Kent Ravens will be holding a Christmas party at new home Princes Park this coming Friday.
Fans will be able to take advantage of the excellent hospitality facilities at the state of the art stadium in Dartford which hosted its first rugby league game back in August. The event will provide a fitting setting for The Ravens to celebrate the remarkable progress made both on and off the pitch since foundation in 2004. The club has made real efforts to develop community ties in the area, especially the tireless work carried out by the Bacon family.
The fun starts at 7pm with admission free for all. For more details see the Ravens website.
Showing posts with label Kent Ravens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kent Ravens. Show all posts
Tuesday, 18 December 2007
Saturday, 4 August 2007
Skolars win but fail to spoil Ravens party
A party atmosphere descended on Princes Park, Dartford, last night as the Kent Ravens Rugby League team made their inaugural appearance at the new state of the art stadium. A crowd of around 500 were entertained by a full-blooded and at times frenetic Rugby League Conference Premier clash between the Ravens and visitors London Skolars.
The nerves of the Ravens players were palpable as the opening kick sailed out on the full and the Skolars used the resulting penalty to put them under early pressure. The Skolars almost capitalised immediately with the standoff’s clever dinking kick along the ground into the corner proving just too deep for the impressive speedster on the right wing.
The Ravens then took their chance to attack and a scoot from the play the ball by the fullback caught out the Skolars defence who resorted to giving away a penalty for holding down. The Kent side built on the possession to work the ball across the field, with forward Steve Scanlan showing great strength to bulldoze over the line and write a little piece of history with the first try at Princes Park four minutes in to the game. The Ravens lead lasted just three minutes, the Skolars right winger finding a gap out wide with his own scooting run into the corner to level the scores.
It was twenty minutes before the next score was to arrive, the Skolars kept the ball alive with some ambitious offloads which saw them eventually crash over close to the sticks. Skipper Kurt Pittman added the conversion to give his side a 6-point lead. This was the sign that the men from New River were to hit their first purple patch of the game, two minutes later a break and clever pass from the standoff found the fullback running an intelligent line to touch down beneath the sticks. A brave rally from the Ravens required some gutsy try line defence to deny them before the Skolars pulled out a long range move down the left hand touchline to find themselves under the sticks again.
The closing ten minutes of the first-half were to be a showcase for the Skolars right centre-wing partnership, first a break down the right hand flank saw the winger push the ball back inside as he was dragged into touch to put his centre in, then three minutes later the centre reciprocated with a long looping pass to send his winger into the corner following a well worked move orchestrated by the scrumhalf.
Despite some tired the legs, the Ravens remained committed and their persistence was rewarded with a second try when Daniel Smart smashed his way over on thirty nine minutes, with Thomas Claridge adding on the conversion to send the sides in to the break at 10 – 30.
The first five minutes of the second half saw both teams step up in attack, with both bombing gilt-edged chances with dropped balls under the challenge of some brutal, bone crunching defence. However, it took just eight minutes before the Skolars right centre found a way through some flat defence to stride away into the corner for the first try of the second half.
The Ravens again rallied and put the visitors under the most concerted period of pressure in the whole game. The home sides won themselves a series of back to back sets via a goal line dropout and a penalty for holding down, but despite being virtually camped on the opposition line they could find no way through. At times the scenes were almost slapstick as the Skolars defenders hurled themselves in front of the Ravens juggernaut in desperate, last ditch attempts to hold the line.
The Skolars finally broke the Ravens resolve on the hour mark, a solid set of six in attack punched them down the field and a drive over from close range extended the lead to 10 – 38. A minute later the standoff latched on to an offload thirty metres out to jink his way over and the floodgates had opened as the Skolars entered their second purple patch of the game. Three more tries followed in close succession as the visitors took advantage of some tiring defence on the Ravens left hand flank, before the right wing broke on the opposite side to feed the fullback for the final try on seventy five minutes.
To their credit the Ravens refused to let their heads go down and continued to take the fight to the Skolars to the very end, earning a standing ovation off the field from the vociferous partisan crowd. Ultimately it was the greater experience of the Skolars, many with experience in National League Two, which made the difference. The Skolars were quicker to get the second and third man to the tackle, showed more awareness in their support running and slicker handling of the ball in particular the crisp distribution of hooker Kurt Pittman from the play the ball.
Kent Ravens have come along way in the last three years and despite what the score line may suggest the side have great potential that will develop as they progress along their own learning curve. In Princes Park the Ravens have a stadium to be proud of and in Kent Ravens the town of Dartford has a rugby league side to be proud of.
Kent Ravens: (10) 10
London Skolars: (30) 68
The nerves of the Ravens players were palpable as the opening kick sailed out on the full and the Skolars used the resulting penalty to put them under early pressure. The Skolars almost capitalised immediately with the standoff’s clever dinking kick along the ground into the corner proving just too deep for the impressive speedster on the right wing.
The Ravens then took their chance to attack and a scoot from the play the ball by the fullback caught out the Skolars defence who resorted to giving away a penalty for holding down. The Kent side built on the possession to work the ball across the field, with forward Steve Scanlan showing great strength to bulldoze over the line and write a little piece of history with the first try at Princes Park four minutes in to the game. The Ravens lead lasted just three minutes, the Skolars right winger finding a gap out wide with his own scooting run into the corner to level the scores.
It was twenty minutes before the next score was to arrive, the Skolars kept the ball alive with some ambitious offloads which saw them eventually crash over close to the sticks. Skipper Kurt Pittman added the conversion to give his side a 6-point lead. This was the sign that the men from New River were to hit their first purple patch of the game, two minutes later a break and clever pass from the standoff found the fullback running an intelligent line to touch down beneath the sticks. A brave rally from the Ravens required some gutsy try line defence to deny them before the Skolars pulled out a long range move down the left hand touchline to find themselves under the sticks again.
The closing ten minutes of the first-half were to be a showcase for the Skolars right centre-wing partnership, first a break down the right hand flank saw the winger push the ball back inside as he was dragged into touch to put his centre in, then three minutes later the centre reciprocated with a long looping pass to send his winger into the corner following a well worked move orchestrated by the scrumhalf.
Despite some tired the legs, the Ravens remained committed and their persistence was rewarded with a second try when Daniel Smart smashed his way over on thirty nine minutes, with Thomas Claridge adding on the conversion to send the sides in to the break at 10 – 30.
The first five minutes of the second half saw both teams step up in attack, with both bombing gilt-edged chances with dropped balls under the challenge of some brutal, bone crunching defence. However, it took just eight minutes before the Skolars right centre found a way through some flat defence to stride away into the corner for the first try of the second half.
The Ravens again rallied and put the visitors under the most concerted period of pressure in the whole game. The home sides won themselves a series of back to back sets via a goal line dropout and a penalty for holding down, but despite being virtually camped on the opposition line they could find no way through. At times the scenes were almost slapstick as the Skolars defenders hurled themselves in front of the Ravens juggernaut in desperate, last ditch attempts to hold the line.
The Skolars finally broke the Ravens resolve on the hour mark, a solid set of six in attack punched them down the field and a drive over from close range extended the lead to 10 – 38. A minute later the standoff latched on to an offload thirty metres out to jink his way over and the floodgates had opened as the Skolars entered their second purple patch of the game. Three more tries followed in close succession as the visitors took advantage of some tiring defence on the Ravens left hand flank, before the right wing broke on the opposite side to feed the fullback for the final try on seventy five minutes.
To their credit the Ravens refused to let their heads go down and continued to take the fight to the Skolars to the very end, earning a standing ovation off the field from the vociferous partisan crowd. Ultimately it was the greater experience of the Skolars, many with experience in National League Two, which made the difference. The Skolars were quicker to get the second and third man to the tackle, showed more awareness in their support running and slicker handling of the ball in particular the crisp distribution of hooker Kurt Pittman from the play the ball.
Kent Ravens have come along way in the last three years and despite what the score line may suggest the side have great potential that will develop as they progress along their own learning curve. In Princes Park the Ravens have a stadium to be proud of and in Kent Ravens the town of Dartford has a rugby league side to be proud of.
Kent Ravens: (10) 10
London Skolars: (30) 68
Tuesday, 31 July 2007
Ravens ready to roost at Princes Park
The fans, players and administrators of Kent Ravens Rugby League Club are counting down the hours to the biggest event in the club’s short history, their inaugural match at the new Princes Park stadium in Dartford. The move to the stadium, which will be shared with Dartford Football Club, will highlight the remarkable progress the Ravens have made since forming in 2004.
Initially based in nearby Eltham, the men’s first team have worked their way up through the local amateur ranks, from the London League in 2004 to the Rugby League Conference Regional in 2006 and the Rugby League Conference Premier in 2007. The progress hasn’t only been limited to the men’s open age squad, a successful youth set-up has been developing whilst the club also boasts one of the south’s best women’s outfit.
Older rugby league fans will be aware of the code’s patchy history in Kent, most notably the short lived Kent Invicta club of the early 1980’s. Several amateur clubs have at various points left their mark, albeit many temporarily, on the history of rugby league in the area, but it is the Ravens who have hopefully laid the foundations for more substantial development.
This is not to say it’s all been plain sailing for the Ravens, the step up to the RLC Premier has been a big ask for the club. The southern division of the RLC Premier is arguably the toughest of all the regional divisions, a sign of the growing strength of amateur rugby league in the south of England. The Ravens currently sit bottom of the division and on Friday night face a London Skolars RLC Premier side hoping to leapfrog reigning champions South London Storm into second place and guarantee home advantage in the semi-final playoff against the Storm.
An upset against the Skolars would no doubt be the icing on the cake for the Ravens and most of the unprecedented 500 fans that have already bought tickets for the match, but win or loss the future is looking good for the Kent outfit.
* Tickets for the game priced at £5 will be available on the gate, for directions and ground details click here for the Kent Ravens official site.
Initially based in nearby Eltham, the men’s first team have worked their way up through the local amateur ranks, from the London League in 2004 to the Rugby League Conference Regional in 2006 and the Rugby League Conference Premier in 2007. The progress hasn’t only been limited to the men’s open age squad, a successful youth set-up has been developing whilst the club also boasts one of the south’s best women’s outfit.
Older rugby league fans will be aware of the code’s patchy history in Kent, most notably the short lived Kent Invicta club of the early 1980’s. Several amateur clubs have at various points left their mark, albeit many temporarily, on the history of rugby league in the area, but it is the Ravens who have hopefully laid the foundations for more substantial development.
This is not to say it’s all been plain sailing for the Ravens, the step up to the RLC Premier has been a big ask for the club. The southern division of the RLC Premier is arguably the toughest of all the regional divisions, a sign of the growing strength of amateur rugby league in the south of England. The Ravens currently sit bottom of the division and on Friday night face a London Skolars RLC Premier side hoping to leapfrog reigning champions South London Storm into second place and guarantee home advantage in the semi-final playoff against the Storm.
An upset against the Skolars would no doubt be the icing on the cake for the Ravens and most of the unprecedented 500 fans that have already bought tickets for the match, but win or loss the future is looking good for the Kent outfit.
* Tickets for the game priced at £5 will be available on the gate, for directions and ground details click here for the Kent Ravens official site.
Sunday, 29 July 2007
RLC Premier Roundup
The RLC Premier South is heating up with St Albans Centurions claiming the minor premiership following the failure of Kingston Warriors to raise a side for this weekend’s clash. They will now meet either South London Storm or London Skolars A in the regional final to be played at The Stoop before Harlequins game against Wigan on August 18th.
Reigning champions South London Storm have hit a patchy run of form winning just four of their last seven games seeing them fall into an unfamiliar second place, whilst London Skolars A are staging a late run to overtake them from third and gain home advantage for the semi-final playoff for the second spot in the region final. If yesterday’s game is any guide the match-up should provide a thriller, with Skolars A sneaking an away win against the Storm with a last minute drop goal.
Much will depend on the final round of fixtures with Kingston Warriors visiting Storm Park next Saturday, whilst London Skolars A will be the inaugural visitors to Kent Ravens new home at Princes Park. The Ravens have found it tough this season, having stepped up a division, but will be hoping to mark the beginning of a new era in the club’s history with a victory against one of the division’s big sides.
Sunday, 20 May 2007
Ravens cut down by Centurions
Kent Ravens fell to earth yesterday against St Albans Centurions. The Dartford side were on the receiving end of a 6 – 76 score line although they can take some consolation from the fact that they were facing a far more experienced side who are tipped as one of the favourites for this season’s RLC Premier title. On paper the match was an intriguing prospect, with St Albans having played in National League Three last season whilst Kent Ravens stepped up from the RLC division having been in the London League only two years ago.
A full match report will appear here.
A full match report will appear here.
Monday, 14 May 2007
Ravens secure first win
Kent Ravens secured their first ever RLC Premier win this weekend with a 26 – 18 win over Kingston Warriors.
The result highlights the great development work being carried out by the Ravens in South East London and West Kent. As well as operating a number of junior teams the club is scheduled to move into the new Princes Park stadium in Dartford later this season.
A full report is here.
The result highlights the great development work being carried out by the Ravens in South East London and West Kent. As well as operating a number of junior teams the club is scheduled to move into the new Princes Park stadium in Dartford later this season.
A full report is here.
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