Since our last newsletter entry, the start of the season has been rather stuttered with a number of games being called off. This is a problem that many Thanet teams face with many opposition sides not willing or able to make the long 1-hour journey down.
Old Gravesendians RFC and Edenbridge were due to visit to play our 2nd XV but called off with a few days notice citing a shortage of players. Unfortunately there is not much that we can do about that but we keep trying and we get on the road as much as we can to get game time.
The 2nd XV have had one game with Maidstone from NC3 (the division between our 2 sides) coming down to play our genuine 2nd XV and we won that 43-0. Might be the reason why teams don’t want to come down?!?
The 1st XV have had two games, a home game against Canterbury 1st XV (playing a division above us) which we showed well but ultimately lost 22-0. It was a good performance from the ladies and despite the defeat it showed us how far we have come.
Then in our first league game on 24th Sept, we welcomed Southend Saints and beat them convincingly 53-17 featuring a star hat-trick performance from Rachael Austerberry in the #12 shirt. That showed us where we are as Southend had finished third in this league last year.
Sunday 8th October was the first round of the Junior Cup in which we were due to travel to Folkestone but they also cancelled with a shortage of players. So now we face Ashford in the second round on Sunday 29th October 2023, only 6 games from a day out at Twickenham! But that’s a long way off; one game at a time.
The next time you can see the ladies in actions at St. Peter’s is as a curtain raiser for the men’s 1st XV on Saturday 14th October where both men and ladies will play Cranbrook on the main pitch. The ladies will KO at 1pm followed by the men at 3pm so that should be a belting day out at the club.
If you are interested in trying out ladies rugby at the club, get in touch with Ian Lodge on 07890 426685. And you don't need any experience at all, just a good attitude and work ethic. We can teach you the rest! The Ladies train every Tuesday evening at the club between 6.30pm and 8.00pm with matches taking place typically on a Sunday with early afternoon KOs during the playing season (from September to April).
05 October 2023
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