The long wait is almost over as Kettering get ready to return

Kettering Rugby Club will play their first league game for 18 months this weekend
Kettering's Waverley Road home will stage a league match for the first time since March last year on SaturdayKettering's Waverley Road home will stage a league match for the first time since March last year on Saturday
Kettering's Waverley Road home will stage a league match for the first time since March last year on Saturday

It’s been 18 months since league action graced Kettering Rugby Club’s Waverley Road home.

But the Blues’ long wait will be over this weekend when they take on Peterborough in the opening game of the Midlands One East season.

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The last time Kettering played a first-team fixture, they were still in Midlands Premier as they shared a 19-19 draw with Bromsgrove on March 7 last year.

Once the Covid-19 pandemic struck, rugby suffered more than most sports and Kettering were demoted on a points system while no league action was possible in the 2020-21 season.

However, the new campaign begins in earnest on Saturday and head coach Brett Sturgess admitted there is a lot of excitement in the air.

“We have had the lads in for a while now and they are champing at the bit,” he said.

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“It’s going to be an exciting day and it will be great to get the league back up and running.

“It seems a million moons ago that we had that great year and got promoted.

“With the league position we finished in during the Midlands Premier season, it showed it was a tough struggle.

“But we felt like we were coming into a bit of form and we felt we could survive but we got demoted and that’s just the way it was.

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“We have had quite a big turnaround in players since then and it’s a different make-up of the side.

“George Newman did a great job as captain but he has stepped down and Steve Fraher has come in to do that and he is a senior player who has been there for a few years.

“There are some old heads but there will definitely be some young guys, which is exciting.

“There are guys who finished playing Colts a year ago who haven’t played any senior rugby and the challenge is for us to get them up and running in senior games.

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“We have tried to do that in pre-season, although we haven’t had as many games as we would have liked.

“But we feel we are there or thereabouts as far as training is concerned.”

Off the pitch, it’s simply been a battle for survival for local rugby clubs with fundraising efforts taking place to ensure they could come through the financial impact of the pandemic.

Sturgess, himself, ran a marathon around the Waverley Road pitches to raise much-needed funds.

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“It’s well documented that a lot of rugby clubs have struggled and Kettering are no exception,” the head coach added.

“We all played a part in fundraising during the lockdown but the club really started to come alive with the beer and music festival a couple of weeks ago.

“There has been a bit of normality, especially with the rugby starting up again.

“We have got a sell-out in the hospitality for this weekend so people are really getting on board. I guess they have been starved of any local rugby so there is a real buzz around the place.”

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Sturgess enjoyed a successful professional playing career, representing the likes of Northampton Saints, Connacht and Exeter Chiefs.

Having retired from the professional game, Sturgess was still combining playing with coaching at Kettering where his career started.

But he insists his sole focus is now on the coaching side of the game.

He said: “I am 40 soon so I want to try to concentrate on the coaching side, I haven’t done that since I finished as a professional. I have always been playing as well as coaching.

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“There are a lot of good young players coming through and even though I played at a high level, age catches up with you and the guys who are coming through will do a better job than I can at my age.

“If we happen to be a couple of props down at some stage then I won’t allow them to not put a side out and I would put my boots back on but, as it stands at the start of the season, I’m not planning on playing.”

The other local clubs must wait a little bit longer for the start of their seasons.

Wellingborough begin their Midlands Two East (South) campaign on Saturday, September 25 as do Rushden & Higham and Stewarts & Lloyds in Midlands Three East (South) and Wellingborough OGs in Midlands Four East (South).