| Date of birth | 19 April 1980 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
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Gert De Kock (born 1980) is a retired South African rugby union player who played at Fly-half or Full-back. [1] A highly skilled player that could both kick points and score tries, he became one of the top try scorers in National League 2 South history, with 80 tries scored during his spells playing for Westcombe Park and Canterbury. [2]
In 2003-04 Gert had an outstanding debut season with Westcombe Park, scoring 19 tries in just 22 games to finish as top try scorer in a Park side that finished 9th in National Division 3 South. [3] A second season with the Orpington based side was not as successful for him with only 7 league tries but he did play a role in a successful Powergen Cup run which saw Westcombe Park reach the 5th round, ultimately losing to second division side, Otley, 16-45, away to the Yorkshire side. [4]
In the summer of 2005, after two seasons with Westcombe Park, Gert would drop a division to play for fellow Kent club, Canterbury and he got off to a good start as Canterbury claimed a league and cup double by first winning promotion from London Division 1 and then retaining the Kent Cup by beating Blackheath. [5] The 2006-07 season would be Canterbury's first ever in National Division 3 South but despite being a newly promoted side the club took it in their stride, finishing 4th in the final league standings, as well as winning the Kent Cup once more. [6] Gert, who had experience of the league from his time with Westcombe Park, struck up a good partnership with team-mate Michael Melford and the two players shared 36 tries between them, with Gert getting 20, resulting in him becoming the 4th most prolific try scorer in the division that season. 2007-08 would see Canterbury maintain their position in the division with another 4th-place finish. Gert also started to share kicking duties with team-mate, Sam Rasch, and scored 121 points that year, including 14 tries. The club would also claim their fourth successive Kent Cup at the end of the season. [7] 2008-09 would see Canterbury drop one position to 5th in the league standings with Gert becoming the main kicker at the club and ending up with a career best tally of 223 points for the season, making him the 3rd top points scorer in the division that year.[ citation needed ]
After a relatively uneventful 2009-10 in which Canterbury finished 7th, the 2010-11 season would be a difficult one for the club. Gert featured in almost every game that year but was unable to prevent the club sliding into the relegation zone. The relegation battle actually went down to the last game of the season when Gert's former team, Westcombe Park, came up to Merton Park for the sides rescheduled league fixture on 7 May 2011. Unfortunately for Canterbury, Westcombe Park got a couple of late tries to win the game by 25 points to 18. The result meant that Westcombe Park leap-frogged Canterbury to remain safe by just 1 point, while Canterbury would drop down to National League 3 London & SE. [8]
| Season | Club | Competition | Appearances | Tries | Drop Goals | Conversions | Penalties | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-04 | Westcombe Park | National Division 3 South | 22 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 95 |
| 2004-05 | National Division 3 South | 20 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | |
| Powergen Cup | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 2005-06 | Canterbury | London Division 1 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| EDF Energy Trophy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2006-07 | National Division 3 South | 26 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | |
| EDF Energy Trophy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2007-08 | National Division 3 South | 25 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 9 | 121 | |
| 2008-09 | National Division 3 South | 25 | 9 | 0 | 56 | 22 | 223 | |
| EDF Energy Trophy | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 | ||
| 2009-10 | National League 2 South | 20 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 45 | |
| 2010-11 | National League 2 South | 28 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 | |
Westcombe Park
Canterbury
The 2005–06 National Division One was the 19th full season of rugby union within the second tier of the English league system, currently known as the RFU Championship. New teams to the division included Harlequins who had been relegated from the 2004–05 Zurich Premiership, while Doncaster and Newbury were promoted from the 2004–05 National Division Two. Additional changes saw Penzance & Newyln RFC rebrand themselves as the Cornish Pirates as well as moving from their home ground, the Mennaye Field in Penzance, to a more central location in Truro at the Kenwyn Rugby Ground with the aim to appeal more to Cornish fans on the whole as well as making home games more accessible. Rotherham Titans also rebranded themselves as 'Earth Titans' for sponsorship purposes for this season.
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The 2006–07 National Division Three North was the seventh season of the fourth division (north) of the English domestic rugby union competition using the name National Division Three North. New teams to the division included Orrell who were relegated from the 2005–06 National Division Two while promoted teams included Rugby Lions who came up as champions of Midlands Division 1 as well as Morley (champions) and West Park St Helens who came up from North Division 1. The league system was 4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw and additional bonus points being awarded for scoring 4 or more tries and/or losing within 7 points of the victorious team. In terms of promotion the league champions would go straight up into National Division Two while the runners up would have a one-game playoff against the runners up from National Division Three South for the final promotion place.
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Phil Chesters is an English rugby union player who is currently playing for Chinnor in National League 1 having signed for the club for the 2017-18 season. Prior to that he had made his name at Ealing Trailfinders where he had also been part of the medical staff. His best position is winger and over his career he has proved to be a tremendous try scorer who has set multiple records in lower division English rugby with Ealing, notably all-time records of 42 tries in a season in tier 3 and an amazing 70 tries in a season in tier 4 – a record that is unlikely to ever be beaten. As of the end of the 2017-18 he has also become the National League 2 South all-time try scorer with 117 tries.
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Derek Coates is an English rugby union player who played at Full back. He is known for his spells with Blackheath and Westcombe Park, where thanks to his prowess with the boot he became one of the most prolific points scorers in National League 2 South history with over 1,000 points spread between the two clubs, and was also one of the most consistent scorers averaging 12 points a game. Since he has retired from playing he has remained in the game as a coach.
Nat Saumi, real name Nacenieli, is a retired Fijian rugby union player who is currently a coach. A versatile back, Nat could play at fly-half, centre or full back. Despite having offers to play Premiership rugby, Nat spent his career in England playing for south-west clubs, most notably with Penzance & Newlyn and Plymouth, whom he also coached. An outstanding points scorer both in terms of kicking and tries, Nat became one of the most prolific points scorers of all-time in National League 2 South with over 700 points, including a divisional record of 374 points in a season, achieved in 2001 while playing for Penzance-Newlyn. As well as playing club rugby, Nat has also represented Fiji Sevens, Barbarians and Cornwall with whom he won the Bill Beaumont Cup back in 1999.
Michael Melford is a retired English rugby union player who plays as a winger. He has spent most of his semi-professional rugby career with Canterbury during the most successful spell of the clubs career to date, which included a spell as club captain. With over 90 tries for his club in National League 2 South alone, he has become one of the most prolific try scorers in the competition's history. He currently runs a personal training business in Chatham, Kent.
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The 2018–19 National League 2 South is the tenth season of the fourth tier (south) of the English domestic rugby union competitions since the professionalised format of the second division was introduced. At the end of the season, Rams became champions when they won away to Clifton on 6 April 2019, sealing promotion with two games to go. It was a fitting reward for the Berkshire club, who were by far the strongest side in the division. The runners up were Canterbury who claimed second spot after beating off stiff competition from the likes of Tonbridge Juddians and Henley Hawks. Despite finishing 21 points behind Rams, Canterbury's league results were still strong enough to enough to book a home promotion playoff against National League 2 North runners up, Chester. On 4 May 2019, Canterbury defeated Chester 19–10 to join Rams in the 2019–20 National League 1. For both clubs, National League 1 is the highest level they have ever reached since the leagues began back in 1987.