Shelford Rugby Club duo Charlie Baker and Mike Gillick set to reach appearance milestones against Medway

Two major milestones could be reached when Shelford play host to Medway on Saturday (November 26).

The Regional 1 South East clash at Davey Field will potentially mark a 100th Peacocks appearance for Mike Gillick, while for the long-serving Charlie Baker, he is one away from his 250th outing in Shelford colours.

Director of rugby Will Cotterill said: “We’re really lucky to have guys like that at the club. We have five or six centurions and a couple of double centurions as well.

“The likes of Mike and Charlie, they make a big difference to the group, especially in terms of leadership. The new players come in and the youngsters come up from the junior section and it’s players like those two that are the glue that keep things together.

“They’ve had plenty of highs and lows with us, seen the good and the bad – that experience is invaluable.

“We’re really proud of these guys and it’s rightly going to be a big afternoon for them.”

Shelford head into the weekend following a defeat last time out at Sudbury – a side that they pipped to the London League 1 North title last term.

It continued the team’s recent inconsistent run of form, with three wins and three defeats from their six most recent fixtures.

And Cotterill believes his third-placed players are struggling to adapt to certain games having less riding on them after the highs of last season.

“There was such a strong focus on last season in that battle with Sudbury,” he said.

“We couldn’t afford to drop a point because it was such a tight race all the way. This year Westcombe Park are out in front and with only one getting promoted, that looks settled.

“Maybe some of the games we’re playing now do not have as much riding on them as last season and when you look at who we’ve lost to recently – like Sudbury and Hertford – they were desperate for the win, had their backs to the wall and it showed in their performance.

“We’ve got to get back to that fighting spirit, digging in and getting a consistent run going again.”

Cotterill is also hopeful that last weekend’s break from action will have allowed some of the niggling injuries to have healed up.

He added: “We needed the break. We started the season well but our form has become a bit like a yo-yo.

“We’re winning one and then losing one – and losing games we shouldn’t be losing.

“We’re playing all the rugby, dominating the games but teams are wanting it a bit more.

“That’s disappointing but I think some of it is down to fatigue setting in. We’re picking up injuries as well.

“They’re not massive ones, things like a rolling of the ankle, but it’s all adding up. Hopefully those niggles will have cleared up and we’ll be somewhere near full strength on Saturday.”

Meanwhile, women’s rugby will take centre stage at Davey Field on Sunday (November 27).

Fresh from the England team – nicknamed the Red Roses – impressing on their way to reaching the final of the recent Women’s World Cup, supporters will get the chance to watch two matches at Shelford.

At 1pm the Eastern Counties Under-18s Girls will play a curtain-raising game before Shelford’s first XV will play host to Sudbury in a cup encounter.

Cotterill said: “When I came to the club there was around eight ladies signed on but now there is more than 50 and that is amazing for our club.

“It’s something that we’ve been really keen to push and grow in recent years.

“Women’s rugby has been in the background for a long time but now it is very much in the foreground, and so it should be.

“The RFU is keen to grow the game and we’re trying to do the same at the club.

“The World Cup had a big impact and we’re going into schools, running camps and trying to spread the word.

“We’re getting new recruits join all the time and long may that continue.”