Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Rugby ready to bounce back 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.”