That is a serious array of young exciting talent.....Caldy's geriatrics will need to ensure they don't shirk their stretches and pre match warm up or they may not be able to leave the bar to watch what could be a cracking encounter.........

The Championship match at Paton Field Stadium is competing with the big local clash of Birkenhead Park v Anslemians which is likely to be a bruising affair......I am going to put the Park v Annies clash on record and watch it after the match at Paton Field Stadium finishes

Carry On Caldy, an example to Community Rugby 🏉  and a junior club made good.

You'll doubtless face teams with players on the escalators of their career and those in a holding pattern until Premiership clubs work out their finances.

I know Cambridge had their moment of madness a few years back nut am amazed that HMRCare so  allegedly lenient.

I digress - good fortune tomorrow, I've never visited the shack but am sure that Nottingham supporters will receive a warm welcome.

I did try to organise a special selection of Pot Noodles for the Nottingham guests but Amazon missread my order and I now have six deep fat friers and six pairs of Long Johns............I was of course hoping for 6 Friar Tuck and 6 Little John speciality Pot Noodles

The Merseyside location did help with the Robin pot noodles though......they fell off the back of the Amazon lorry

I hope that the Nottingham lads have their drinking boots on because Caldy have a 3rd team fixture at home as well on Saturday against Ramsey's 1st xv. Ramsey are flying in from the Isle of Man for the game and they are sure to bring a good level of support with them. 

The Caldy 3rd xv has some serious talent turning out with upwards of a dozen replacements.........unfortunately none of these were registered in time to feature against Nottingham

Over catering there BE

Very good Brizzer............in the days when the big game of the season was Caldy v Fylde (what battles they were!) our in house catering team, the famous 'Wylies' used to serve up Ox Tail as a special treat......I am not sure it was to Big Bill Beaumont's liking.

On the first occasion we ever played Fylde it was at level 4 ....Caldy were on our way up and had just arrived at level 4. Caldy had a long standing reputation of being perhaps a little too nice......Fylde came to enforce their status in the old fashioned manner and Caldy's response was swift, brutal and involved all 15 starting Caldy players ..........for the next decade it was ever thus .......with a certain Nick Royle being one of Fylde's real danger men......(not in the hard stuff though!).

I think Eel pie with an eel textured Pot Noodle as a chaser would be a brilliant way to welcome Ealing to the Paton Field Stadium

I have never been to Jersey but along with most of Caldy I am travelling for the away leg. What I know about Jersey is everyone who lives there is fabulously rich and is employed in Financial Services....I will think long and hard about an appropriate menu.......however I am concerned that the Paton Field Stadium may seem somewhat limited in comparison with the Stade Santander International Stadium

Does the Stade Santander International have mix and match wooden benches or are they configured in a state of the art uniform fashion?

The Ravers squad for the home match against Nottingham RFC at the Paton Field Stadium

 8 players who came through Caldy's Mini & Junior teams (7 starters)

 5 players who came to Caldy from other Wirral rugby clubs

 6 players who have played for Caldy for more than 5 years

 3 players who have recently moved into the area with their work

 1 player who lives in Widnes but probably would like to live on the Wirral

 0 players who are dual registered with other clubs

13 of the squad are Wirral born and bred and the other lads are Ravers by choice and assimilation

 Coaching staff comprises

 1 DOR who came through Caldy's junior and senior teams

 1 Head Coach who came to Caldy from another Wirral rugby club

 3 Coaches who played for Caldy for more than 5 years 

A big shout out to the other Wirral rugby clubs who have been instrumental in helping develop some of Caldy's current squad

Birkenhead Park RFC - Tom Clarke

Anselmians RFC - Martin Gerrard

Wirral RFC- Ryan Higginson, Joe Murray, Tom Parry

Financially impoverished but stable is probably more accurate backrowb. Caldy has no debt and a very limited budget but little in the way of infrastructure other than what has been God given:

- the most wonderful of locations with a vista across the River Dee to North Wales & Snowdonia

- a fast and true playing surface on Thurstaston sandstone

- a staggering number of youngsters from Under 6s to Under 18s

- a remarkable ancient wooden but happy clubhouse that is cheap to heat when crowded with revellers

- a band of dedicated mostly ancient but happy volunteers led by the 'Last of the Summer Wine'

- a collective sense of humour born from the proximity to Liverpool

- a great community culture

- Nick Royle

Or what we used to call "a club".

The delay was a bummer. 

I spoke with the Caldy team doctor and the doctor who was with the ambulance to ascertain the reason for the delay. There was a profuse apology from the ambulance people. They had entered the day of the match into their internal systems as 29 September 2022 rather than 24 September 2022....they would have turned up promptly this coming Thursday!

Also a huge apology from me that you didn't get a famous Pot Noodle lunch. Profuse apologies that you had to make do with roast beef, roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables.......another bummer.

As for the game ......the Caldy lads will be gutted.......a harsh lesson. Last season we would have closed that one out for sure........this season every mistake is a likely score for the opposition and so it proved yesterday.........

Caldy will improve for the learning...