating strugglers Colchester 16-47 and Combe 59-12 victors over Dorking.  At the bottom end of the table, even at this early stage it looks like Westcliff and Chichester alongside A&C and Colchester will form the group fighting to avoid the drop.  Westcliff lost out 38-18 at Guildford whilst Chichester went down 12-20 at home to Southend.  In the remaining fixture S&E lost narrowly, 13-8 at Shelford.

London 1(S):  After a long unbeaten run going back to September last year, as if often the case, following one defeat along comes another and after narrowly falling to TJs in the Kent Cup last week Tunbridge Wells slipped two places from top spot after what was another narrow loss at CS Rugby by 20-17, a result that moves CS Rugby up to second place.  Sidcup go top after they hammered struggling Dover 5-49, with Tottonians still in fourth, despite losing out 46-31 at Havant.  At the bottom end of the division, G&F are still looking for their first point after being nulled by 40 points at Cobham.  Brighton also sit in the drop zone alongside G&F and Dover following a 28-15 defeat at Chobham. In the mid-table fixtures, Maidstone got back to winning ways with a 21-37 win at Chiswick, whilst Sevenoaks posted a good win with a 27-32 result at Gravesend

London 2 (SE): League leaders Medway’s perfect record remains intact following a 73-14 hammering of mid-table Alleynians; a 24-32 win for Colfes at Hove keeps them in second spot, with Dartfordians a point behind following their 34-25 victory against fifth placed Charlton Pk.  Beckenham sit fourth following a tight 22-25 win at a D&B outfit surprisingly near the wrong end of the table.  At the foot of the table both Crowborough and Bromley are still looking for their first wins after they both lost out, Bromley 12-6 at H&W, and Crowborough 15-28 at home to Sussex rivals Horsham.

London 3 (SE):  Unbeaten Pulborough continue to head the table after a 17-45 win at Eastbourne, Thanet remain second despite falling to a second consecutive defeat, losing out 9-13 at home to Haywards Heath, who now sit fourth.  Folkestone are third after they beat Lewes 36-10.  The bottom half of the table is dominated by Kent clubs, with Ashford still propping up the table despite a good 41-10 win against fellow strugglers Aylesford, a result that now sees them out of negative points. Likewise for Dunstonians who’s 45-31 win against Anchorians sees their points tally back in the black. A 25-21 win for Park Hse sees them put some daylight between themselves and the bottom three, at the same time closing the gap on their opponents for the day in Sheppey

Kent 1: A 5-34 win for H&B at Brockleians sees them continue to set the pace, with O Wills moving into second spot after they beat Snowdown 12-51.  Cranbrook sit third after surprisingly falling to a narrow 37-33 defeat away at Southwark, with King Coll in fourth after they also lost, going down 30-19 at Vigo.  A 32-24 defeat for Beccs at NAG sees them sitting fourth from bottom, whilst the last of the fixtures saw Sittingbourne lose out 21-29 at home to HSBC.

Kent 2: Big wins for OGs at Dartford Valley (12-63) and Foots Cray at Erith (8-55) see them take over the top two spots, as RBS sit out this week and drop to third. The trio are 5 points clear of Lordswood who move to fourth after they fought out a tight battle against Whitstable for an 8-7 result.  The bottom end of the table sees Dartford Valley and Erith propping up the table below Shooters Hill who went down 14-54 to visiting Greenwich and Bexley who were beaten 38-6 by Orpington.  in the last of the results, Askean moved out of the bottom three with a 31-19 win over visiting Faversham.

NB: Due to a social engagement, nextvweek's Around the Grounds will not be published until sometime on the Sunday

It is one of the great things in the ethos of rugby that its biggest names in the sport remain grounded and very much connected to the grassroots of the game; and this week’s visit to Maidstone Rugby by two of the biggest names in the sport and legends of English Rugby in Lawrence Dallaglio and Mike Tindall was no exception.

Arriving at the club just before 6 0-clock to a large contingent of the club’s youth section, they were immediately into action with the obligatory photos and autographs before getting down to a Q&A session that had been run as a competition in conjunction with sponsors Hospitality Finder to select the winning questions from each age group.  The great thing about young people is they ask some really great and somewhat different questions to an adult audience and we had a broad range of topics to tax Lawrence and Mike’s knowledge and advice for young players.

A short pause for breath after yet more autographs and photos and it was out onto the training pitch where in excess of 120 players were involved in various sessions. From the 1^st XV through to the Veterans XV, the Ladies XV and the U17s, Lawrence and Mike got fully involved with all of the groups, either participating or interjecting where they felt they could add most value.  The evening was then rounded off with another Q&A in the bar before a shirt presentation to sponsors Hospitality Finder brought the evening to a conclusion at just after 10:00pm.

All in all, a great grassroots rugby evening with participation across the whole club and our thanks to sponsors Hospitality Finder for facilitating the event and to both Lawrence & Mike for giving up their time.

For a full selection of photos provided by the club and Hospitality Finder please go to the gallery.

Julian and Marilyn Debnam are hosting a MacMillan Cake Sale at the club this weekend.  Why not show your support for this good cause by bringing some cakes to sell and/or buying some.  Lets see if we can improve on last year's total.   You will need to hurry though and make sure that you buy yours before Mayhem gets there !!

The future of the senior teams and hopefully the 1^st XV looks in good hands with the development of talent in the Youth section.  After the good news from the U17’s, the 40+ strong squad in this seasons U16’s is clearly also full of talent.

Well done to the players below and the coaches.

Saracens Elite & England Development

Harvey Beaton

Saracens Elite (Kent Tier 4)

Oli Leyland

Jordan Roper

Kent Tier 3 (Old Kent)

Tom Haywood

Myles Frederick

Kent Tier 2 (Old Kent Development)

Gabe Roberts

Kent Tier 1 (Old East Kent)

Louis Skinner

Luke Reeves

Henry Warby

Jasper Mulrooney-Skinner

Charlie Booker

Matthew Fairway

Olly Faux

Jack Roydon

Teddy Smith

Sean Trumper

Michael Mead

James Hoyte

Danny Gilligan

Owen Hughes

Danny Jones

We suggest you come and watch them now because soon you will be buying a programme for the privilege!

Two years ago Miles Tempan took it upon himself to instagate Girls and Ladies Rugby at the club.  Initially the concept was to provide a pathway for girls finsihing in mixed age rugby to be able to continue playing rugby and remain with the club with the project eventually resulting in a Ladies XV.  This soon started to span the age groups and here we are two years on with a large squad that is the club's Ladies XV.  In fact, it should be noted that Maidstone Rugby are the only providers of competitive rugby for female participants within the Borough of Maidstone.

The ladies are a commited group who continually endeavour to improve and the last month has seen some notable events for the Ladies XV, with their first competitive league fixture, the first competitive home Ladies XV fixture at The Mote and this weekend their first competitive win against Brockleians in the RFU Junior Cup.

Well done Ladies, onwards & upwards.

Maidstone  v Peterborough

Sunday 2^nd October sees an historic day at Maidstone Rugby as the newly formed Ladies XV play their first competitive league fixture at The Mote when they host Peterborough RFC.  Many years ago when ladies rugby was in its infancy, the club stood aside as both we and Aylesford looked to build ladies rugby.  Other changes in the intervening years and also the growing popularity of the female game meant that aspect of the game could be ignored no longer.  Under coach Miles Tempan, starting with a handful of players 2yrs ago, the squad has developed to about 30 strong, with many of the ladies not having played rugby before the beginning of this year. 

Whilst they still have much to learn, they have a lot of drive and determination, a great team spirit and are developing in ‘leaps & bounds’ with each passing week.  So why not come along and give them some encouragement on what is a date of significance for both the ladies and the club’s history.

National 1: a 57-14 win over Fylde sees leaders Hartpury steamroller on at the top; whilst a 41-13 win for Moseley over Blaydon keeps them second with O Albanians third after they won 18-13 against struggling Rosslyn Pk.  DMP move into fourth spot following a 37-12 win over Cambridge, with Blackheath now fifth following a convincing 42-5 result against Coventry. Ampthill and Plymouth Albion complete the top half of the table with 29-37 and 19-21 wins over Loughborough St and Esher respectively.  At the foot of the table Blaydon, Fylde and Rosslyn Pk are the bottom three, just below Macclesfield, who lost 19-29 to Hull Ionians in the last of the days fixtures.

National 2(S): A 30-26 win against BSE keeps Taunton at the head of the division, with Chinnor in second spot after they hammered bottom club Barnstaple 76-5.  O Elthamians 19-22 win at Bishops Stortford sees them move above the Essex club into third place, with Redruth and Worthing rounding out the top six with wins against Redingensians (10-8) and Cinderford (21-15) respectively.  Canterbury sit in tenth spot after a 25-20 defeat at Clifton, whilst in the other mid-table contests Henley beat Exmouth 43-38 and Ldn Irish WG were 31-17 winners against Barnes.  At the foot of the table the bottom three places are all occupied by last season’s promoted clubs, with Barnstaple propping up the table below Exmouth and Barnes.

Nationals 3(SE): On paper the attractive fixture was leaders Wimbledon against sixth placed Southend, with the result going in accordance with early season form as Wimbledon ran out    12-34 winners, although second placed Guernsey slipped up, going down 22-17 on the road at Shelford, whilst third club Hertford move above them after they beat promoted Guildford 33-14.  TJs made heavy weather of last week’s trip to struggling Westcliff but there was no such trouble this week as they cruised to beat A&C 62-10 at the Slade, whilst Combe also had some difficulty in overcoming Westcliff this week, with an 0-11 result finally secured with the last play of the match. In the remaining fixture S&E edged out Colchester 31-22.  At the end of the first month the early challengers look to be sorting themselves out whilst at the bottom it looks like there are half a dozen clubs that could well be involved in the relegation battle, with A&C , the reprieved Westcliff and probably Colchester among the favourites.

London 1(S): A real reshuffle across the division with today’s results; an the top of the table almost all of the clubs faced off against each other, with CS Rugby’s unbeaten start coming to an end as the 23-13 result went in favour of hosts Sidcup who move up to second, with Cs rugby dropping to fifth. T Wells also won and go top after they faced a tough battle against Havant with a 27-13 result. Cobham move up to third following a 10-20 at Chobham, with Tottonians fourth after they beat a sluggish looking Maidstone 18-37.  At the bottom end of the division Gravesend inflicted another defeat on basement club G&F but the Pompey based club will see improvement in the 19-32 scoreline, whilst in the encounter between strugglers Brighton and Chiswick, the result went the way of the visitors 27-29 in a tight contest.  The last of the result saw Dover losing out heavily, 55-15 to Sevenoaks to leave them G&F and Brighton as the bottom three after four matches.

London 2 (SE): Medway romped to another convincing win as they despatch Hove 46-19 to maintain their perfect record, although Dartfordians lost theirs after a 39-10 defeat at Colfes.  The battle between third and fourth went the way of Beckenham as they beat Charlton Pk 25-20, whilst Horsham closed the gap with a high scoring 52-47 win over promoted Bromley.  Three clubs had yet to register a point at the start of the day but that all changed as D&B beat Crowborough 17-21, although bottom club Alleynians beat H&W 31-15 to move into mid table, leaving Bromley and Crowborough as the bottom two after the first month.

London 3 (SE):  The top two clashed as front runners Thanet travelled to Folkestone and came away with a 14-31 win, although third paced Pulborough’s 21-39 win at struggling Aylesford keeps them very much in the early season running as they moved into second spot.  Wins for Lewes at Dunstonians (48-8) and H Heath against Eastbourne (29-24) keep them in the top half of the table, whilst Anchorians comfortably came out on top in their encounter with rivals Sheppey (19-36) and move into fourth spot behind H Heath. In the battle between the bottom two clubs, and given their points deficit, the 32-5 defeat to Park Hse looks ominous and was a result they could ill afford.

Kent 1: At the top H&B remain unbeaten after they comfortably beat Beccs 38-3, Cranbrook sit second after an entertaining 36-36 draw at second bottom HSBC, with Brockleians third after a 0-38 whitewash of Sittingbourne.  Southwark currently prop up the table following a 25-15 loss at O Wills and are 4-points adrift of a group of clubs including Snowdown, who lost 37-22 at Vigo.  The last of the fixtures saw mid-table NAG lose out 29-18 at Kings Coll.

Kent 2: At the top of the table RBS slip to second despite a 22-12 win against Lordswood, with Foots Cray taking over top spot after they crushed Shooters Hill 52-0.  OGs sit third despite having no fixture, with Faversham in fifth place on the same points as OGs & Lordswood after they beat  bottom club Dartford Valley 46-0.  Greenwich are one off the bottom following a 10-23 loss at the hands of Bexley, whilst in mid table Erith lost 7-39 against Askean and Whitsable beat Orpington 33-10.

Please note that the deadline for the competition has been extended by Hospitality Finder to midday on Monday 26th September, so still time to get your entries in. Make sure you don't miss out.

Just a reminder to all of our younger members that midday on Friday 23rd sept is the deadline to get your questions in to Hospitality Finder in the competition to win signed shirts from Lawrence Dallaglio & Mike Tindall.

You've got to be in it, to win it!! 

The competition is open to all members of the Youth Section only; to enter, simply send the following details to competitions@hospitalityfinder.co.uk

·         Player name

·         Youth section name

·         Your question to Lawrence Dallaglio & Mike Tindall

·         Parent/guardian name

·         Email address

·         Contact telephone

All information is confidential and will not be shared with any third parties. Good luck and we look forward to seeing you on the Tuesday 27^th September.

During the summer, Youth Chairs Eva & Tuggy were successful with their application for a grant from the Maidstone Leisure Centre Trust.

The application detailed the benefits to players in the Youth Section of having substitute coats to keep them warm and dry whilst on the bench or following an injury.

Despite a warm Sunday the U14’s were very pleased to be given 4 of the 32 jackets obtained from the £1,000 grant.

Being on the bench may prove more popular than usual on a wet, windy and cold December morning!

For the past few years, 1^st XV skipper Ben Williams has been keeping a record of competitive first team appearances (2011-ongoing), this has been combined with the records that were kept by others in the club to look at playing members who have achieved milestone appearances.  Whilst there are some gaps in this, one milestone that did leap out was that whilst the club captain has long passed 100 1^st XV caps, this past Saturday’s league encounter against Sevenoaks was his 100^th as Captain.

Club President Jim Tinsley took a moment after the game to make a presentation to mark the occasion as we look back on a captaincy that has seen 2 unbeaten league campaigns, 2 London & SE Regional Senior Vase titles, the London & SE Regional Intermediate Cup and National Intermediate Cup, plus most recently the Kent Plate.  Not a bad record to look back on in years to come, and still going.

National 1: Leaders Hartpury were 13-32 winners at Esher, with Moseley in second after a narrow 22-24 win at Hull Ionians. Coventry and O Albanians sit in third and fourth places after 61-14 and 34-36 wins against Macclesfield and Cambridge respectively.  Blackheath gained a narrow 24-25 win at Fylde to sit in mid table.  At the bottom of the division Blaydon and Rosslyn Pk sit below Fylde after they both lost out, going down 38-66 to Loughborough St and 26-20 to Plymouth Albion.  The last of the fixtures saw Ampthill beaten 20-39 at home to DMP.

National 2(S): Canterbury finally got the show on the road with a 26-41 win at new boys Barnstaple, whilst Elthamians 46-19 win against Clifton sees them in fourth spot.  Above them sit Chinnor, who beat Redruth 21-5 and Bishops Stortford, who were 15-22 winners at Cinderford.  Taunton remain at the head of the table after they beat Barnes 27-35.  The foot of the table sees Exmouth as the only club without a point after they lost 20-40 to Ldn Irish WG, with Barnstaple, Clifton and Barnes just above them. In the early season mid-table battles, Redingensians lost out 22-26 to visiting Henley, whilst BSE beat Worthing 20-10

Nationals 3(SE):  Wimbledon stay top with a perfect record after they were 34-27 winners over visiting Hertford in the battle between the top two clubs at the start of the day, whilst Guernsey also maintained their winning streak after a narrow 10-12 win at Westcombe Pk. Tjs move above their Kent rivals into fourth spot after they overcame third from bottom Westcliff 15-19, with Southend rounding out the top six following a 19-40 defeat of A&C who are still looking for their first point of the season.  Above them at the bottom are Colchester, who lost out 14-21 to visiting Dorking with Shelford sit fourth off the bottom after losing out 25-26 at home to Chichester who are one place above them.  In mid table it was the battle between the two sides promoted from Ldn 1(S) as Guildford hosted S&E, losing out 17-23 to the visitors.

London 1(S): CS Rugby stay top following a 17-3 win against Chobham, with T Wells in second spot after they gained a hard earned 15-27 win at Tottonians who drop to mid-table.  As expected Sidcup are again in the early season challengers after they beat a Chiswick 3-31 and remain one of three clubs yet to garner a point so far this campaign.  A 77-5 thrashing of G&F in the local Portsmouth derby by Havant sees them in fourth spot with Maidstone fifth after coming from behind to beat Sevenoaks 20-26.  At the bottom of the table Brighton complete the bottom three alongside Chiswick and G&F who remain pointless after they lost out 19-8 at Gravesend, whilst struggling Dover picked up their first point despite going down 22-29 at home to Cobham.

London 2 (SE): Predictably, promotion favourites Medway made light work of D&B with a 12-44 win at the Drill Field, whilst Dartfordians also maintained their perfect record after they were 49-17 winners against bottom club Alleynians. Charlton Pk and Beckenham complete an unbeaten top four with wins against Colfes (20-15) and Bromley (12-26) respectively. Crowborough are the fourth club in the division without a point following their 33-25 defeat to a H&W outfit that look to have recovered from last week’s Medway mauling, with Horsham this week coming out on the right end of a narrow scoreline with a 17-24 win at Hove.

London 3 (SE): Thanet Wdrs are the early front runners as they posted another big score in a 52-24 mauling of Sheppey, with Folkestone in second spot after they beat Ashford 10-19 in what is always a hotly contested local derby. Pulborough round out the top three on the same points after a 14-10 win over the once mighty Haywards Heath.  At the bottom Ashford’s preseason points deduction means they have a lot of work to do to avoid the drop (I know it’s early in the season to be saying that) with Park Hse also struggling after they lost out 36-20 at Dunstonians, and Aylesford who lost 27-12 at Anchorians.  In the last of the fixtures Eastbourne lost out 10-13 to visiting Lewes.

Kent 1: The top two both won, with H&B sitting top of the pile after week 2, with a 6-12 win at Snowdown, whilst Cranbrook are level on points in second spot after they beat O Wills 25-21. Third placed NAG are the only other side to have won both opening fixtures after they beat Brockleians 22-10.  At the bottom Southwark remain pointless after a heavy 17-49 loss to visiting Kings Coll, whilst HSBC and Vigo sit just above them after defeats to Beccehamians (14-12) and Sittingbourne (24-17) respectively.

Kent 2: There are four clubs with perfect records remaining in this division, with new boys RBS top after a 0-81 hammering of Shooters Hill, OGs, Lordswood and Foots Cray also picked up big bonus point wins against Greenwich (76-3), Erith (55-0) and Dartford Valley (0-52). The remaining matches saw a win for Orpington at Faversham (19-18 with Bexley and Whitstable fighting out a 12-12 draw.  Askean had no fixture this week.

Former Maidstone player Piers Francis was amongst six players to be rewarded with extended contracts for next season’s Super Rugby  campaign.  Piers who picked up the Blues’ ‘Rookie of the Year award last season, was signed after an impressive season with Counties Manukau and proved one of the finds of the 2016 Super Rugby competition and was a key component in a much improved Blues defensive effort.

Blues coach Tana Umaga, who coached Piers at the Steelers, was well aware of his skill set and pleased with the role he played in the team last season, and believes he has the ability to lift that to new levels in the 2017 campaign.

Maidstone-based corporate hospitality company Hospitality Finder is delighted to announce that brand ambassadors Lawrence Dallaglio and Mike Tindall will be visiting Maidstone Rugby Club on Tuesday 27^th September 2016.

The England Rugby World Cup winning legends will be actively involved in coaching the senior squad and Hospitality Finder will also be running a competition for the Youth Section for an exclusive chance to meet and greet their rugby heroes.

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 15 years. 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 ambassadors and global stars of the game to this fantastic local club with which they enjoy a close very relationship, having been Maidstone Rugby Club’s primary sponsors for the past two of seasons.

During the day both Lawrence and Mike will be actively involved in coaching the seniors, adding their knowledge and experience from playing at the highest level of the game into the mix.

Off the field there will be an exciting competition for the Youth Sections of Maidstone Rugby, giving one lucky young player from each Youth Section the chance to ask their chosen question to these iconic ambassadors on the day.

The best question from each youth section and each lucky player will win a signed England shirt by Lawrence and Mike and have the chance to ask that very question to them in person.

There will also be an opportunity for players from the Youth Section to be involved in group photos with Lawrence and Mike in addition to autograph signings.

The competition is open to all members of the Youth Section only; to enter, simply send the following details to competitions@hospitalityfinder.co.uk

·         Player name

·         Youth section name

·         Your question to Lawrence Dallaglio & Mike Tindall

·         Parent/guardian name

·         Email address

·         Contact telephone

All information is confidential and will not be shared with any third parties. Good luck and we look forward to seeing you on the Tuesday 27^th September.

Outline Timings

5:30pm           Lawrence & Mike arrive.

6 – 7pm          Youth competition: Winners filmed asking their questions to Lawrence & Mike

                        Group photos with Youth Sections

7 – 7:30pm     Training briefing with LD, MT & MFC coaching staff

                        Autograph opportunities (time permitting)

7:30 – 9pm     Training session

                        Brief filmed interviews pitch side with LD & MT (Potentially use a GoPro to get some first                               person footage from player(s) involved)

9 – 10pm        Post-session Q&A with LD & MT (filmed)

  Presentation of signed England shirt to MFC (which may be done as a “shirt exchange” for     photo purposes as MFC have a shirt for Hospitality Finder).

The club is delighted to announce that Lex Ayling, Alex Crosbie and Jacob Arbury from this year’s U17’s team have all been successful in gaining places in this seasons Kent U18 squad.

The boys are all products of the club's Youth section having played at the club through the age groups for many years. We wish them well for the season.

These boys, long with along with a strong U17 squad will hopefully be representing the senior sides next season.

There is also good news coming out of the U16 squad…..more on that soon. 

National 1: only three sides remain unbeaten after week two, with Hartpury still top after they beat Plymouth Albion 37-14, Moseley and Ampthill sit just below them after narrow wins against the two sides just below them in the table in Coventry (19-14) and O Albanians (17-18).  Blackheath posted their first win of the season with a 13-6 defeat of Esher to sit in 12^th spot. At the bottom end of the division Blaydon, Fylde and surprisingly Rosslyn Pk are still looking for a first win after they all lost out, losing to DMP (15-14), Macclesfield (44-22) and Cambridge (19-22) respectively.in the last of the fixtures Loughborough St beat Hull Ionians 13-6

National 2(S): From a county perspective the big match of the day was at Merton Lane where Canterbury hosted Elthamians and remain looking for a first win after losing out narrowly in a tight contest 15-17.  At the top it is Taunton and Bishops Stortford setting the early pace as they both posted BP wins, with Taunton thrashing Exmouth 59-10 and Stortford 36-7 winners against BSE.  The nearest of the chasing pack are Chinnor, Redruth and Cinderford who also won, with Chinnor downing Henley 13-22, Redruth solid 48-12 winners at home to new boys Barnstaple and Cinderford edging Clifton 25-31. In the bottom half of the table Barnes and Ldn irish WG are two of seven clubs still looking for a first win, with Barnes losing out 20-17 at Worthing and the ‘Wild Geese’ losing 13-28 to visiting Redingensians

Nationals 3(SE):  In many people’s minds TJs were the preseason favourites in this division, and after last week’s storming start this week’s early season derby threw up an early shock as having just scraped a win last week, visiting Westcombe Pk took the honours by 7-17, to sit in third spot, a place above their opponents.  Wimbledon are the early season front runners after they  were convincing 13-43 winners at S&E, Guernsey sit second after they beat Chichester 27-7.  At the bottom end of the table A&C are off to a slow start as they lost out 39-5 at Hertford, with Colchester and Westcliff also looking for a first win after they lost out to Shelford (15-13) and Southend (17-15) respectively. In the remaining fixture Guildford were brought down to earth after last week’s winning start with a 19-10 loss at Dorking.

London 1(S): CS Rugby top the table with the only perfect record after they picked up another BP win, this time against Cobham 19-26, Tottonians sit just a point behind after they hammered a G&F side that look set for a torrid campaign, 5-55.  Tunbridge Wells sit third and maintained the ‘indian sign’ over local rivals Sevenoaks with a 10-3 win in the A21 derby. At the bottom end of the early standings, Dover were on the wrong end of another heavy defeat, this time going down 49-10 at Maidstone, whilst Brighton also seem to be in poor early season form after a 0-27 home defeat at the hands of Havant.  In the remaining fixtures, Sidcup proved too strong for Gravesend with a 39-13 victory, whilst Chobham inflicted a heavy 32-0 defeat on Chiswick.

London 2 (SE): The first week of league action here and as was largely expected, hot favourites Medway handed out a heavy 58-3 defeat to newly promoted H&W. The rest of the matches had more modest scorelines, with Charlton Pk’s  3-31 win a Alleynians the biggest of them.  Colfes and Dartfordians posted good results with wins against newly promoted Bromley (23-0) and Crowborough (9-27) respectively. D&B lost out 18-6 at Hove whilst in the last of the fixtures Beckenham just edged Horsham by the odd point in a tight contest with a 15-16 scoreline.

London 3(SE): Pulborough and Thanet Wdrs sit as the top two after both posted big scores in their opening fixtures, with Pulborough  5-33 winners at Lewes, and Thanet 47-7 winners against visiting Ashford. Folkestone sit third after a high scoring encounter with Dunstonians that ended with a 54-29 scoreline.  A 25-0 win over Anchorians was the result for Haywards Heath, as they continue their climb back up the leagues. In the remaining fixtures Park Hse lost out 7-10 at home to Eastbourne, whilst the 12-10 win for Sheppey was probably a much closer scoreline that visiting Aylesford were expecting.

Kent 1: H&B are top of the pile after week 1, following a comprehensive 62-8 thrashing of HSBC, with relegated Cranbrook  in second after a 5-36 win at Kings Coll, a 27-5 win for Brockleians against Southwark Lancers sees them in third spot.  Elsewhere Snowdown’s first match back at this level resulted in a 14-3 win over Sittingbourne, who came up with tem last term. O Wills were 23-11 winners against Beccs, whilst in what is always a fiercely contested local derby, the honours went to NAG as they beat Vigo 3-20.

Kent 2: At the bottom rung of the league ladder despite two clubs rejoining the league, the withdrawal of Edenbridge means there are 13 clubs this season, which means one club has a rest week and Greenwich were the first on the roster this season.  In the played fixtures, new boys RBS, one of the clubs to have rejoined the leagues sit top off the table after they beat Dartford Valley 41-0, with Lordswood second after a good 5-36 win at Askean.  Foots cray sit third after posting 30 points without reply against visiting Orpington.  In the other fixtures Erith, who are also back in the leaguie this season were narrow 21-20 winners over Shooters Hill, Faversham were 21-13 winners against Bexley and Whitstable lost out 12-39 to visiting OGs

As we start the new rugby season we will be holding membership mornings on Sunday the 18^th and 25^th September for all existing  and new members to complete forms and pay their subscriptions for the year.

Head coaches for each team will be able to provide you with specific details but let’s please try and get all the paperwork done over these weekends so we can all concentrate on rugby.

Julian and Marilyn will be on hand for you to buy or order items from the club shop.

On the 25^th Bob Beney will be encouraging you to sign up to the Club’s very own lottery…the 500 club.  A small investment and potential big returns with profits going directly to the running for the club.

Of course the clubhouse will also be open for food, hot drinks or something stronger a bit later on!  

Wishing everyone a great 2016/17 season.

Tuggy & Eva

Joint Youth Chairs

England v Italy: 26th February 2017

this match is not subject tyo the usual RFU allocation procedure and the club is able to bid for as many tickets as it would like.  Bids have to be submitted in October; anyone interested in bidding for tickets should contact Steve Vincent via the normal channels by no later than 5th October.

Junior tickets (15 years and below) are available at £20 each across each Category of ticket. The Adult ticket Categories are: £70, £63 and £65,

For Youth section applications, bids for over 15’s are not excluded however any application for tickets for those age groups will have to be treated as adult tickets. 

Well here we are at the start of another season and another series of sad Saturday nights for the author.  Actually it took a little perseverance to ‘get my arse in gear’ so to speak, hence why this season’s first instalment is a bit later than is usually the case.  I should add that I have also been approached informally by Kent RFU about them using ‘Around the Grounds’ on the Kent RFU website, although no information about how they may achieve that, but if someone is reading this, then you’re more than welcome to ‘cut & paste, there are no copyright issues although it would be appreciated if some recognition of the author who sacrifices his Saturday nights is given.  Anyway, here we go with the 2016-17 season’s Around the Grounds, and in doing so may I wish all your respective clubs the best of luck for their respective campaigns.

National 1: After what looked an impressive preseason, Blackheath came down to earth with a bump as they lost out 34-0 away at Hartpury, who are anticipated to be among the favourites in this season’s promotion battle.  Also at the top end of the table after the first weekend’s action are Coventry and newly promoted O Albanians, with both picking up bonus point wins against Loughborough St (54-12) and Blaydon (3-35) respectively.  There were wins for Esher, 21-19 over Macclesfield, Birmingham Moseley, 20-25 at Fylde, and also Hull Ionians who were 16-10 winners over DMP.  Plymouth Albion beat promoted Cambridge 23-18, but perhaps the most eye-catching result was Ampthill’s 24-15 victory against the much fancied Rosslyn Pk.

National 2(S): Like ‘club’, Canterbury got off to a losing start as they went down 14-7 to a  Cinderford outfit that dropped down from National 1 last season.  Elrthamians had better fortunes on their travels as they posted a comfortable 8-31 win against a newly promoted Barnstaple but failed to pick up the bonus point. But it is Chinnor, Taunton and Bishops Stortford that occupy the top three places, with all registering BP wins and their fixtures against promoted Ldn Irish WG (47-10), Redingensians (22-39) and Barnes (13-20) respectively.  Elsewhere there were wins for BSE who beat Clifton 30-10, Redruth who beat Henley 23-18 and Worthing who beat promoted Exmouth 10-22.

Nationa; 3(SE): After missing out narrowly last season TJs must be the preseason favourites this time around, and a 45-0 thrashing of Southend sees them top of the pile after the first weekend. Newly promoted Guildford sit just below them after they inflicted a 37-8 defeat on Cambridge based Shelford. There were also BP wins for Wimbledon and Guernsey, who beat Dorking (25-0) and Colchester (23-29) respectively. Combe were narrow 18-17 winners over Chichester, with wins also for S&E who beat A&C 5-32, and Hertford who were 13-19 winners at a Westcliff outfit that were reprieved from relegation last season due to East Grinstead’s demise.

London 1(S):  Sevenoaks are the early top dogs after they inflicted a heavy 47-0 defeat on a G&F side that struggled last season and look set for what could be another difficult campaign, Cobham, who came down last season sit just behind them after they thrashed Chiswick 11-51, with a CS Rugby side level transferred for Ldn 1(N) in third spot after they beat Dover 10-47.  Gravesend were 31-17 against Chobham, with Tottonians26-28 winners over Brighton. In the Kent derby Tunbridge Wells just squeaked the honours 14-15 at Maidstone, whilst for Havant and a Sidcup side who must be fancied for promotion this time around; they ended honours even with a  24-24 draw.

RFU Junior Vase:  There were 12 fixtures scheduled in the Junior vase preliminary round, none involved Kent clubs, but a full listing of results can be found on the London RFU website (click here)

The club is pleased to announce that in conjunction with Primary Sponsor, Hospitality Finder, the club will see their brand ambassadors, England Rugby legends and 2003 RWC winners Lawrence Dallaglio and Mike Tindall visit the club on Tues 27^th Sept.

The basic outline of the evening will be much the same as when Will Greenwood visited a couple of seasons ago, where they will be actively involved in the senior coaching session, interjecting where they feel they can add the most value.  Following that there will be a Q&A session in the bar which will essentially be an open forum, plus obviously the chance for a few photo opportunities as well.

This event is open to all club members and sponsors and provides a great opportunity to get up close with two giants of English rugby.

Keep an eye on the website for further details in due course.

Willow Way between the entrance to Mote Pk and the mini roundabouts at the Leisure Centre will be closed whilst road repairs are carried out during the period Tues 30 Aug - Sat 03 Sept.  Road work crews will allow access to The Mote and also to residents on the affected stretch of Willow Way during this period, although this will be at times be dependant on where specific works are taking place.

The work may not take the full 4-5 day period depending on the progress of the work crew and the weather conditions.

Players should be aware of this when attending training on Tues 30 Aug and Thurs 01 Sept as well as on Sat 03 Sept.  We ask that you plan sufficient time for your journey to the club and please exercise patience with the road repair crews who are doing all they can to reduce disruption and maintain access to Willow Way for those requiring it.

The club has informed Kent Highways of the timings for senior training on Tues & Thurs, as well as alerting them to the league fixture v Tunbridge Wells on Sat 03 Sept.

Your consideration is appreciated.

During the early weeks of the season the club's usual scoreboard operator and more importantly Programme Seller will be unavailable and the club is looking for a volunteers (or volunteers) to fill the role on a temporary basis until Francis returns.

Assistance is always welcome for these small but important match day roles, so if you also wish to help out on a more regular basis, then your assistance would be most welcome.

Anyone interested in helping the club in fill these roles should contact Carol McKenzie, the club's Volunteer Coordinator or Club Chairman Shaun Neaves in the first instance.

Match Programme Coordinator:  The success of the club in being able to generate sponsorship & advertising sales in recent seasons has meant that the Sponsorship Officers role has become greater than can be fulfilled by one person. Therefore in an effort to spread the workload the club is looking for a volunteer to take on the responsibility for the coordinating of the match programme for home league and cup 1st XV fixtures throughout the season. This is an enduring role throughout the season and requires liaison with the Sponsorship Officer during the closed season in respect of advertising content, and then arranging the the changing content for each edition.

Martin Arnold has fulfilled the role of assembling the matchday insert for the last 5-6 years and with a growing familly now needs to take a step back from this commitment, although will provide assistance to ensure a smooth handover in the early part of this role. The task is not unduly time consuming and requires some commitment to the initial formatting of the programme and an hour or so preparation for each edition.  A knowledge of desktop publishing is not required, but an interest in writing would be beneficial but is not essential as this is primarily a coordinating role. If you are interested in being part of the Sponsorship & Advertising Team and assisting in this rewarding role, please contact Bob Hayton in the first instance.

The Mote Cricket Club Colts section are holding a Fun Day on 15th August commencing at 10:00am, this event is not confined to the cricket club and young players (and parents) from Maidstone Rugby who may be interested in playing cricket are more than welcome to attend.

The Annual General Meeting for Maidstone Rugby will take place at The Mote on Tuesday 26th July 2016 at 8:00pm, following an eventful season, both on and off the pitch there will be plenty to be discussed and updated on.

Details of the agenda for the meeting will be posted here in due course.

If any members have any points or topics for discussion they should be submitted to the Hon Secretary in writing by Friday 15th July 2016.

Please make every effort to attend and have a say in the running of your club.

Minutes of the AGM held on Friday 10th July 2015 (click here)

After a 10 year hiatus and thanks to the organisation of Bob Beney & David Arnold, Thursday 14^th July saw an extremely successful Maidstone Rugby Golf Day reappear on the club’s social calendar.

Held in the pleasant surroundings of Bearsted Golf Club, 9 foursomes from the club membership, sponsors and associated organisations assembled for the traditional pre golf refreshments before teeing off in bright summer sunshine.  With a glorious afternoon’s golf completed the day was rounded off with the customary 19^th hole refreshments, followed by dinner and prize giving.

First prize in the team competition went to the foursome from Kent Police of M Whitehead, D Pascoe, H Dunk & R Peart whilst the individual award was won by R Peart.  Nearest the pin was won by the Mote CC’s P Heynes, whilst the longest drive with a massive 310 yds went to Ian Daniels from Caravelle Creative.

The club would like to thank Bob Beney and Dave Arnold for their work in reinvigorating this traditional club event, in addition to Alan Firmin, Britelite, Crowe Clark Whitehill and Caravelle Creative for their sponsorship support; and we look forward to the event re-establishing itself as an annual social fixture.

The draw for the coming season’s Shepherd Neame Kent Cup has been made and with 10 clubs having entered sees just the one tie in the 1^st Round where Dover will host Blackheath, with Maidstone drawn at home against the victors in the 2^nd Round draw.  Dates for the fixtures have yet to be finalised, although the competition organising committee are encouraging all clubs to use vacant RFU Cup weekends wherever possible.  Full details of the draw shown below.

1^st Round Draw

Dover v Blackheath

2^nd Round Draw

Sidcup v Canterbury

Maidstone v Dover or Blackheath

Westcombe Park v Gravesend

Tunbridge Wells v Tonbridge Juddian

For those that follow the rugby career of former Maidstone player Piers Francis the only Englishman currently playing in the southern hemispheres Super Rugby competition where he represents the Auckland based Blues.

This last week saw the Blues annual awards and on what was a glamorous night for the players and their partners, most of whom are accustomed to running out on green grass, not walking on the blue carpet

The evening acknowledged many milestones including special mention of the 11 new Blues players who began their Blues careers this season, of which Piers was one.  In a season that saw a number of new players step up into the Super Rugby level and make quite the impact Piers also received the Rookie of the Year award, presented by sponsors nib.  Piers picked up 10 caps during the season and although primarily a 10 the majority of his appearances were occupying the inside centre berth.

Was in not for the fact he’s based overseas could he perhaps be a solution to England’s midfield conundrum.

The club is pleased to announce that during the closed season the club’s sponsorship campaign continues to progress, although work on the 2016-17 season started midway through the last season.  Unfortunately, circumstances have meant that Pankhurst Contracting LLP have been forced to step aside as one of the club’s Primary Sponsors and we also say farewell to KH Engineering Svcs after a long association with the club, a lot of which was behind the scenes and on a purely altruistic basis. To both, we wish them every success in the future and are grateful for the support they have demonstrated to the club.

Hospitality Finder have reaffirmed their support for the 2016-17 season and the club is particularly pleased to announce that Firmin have made a substantial increase to their level of support, which will be under the branding of the Firmin Recruit and Firmin Xpress arms of the business.  Due to the timing this sponsorship doesn’t carry any additional exposure on the 1^st XV shirts to that already carried but will see significant extra pitchside coverage.  Finally, the region’s largest law firm Cripps Law have also raised their level of support as joint Primary Sponsors. 

Long term club Official Sponsors Britelite, Crowe Clark Whitehill, Glosrose Group and Alltask have all renewed their support for the forthcoming 2016-2017 season, although Alltask’s support will be done via their sister company Hehku for next season.  In addition, Linton Oil who were new sponsors for the 2015-16 campaign have also agreed to continue their support; additionally the club is pleased to welcome London based investment company Oakley Capital who have lent their support to the club as Official Sponsors with  Club Sponsors from last season Sharpak Aylesham who have agreed to  upgrade their level of support for the 2016-17 campaign. At Club Sponsor level Sibley Pares, FG Barnes, Ye Olde Thirsty Pig remain on board and are joined this season by Morlings Solicitors.  Communication is currently ongoing with the  other local and regional companies who have expressed an interest in supporting the club, in addition to work being conducted by Gemma who heads up the club's injury support team, in assembling some new partnerships to enhance the level of physiotherapy support provided by the club, whilst on the fitness front as part of the club’s preseason training regime Maidstone’s Topnotch Health Club have again agreed to maintain their significant 'Benefit in Kind' contradeal arrangement with the county town club.

The club has in recent seasons been looking for a partner for its coaching support programme in local schools and is particularly pleased to welcome Longfield based Bovis Homes, who have stepped forward as the club’s lead Community Partner.   

Maidstone rugby have a variety of sponsorship package templates available to suit all budgets, if you or your company would like to generate a positive local or regional profile in being seen to support high quality community based grassroots sport, then we would love to hear from you.

A change of role within the club has meant that Steve Quinn, the current incumbent is unable to continue in the Hon Secretary role  alongside his other critical role within the club committee.  In all fairness it  would be wrong to ask him to do so, especially given that so may of the critical roles within the club are filled by far too few volunteers.

The Hon Secretary role despite its title is not quite the onerous task it might seem, and is largely to act as a first point of contact for the club to outside agencies.  The role requires someone who is confident in manner, an effective communicator and with good administration skills.  For a full description of the role click here, or refer to the Role description Compendium on the Club Volunteer page of the website.

Members interested in volunteering for the role and making a positive contribution to the running of the club, should apply to the current incumbent Steve Quinn in the first instance.

Saturday 25^th June saw the club participating in this season’s RFU NatWest Rugby Force initiative. The day started very much on a rugby theme as volunteers assembled to watch England complete a 3-0 series whitewash over Australia before getting stuck into the various tasks. Some additional pitch reparations on the training pitch were completed, along with some other general industrial gardening tasks. The rugby posts were given a coat of paint as were the railings surrounding the 1^st XV pitch. In the clubhouse the expertise of Bearsted Building Services was in full swing, as the showers had a number of fixtures and fitting repaired or renewed. Whilst interference from the weather & a couple of technical hitches meant not everything was completed, the day certainly broke the back of the work required, and the day was rounded off with a BBQ kindly sponsored by the local Farleigh Hill branch of Tesco.

Many thanks to all those volunteers who gave their time and pitched in to help and also the club is extremely grateful to Aquarius Decorators, Glosrose Gp, City Plumbing Supplies, Travis Perkins and Tesco for the support for this community sport initiative.

The club is participating in this year's NatWest RugbyForce project on Saturday 25th June, and there's plenty to do at the club.  This year's project involves uprating the showers with new regulatorrs and shower heads in addition to a number of other maintenance tasks that need doing in preparation for the new season.

A lot of work has already been done to source the relevant items which have been donated thanks to the assistance of some local businesses.  there are posts to paint, some general garden type maintence and as ever there will also be a requirement for some general fetching and carrying.

So what do you need to do?  Well what's always needed in these circumstances are plenty of pairs of willing hands and the loan of some basic tools and equipment. 

Don't leave to the same few committed volunteers, it's your club, and if you don't have the time to do much else, Rugby Force day is the your one opportunity to lend a hand and then have a beer & a burger afterwards, and possiiblty a game of touch rugby.

So why not make a day of it, and pitch up and pitch in.

The day starts at 10:00am and is an opportunity to watch the 3rd Australia v England test match before getting stuck into the work that needs doing.

The fixtures schedule for the new season has been published, somewhat earlier than usual and with three more Kent clubs entering the division, bringing the total to six,  meaning the return of a number entertaining local derbies.

Maidstone open their account on Sat 3^rd Sept as they host promoted Tunbridge Wells before they take on Dover the following week, again at The Mote.  The 17^th Sept sees the shortest away trip of the season as the side travel to Sevenoaks for yet another local derby before they are back at The Mote on the last weekend of the month to host Tottonians.  Gravesend are the third of the Kent clubs to join the division, dropping down from National 3 (SE) and Maidstone host them in early October.  The last of the new sides to the division are CS Rugby 1863 who are near neighbours to Chiswick, and have been level transferred from London 1(N) where they finished fifth last season.  Maidstone will have to wait until the end of October to face them, again at The Mote.

The club website will be updated in due course, but in the meantime for full details of the fixture schedule click here

The county town club has a new coaching set up for the 2016-17 following the departure of Paul Hathaway and Stuart Thresher, whose contribution to one of the most successful periods in achieving an unbeaten promotion and national Intermediate Cup win at Twickenham should not be forgotten.

Mike Hebden will head up the senior coaching team season and work is already underway planning for the challenges ahead.  Mike will be supported by assistant coach Steve Milward, and Ben Massey in a player coach capacity.  Max Melville-Brown returns to the county town club where he began his playing career after a playing stint with near neighbours  Aylesford Bulls before coaching their successful ladies team and also at Beckenham where he coached their ladies side to their best ever season.

dave hughes will remain as touch judge but is standing aside from the 1st XV Managers role for next season, with both the 1^st XV & Mustangs XVs having new managers in place for next season, as club stalwarts Richard Weston and Richard Gray take over the administrative responsibilities for the respective sides. 

Gemma Skudder remains in place to head up the physiotherapy support and has done a lot of work already to broaden the scope of the support available for injury management, through the establishment of a number of partnerships with local medical and sports science organisations.

Saturday 21^st May, and very much in keeping with RFU’s commemoration of the World War I centenary, a party of 35 from the Veterans XV of Maidstone Rugby Club answer a call to play in a tournament at French club RC de Laon, to mark the 100^th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.

In what was the 31^st year of consecutive touring for Maidstone’s Veterans XV, they acquitted themselves well on the field of play, beating the veterans Xv from French club ACS Soissons, before losing narrowly to the host club RC de Laon, who ran out winners of their own mini-tournament by virtue of one win and one draw.  However, when it came to the traditional singing, the French and Brits gave equally good measure as they tried to out-sing one another and in the end, honours were just about even.

The Sunday saw a tour of the battlefields which had been organised by Veterans Xv skipper Adrian Clark, which included a visit to the Lochnagar crater and the Thiepval Memorial, where a short service was conducted and the ex-servicemen from the Maidstone contingent laid a wreath on behalf of Maidstone Veterans.

A Senior Squad meeting will be held on Tuesday 14th June at the Club. Food will be provided from 7.00pm. Meeting to begin at 7.30pm

This will be an opportunity for the new coaching/management team to present to the players. Pre-season, aims for the season, general information and also the introduction of new coaches/managers will all be covered.

All senior playing members are invited. This is also a great opportunity for new players to visit the club and meet current players and coaches.

In addition to matches v S Africa and Australia in November and December, there are two other Autumn internationals for which we the club is not constrained to a fixed ticket allocation and for which you might wish to apply for tickets, plus an additional fixture which sees Argentina play Australia as part of the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship (formerly the Tri-Nations) competition.  Dates and pricing details are as follows:

08 Oct: Australia v Argentina   KO tbc, Ticket Prices £80, £60, £40 (£20 in all three categories)

19 Nov: England v Fiji                 KO 14:30, Ticket Prices £50, £35, £25 (£15 in all three categories)

26 Nov: England v Argentina  KO 14:30 Ticket Prices £78, £70, £63, £55, £48, £37 (£20 in all categories) Note: This match is followed at 17:05hrs by England Ladies v Canada Ladies for which your match ticket will allow you to watch.

NB: Juniors prices in brackets

If you are interested, could you please contact Steve Vincent with your ticket requirements (and in what price categories) so the club can submit bids accordingly.  The closing date for bids is in mid-August, although given that it is the holiday period it is requested that your bids are submitted to Steve by mid-July at the latest.

​NB: Please note that you can bid for tickets for the fixtures against S Africa and Australia, and an announcement will be published on the website for that process in due course. 

The winners draw made in April of the final 500 Club draw for the 2015-16 season are as follows:

£100 - Geoff Burr

£50 - Rob Lindsay

£30 - Gordon Diment

You've got to be in it, to WIN it!!

Whilst Maidstone has produced many high profile players, it may well be that we are in the early stages of seeing a new talent emerge in the form of a referee.

Jonathan Ayten is a committed and hardworking U16 prop (who also likes to take the odd place kick!!) and has been with the club since 2010 having previously played at Millwall Rugby Club since he was 7 years old.

In recent years he has been actively pursuing his interest in refereeing having passed both his level 1 and 2 courses. Jonathan is studying at Valley Park who are keen to develop rugby at the school and helped fund his course. The club also provide coaching for a successful after schools rugby club as part of a funding arrangement with Kent Sports.

In order to develop his skills and experience he has been supporting the rugby coaching at the school, ladies on a Monday and  U13’s on a Friday. He then ref’s their end of session games, where hopefully they have listened to the advice given!

Additionally he also ref’d u13’s games, a schools tournament and the Women’s and Girls Kent 7’s tournament.

He is a member of the RFU Young Rugby Ambassador programme, receiving his first award for 10 hours of voluntary work in the game.

His application is now in to join the Kent Referees Society….so you heard it here first, keep an eye on this bright youmg talent. Also, as with any referee he is more than willing to offer his opinion however he needs to remember not to do it when he is a prop!

Maidstone brought the curtain down on the 2015-16 season with the traditional annual awards dinner held at Rianos in Maidstone.  The evening recognises the contributions made during the season, both on and off the pitch with the presentation of both team and club awards.

This seasons team award winners were as follows:

Head Coach's award - Lucien Morosan

Veterans XV (Mike Shaples Plate) - Simon Randall

Darbarians XV (Captains Shield) - Gary Griffiths

Development XV - Jacob Taylor

Mustangs XV - Alex Clark

1st XV - Hugh Cowan

The Club awards recipients were:

David Arnold Young Player Award - Tom Chandler

Bernard Hinks Award (Non Player) - Gavin Allwright

Bernard Hinks Award (Senior Player) - Craig Tuffrey

Bernard Hinks Award (1st XV Player) - Rory Beech

Millenium Cup (Team of the Year) - Barbarians XV

As Maidstone relinquish their tenure as RFU Intermediate Cup holders and Kent looks to make it back to back victories for the county, it appears that the club will still have some involvement in Tunbridge Wells' big day at Twickenham.

Club Captain Ben Williams will be part of the BBC Radio Kent broadcast team covering the match.  As someone who to use the cliche ' has been there, done it and got the T-shirt', Ben will be joining Radio Kent regulars Matt Cole and Graham Cox as the match summariser and after Maidstone's success last year will be providing his tactical thoughts, insight and appreciation into the match and also the build up and finale.

Could this be the start of a new career?  As Ben openly admits, he has the ideal face for radio!!!

You can listen to Ben on Radio Kent (KO is 3:00pm) and if you want to watch the match the RFU are running a live video stream on their webite (click here)

Friday 29^th April saw Maidstone Rugby’s Immediate Past President Bob Beney on hand on behalf of the Wooden Spoon Society to announce the official opening of the new Woodland Tower play area at the Five Acre Wood School in Maidstone.  The school is located just a few minutes from the town centre and caters for students between the ages of 4-19 yrs with a wide range of additional educational needs within the profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties, complex needs, challenging behaviour, sensory impairments and autistic spectrum.

Commenting on the day, Bob said it was an honour to be asked to represent the Wooden Spoon Society and that he found the whole event both a “humbling and moving experience”

Without doubt the biggest game on Saturday was taking place at Twickenham as the Army faced the navy in the traditional encounter for the Babcock Trophy.  Or as many would describe it, “the world’s biggest reunion, cunningly disguised as a rugby match”.  Having said that, there are not many matches at this level that could fill a stadium the size of Twickenham.   In what was a bruising encounter the navy fought back from 26-7 down to 26-26 going into the final minutes.  An army penalty with only five minutes remaining but some poor discipline saw the navy tie the game up with a long range penalty of their own to see the match end as a 29-29.   The result saw the navy take the Inter-services honours, having beaten the RAF 9-8, with the Army losing to the same opponents 13-12.  There are not many tournaments where you’ll end up with results as tight as that.

National 1: with Richmond having already secured the title and promotion to the Championship their narrow 39-40 loss at home to fifth placed Plymouth Albion affected little, other than taking the gloss off the day for the home side.  For Blackheath, they won 45-17 against Blaydon, and whilst that moved them up to third place, wins for Hartpury (68-21) against Hull Ionians and Ampthill (20-13) at home to Esher meant that only 2 points separated 2^nd from fifth in the table.  At the bottom, defeats for relegated Henley 12-31 to Rosslyn Pk and Cinderford, 52-22 at the hands of DMP ended their poor seasons, but at least Wharfedale went out with a bang, beating Coventry 28-24.  The remaining match saw Loughborough St beat Fylde 57-17.

National 2(S): the county’s clubs finished the season in 9^th and 10^th places with Elthamians losing out 31-38 at home to taunton, whilst Canterbury posted a final day win, with a $!-31 victory over Barnes.  At the top both Cambridge and O Albanians both won, with Cambridge’s 52-14 thrashing of relegated dorking enough to give them the title and promotion back to Nat 1 at the first time of asking.  O Albanians hammered bottom club Launceston 90-3 but will have to face off against Sedgely Park to retake their place in the division above.  At the bottom, the other relegated side in Southend completed a miserable day for the bottom three clubs with a 45-26 defeat at Chinnor.  In the remaining fixtures, Redruth and Redingensians fought out a 33-33 draw, whilst Worthing edged out Clifton 27-26 and third placed Bishops Stortford beat BSE 41-29.

London 2 (SE):  Tunbridge Wells had been scheduled to play their postponed fixture against Crowborough, but with Wells having already secured the title and Crowborough avoiding relegation, agreement between both clubs and the league committee now means that the fixture will not be played and recorded as void.

Promotion Playoffs: 

National 3:  Heartbreak for TJs as they lost out in their playoff with Barnstaple 30-31, going down with what was the last kick of the match.  Having started brightly and taking an early lead, the visitors then came back and went into the interval with the score at 13-21.  TJs took the initiative in the second half and led 27-21 early in the final quarter before Barnstaple came back at them to lead 28-27.  A TJs penalty close to full time gave them the lead but is was a Barnstaple penalty deep in stoppage time that saw the final kick of the match bisect the posts to deny the Kent side.

In the other playoff at this level Hinckley beat Wirral 33-20.

London 1: with Ldn 1(N) club Amersham & Chiltern returning to Nat 3(SE) at the first time of asking Tring were looking to do the same as they hosted Guildford for the playoff match.  The hosts took an early lead in what was a tight first half battle with the score at 14-7 to Tring at half-time.  Guildford levelled the score in the third quarter before Tring again led 21-14 midway through the last stanza.  Two tries for the visitors in the last five minutes against a tiring Tring side were enough to take the match and promotion with a 21-26 scoreline.

London 2: Sevenoaks hosted Ldn Cornish, who after losing out to Medway last season were looking to make it second time lucky.  After the early exchanges saw a penalty apiece it was Oaks who settled the better, scoring four tries at regular intervals with only two  Ldn Cornish penalties in response to lead 29-9 at the interval.  However, it was the visitors that played the stronger second half as they came back at their hosts. An Oaks yellow card provided the catalyst for a couple of Ldn Cornish tries  pulled the score back to 29-23 before the hosts steadied the ship with another try and a late penalty  enough to keep them out of reach despite another Cornish try and take the win 37-28.

In the playoff for promotion to Ldn 1(N), Sudbury beat Hammersmith & Fulham 28-18

Kent 1/Sussex 1: With all the action in the higher division amongst the so called ‘big guns’ it would be easy to miss the fact that there was also the playoff taking place for promotion to Ldn 3(SE), with Kent 1 club O Williamsonians travelling to face the once mighty Haywards Heath.  In what was quite a tussle with five yellow cards dished out it was the home side that held their nerve to win 13-8 despite a brave effort by O Wills to overturn a 13-0 half-time deficit.

Shepherd Neame Kent Cup competitions

Kent Cup Final: Westcombe Park v Blackheath.  Combe took the county title in what was a close contest with a 16-12 win over Blackheath

Kent Shield Final: Aylesford Bulls v Sevenoaks.  The day’s hosts won the inaugural Shield title after the impact of two key games in two days took its toll on Sevenoaks who put out a young side featuring a number of their colts and succumbed to a more powerful Aylesford side that ran out comfortable 45-8 winners.

Kent Plate Final: O Dunstonians v Maidstone.  Maidstone took the Plate trophy by a walkover as unfortunately Old Dunstonian were unable to field a side for the Plate Final and  whilst Canterbury RFC, as losing semi-finalists were offered the opportunity to compete, they were unable to do so at such short notice.

Kent Vase & Salver Finals: Unfortunately  not all scores available at the moment but it was a good day for the two sides promoted from Kent 2 this season as Snowdown comfortably overcame Beccehamians 31-5 to take the Vase, whilst Kent 2 champions Sittingbourne overcame the challenge from Southwark Lancers to win the Salver.

The club is delighted to announce the reappearance on the calendar of a club Golf Day in what we hope will become an annual event.  This year’s event will take place on Thursday 14^th July at Bearsted Golf Club.

The day will be run with teams of 4 on a full handicap ‘Stapleford’ format; best three scores from four, and is scheduled to start at 1:30pm with coffee and bacon rolls prior to the golf, with tee off times from 2:00pm.  There will be a dinner in the evening at 7:00pm to accompany the prize giving.

Dress for the event is normal golfing attire on the course, and smart casual in the evening and guests are welcome at the dinner.

The day provides a great opportunity from both a business and social perspective for teams from both our members and sponsors along with their clients,  to mix and enjoy a day’s golf at what is a lovely venue in Bearsted.

The cost for the day is £50 per head (£200 per team of four), If you want to play but don't have a team then the event organiser can find a team for you.

In respect of the event organisation and coordination, this is being led by our immediate Past President, Bob Beney and if you wish to be involved in the event, either as an individual or entering a team, could I ask that communication is directed to him at the contact details below.  Those of you who are golfers will know that events such as this prove extremely popular and there are likely to be limited places for teams and individuals, so a prompt indication of interest to Bob would be appreciated.

click here to email Bob Beney

Tickets are now available for this years Summer Ball which will be held at the Village Hotel.  Last year's ball was a roaring success so if you would like to join us for another great night then please contact either Neil or Sharon Cole on 07709 443245 (Neil) or 07795 491892 (Sharon) or alternativelu by email (click here).