CANTERBURY

Chairman Giles Hilton has spoken of Canterbury’s ambitions to return to National 1 rugby - but there’s a tricky spell to negotiate first.

The club have cut their cloth accordingly during the Covid-19 pandemic, having expressed bankruptcy fears back in March. They’re keeping costs to a minimum and have been boosted by a fundraising campaign that’s generated about £18,000.

That should help see them through what Hilton describes as a “dangerous” few months.

Asked where Canterbury were likely to emerge from the pandemic, he said: “Frankly, at this time, it’s difficult to know because we’ve got four or five months to go.

“If we can keep the same model going - low income, low cost - that’s fine, but as soon as the costs start rising for any reason, that’s where we’ve got to be really careful.

“If we can get back to Tier 1 by March that should mean we can hold a number of socially distanced functions and fundraisers, then we’ll be OK.

“If you do your budgets, you make money in August, September, October, you break even in November, and you lose money in December, January, February, because of low crowds, the weather and cancellations. If we can hold on during these three months and not incur too many costs, we’ll be fine.

“We’ve been incredibly lucky with the support we’ve had from donations, the sponsors who’ve been able to stay with us, and the membership.

“Everybody’s been really supportive of what we’ve tried to do. You don’t expect as a volunteer to have to go into business-critical situations.

“If you’re in a management role at work you probably get put through business-critical training but in a voluntary role there’s been an awful lot asked of not just the committee but everyone who volunteers in terms of making sure we do things right. It’s been challenging.”

Canterbury, who have already shut down training until the new year for all teams and age groups, saw their 1st XV relegated back to National 2 South after one season in National 1.

With the season cut short by Covid, they went down on projected results.

There’s considerable costs involved at that level of rugby and Canterbury have to find a way round that next time.

“Everybody was delighted to have a season in National 1,” said Hilton. “Is it something we’d like to have another go at? Yes, in two or three years’ time.

“Is it a challenge geographically? Yes. And is it a challenge for the type of club we are? Yes, it is, because we hang our hat on being as community orientated as possible, with as many sides as possible, from seniors to ladies, minis and youth.

“You probably need a playing budget of £500,000 to cope with National 1.

“We haven’t got that so if we do have the good fortune to get promoted again, we’ve got to make sure we have the player base and the finances to do it.

“If National 2 South is our level, then it’s our level, but you always need to aim to go higher.

“We don’t want to buy our way there. We want to create a pathway for local players and we probably need to be more organised than we were last time, but budgets and money count up there.

“You need £300,000 more to be sustainable in National 1 than National 2 South. It’s a big ask, and that’s not just player costs, it might be travel, coaching costs, medical staff.”

TONBRIDGE JUDDIANS

Tonbridge Juddians head coach Peter Dankert is happy for his players to train with other clubs to help their fitness.

A number of TJs players live outside Kent so members of Dankert's first-team squad have been training with Sussex sides including Haywards Heath and Worthing or with teams in metropolitan Kent to avoid crossing into what was Tier 3 Kent.

"Covid has delayed training and with the tier system and Kent being in Tier 3, we've not been able to train together," said Dankert. "We've got players that live and work in London so they can't cross tiers to train with us.

"We trained with our Kent-based players last week and then the amateur sides came in to train alongside us to make sufficient numbers.

"The players have had strength and conditioning coaching guides to follow but I've told them that if their local club is training and it's safe for them to go there to have a run and blow away the cobwebs then by all means they can do it.

"Clubs have got to be pro-active to keep their players fit and healthy as much as they can."

TJs won promotion to National 1 as runners-up in a curtailed campaign last season.

Covid has delayed rather than derailed their plans. With many clubs at the higher level operating with big budgets, Dankert knows the size of the task facing his squad.

"We don't have the buying power that a lot of the teams in the division have," said Dankert.

"There's two levels, those that have it and those that have just enough. We'll take every game in our stride when we do get to play.

"We're based on a team that has played together for a number of years but we're under no illusions next year, staying up is our main aim.

"We've got people who like to analyse games and things like that during this break. We've been able to look at our game plans but until we're up and running we won't know how useful that will be.

"We know that we're going to have to compete up front. It's going to be difficult - that's for sure."

TJs didn't really get the chance to celebrate promotion with the league standings finalised during the first national lockdown.

"We've not been able to get together," added Dankert. "We had a socially-distanced BBQ presentation with the rest of the club but many people didn't attend which I understand.

"When we can do it, then I'm sure we'll get together and have a celebratory beer. But the key now is the season ahead and that's where our main focus is."

The hope was that The NCA Cup will get under way in February. TJs have been joined by Blackheath, Canterbury, Old Elthamians and Worthing Raiders in their group.

"I think it will be difficult to play the NCA Cup with the way the infection rates are rising at the moment," said Dankert.

"The NCA Cup is going to be good preparation for us if it goes ahead. It will be a different type of game with no driving mauls or scrums but it's a way for clubs to get back up and running and to play matches."

MEDWAY

Prior to Tier 4 restrictions being introduced, Medway were looking forward to a challenging new year on the field.

With the regular season cancelled, London 1 South side Medway had been placed in a six-team group of clubs from the south east, and all of their opponents are ranked a level above.

Coach Taff Gwilliam is eager to get back to action when it’s safe to do so - senior training was cancelled when Kent and Medway were put in Tier 3 restrictions - and feels the local cluster league (if it goes ahead as planned) will be a great experience for his young team, ahead of what they hope will be a return to normal service for the 2021/22 campaign.

Gwilliam accepts some of the parts of the game that make rugby what it is, including mauls and scrums, will be excluded when action gets back under way at a local level, but anything is better than nothing right now.

The Medway head coach said: “We are a level six club and the cluster we are in every other club is level five so it is going to be a great test and we are looking forward to it.

“We have got a very young squad, with a couple of lads who have joined us and those lads who have come through our development we are really pleased with. It is exciting to have such a young squad.

“There will be no promotion or relegation so we can give experience to younger players and develop them quickly.

“We have got some great lads coming up, some from local schools and other lads within the club who don’t go to rugby playing schools but have worked hard in our system. We are producing a lot of good young talent.

“This will keep the game going and give the players some competition before hopefully we go back to something like normal next season, especially now that the vaccination programme has started. Hopefully that will lead to a much better scenario for us to play competitive rugby next season.”

Medway are expected to be up against Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, Westcombe Park, Sidcup and Dorking. Fixtures, home and away. If crowds are allowed and bars open then it will give clubs much needed income and players much needed action. Once again, all is in the balance due to Covid.

Rugby has suffered more than most, by the nature of the sport. The local format was planned to start towards the end of January but rules will be adapted to lessen the contact.

It’s been a long wait for some competitive action and Gwilliam said: “It has been frustrating, as it has been for everyone, and from a coaching point of view it is concerning about how much damage Covid has done for the game as a whole.

“It is a physical contact game and contact has been banned virtually since March 23. Other sports have been allowed to continue because there is less contact. Until we return to play we don’t know how many players we have potentially lost to other sports, which is a general concern, and there is also the loss of revenue.

“A lot of clubs rely on the income from their bar, their members and sponsorship etcetera. It is a real difficult scenario for all of us involved in the game of rugby union. We’re frustrated, worried, concerned and really keen to get back to some sort of normality as soon as possible.”

That lack of contact won’t be good news for those players who thrive on it but Gwilliam will be keeping the forwards fully involved in an adapted version. The RFU say there will be no scrums or mauls in the game and where the game would restart with a scrum, this will be replaced with a free-kick.

He said: “I can’t speak for other clubs but even though there will be no scrums, we will pick props. We want them to keep match fit and conditioned and it is not about winning and losing these games, it is about playing the ball not the scoreboard, and looking to enhance the areas of their ability that we can within the context of the limited contact that we are allowed.”

ASHFORD

Ashford took another step towards playing again when they resumed contact training.

The double promotion winners have been back on the training ground since the second lockdown finished but were looking to start to raise the bar before the latest Covid restrictions came into effect.

“We got back to training last week,” said chairman John Norman, speaking last week. “We’ve only had one session since coming back from the second lockdown, and we managed to do quite a bit of fitness and stuff.

“We’ll start to do a bit of contact this week, the first since March, which will be quite nice.

“We’re not doing huge amounts before Christmas but hopefully in the new year we’ve got some friendly fixtures coming up.

“It’s still slightly strange times but we’re heading in the right direction.

“Being in Tier 3 doesn’t help us a great deal but we’re doing what we can.

"We’re can’t open the clubhouse or the bar but at least we’re back on the pitch and the minis and juniors are all back at training.

“Numbers are good and hopefully after Christmas they will build right up.

“So it’s more positive than it was but who knows what the new year is going to bring?

Ashford have enjoyed back-to-back promotions from Kent 1 to London 2 South East.

There’s no league rugby this year, the RFU moving early to cancel the season, but friendly matches should give Ashford a chance to play.

Norman said: “It’s still funny times and with no competitive league it’s always going to be a different than normal.

“We do what we can to try and keep people interested and when we can do some stuff in the clubhouse, we will do.

"Hopefully the Six Nations will help in the bar if we’re allowed by then, that’s the plan anyway.”

Finances were never the issue for Ashford, a point Norman made in the summer. They just want to be playing rugby.

“We were in a reasonable financial position at the end of last season,” said Norman.

“We don’t pay players, and we’ve done what we can to save money.

“We’ll be all right, we’ll survive this year quite easily, but the sooner we can get back to playing rugby, the better.”

The above interviews were all carried out and written prior to Kent being moved into Tier 4 Covid restrictions.

Additional reporting: Luke Cawdell and Matthew Panting

Read more: All the latest sports news in Kent