Sevenoaks: It means everything
A double-header for Sevenoaks’ first and second men’s teams, followed by England’s final group game against Samoa bought a big crowd to Knole Paddock on Saturday afternoon.
Sevenoaks rugby club is where Ben Earl started his playing career. and he remembers it fondly.
“Some of my favourite memories at Sevenoaks include going down to the paddock on wet, miserable, cold Sunday mornings and being treated to one or two hot dogs and a hot chocolate, then watching England play in the afternoon.” said Ben.
“Ben came through our junior set up. What a player and what a World Cup he’s having. The whole of Sevenoaks are following and supporting. We’re very proud of him.” said Director of Rugby and Head Coach, Adam Bowman.
Ben’s no stranger to his old club, having furnished the clubhouse with shirts, attended one of the preseason games this year and even took part in preseason training session a couple of years ago.
“He was probably still the quickest player in that session, which is a bit odd as he’s a forward. He pops down for the odd game here and there, and he’s going well for England, which is good to see!” said first team player, Ollie Shirtcliff.
One club
The senior men’s teams at Sevenoaks have been particularly successful over the past decade.
Former Director of Rugby Roger McKerlie said: “We started to look at how we could get better and make rugby more meaningful, and we got about three promotions in relatively quick time, which led to us arriving in National League rugby. It was slightly beyond what our expectations were.”
“The thing that has worked so well is that we’ve focussed on saying we’re one club and bringing this club together as one. So that as a culture started to change people’s thinking and that permeated all the way through the club.”
Huge family club
The success on the pitch is not the only thing that makes the club special.
Bowman said: “We have over 2,000 members, from girls and boys at U5s through to U18 at academy level. It’s the people that makes Sevenoaks so special. We’ve got so many volunteers across the rugby club who will do their bit and will do anything for this club, for the players, for the coaches, for the clubhouse staff. Everyone pulls together. It’s a huge family rugby club in the heart of the Sevenoaks community.”
As well as Ben Earl coming from Sevenoaks, another World Cup sensation played for the club just a couple of years ago. Pat Pellegrini, who now plays for Tonga and Coventry, scored a fantastic individual try against current World Cup champions, South Africa in their pool game two weeks ago. It’s safe to say that everyone at this club proudly supports their home nation, while all holding a torch for Tonga throughout this tournament.
For this rugby club, seeing their former players doing them proud at the World Cup and being part of the Mighty Oaks family really does mean everything.
