National league game called off amid health scare as decade old petition unearthed

Jack Tunney 19 Mar 2026 4:05 PM

National league games called off amid health scare as decade old petition unearthed

Following the meningitis outbreak in Kent, Canterbury Rugby Football Club has suspended “all rugby activity and club events this weekend.”

This announcement comes after six new cases have been confirmed in the outbreak, bringing the total number of confirmed and suspected cases to 27.

Two people have died from the disease since the start of the outbreak, including a 21-year-old university student and a sixth-form pupil.

Four schools and two universities in Kent have reported confirmed cases, along with a higher education institution in London, which have all been linked to the Canterbury nightclub Club Chemistry, while Health Secretary Wes Streeting has warned that the “rapid spread” of the disease is at a level “we haven’t seen before.”

Canterbury Rugby Football Club statement

Canterbury Rugby Football Club, who were due to play Oxford Harlequins in their national two match, have released a statement which reads: “Following careful consideration, and in consultation with UK Health Security Agency, Rugby Football Union, Kent County RFU, and leading meningitis charities, we have taken the decision to suspend all rugby activity and club events this weekend.

“This includes Mini, Youth, Colts, and Senior rugby, as well as all social gatherings. With the situation locally evolving, and following confirmation that Oxford Harlequins will not travel, we believe this is the most responsible course of action for our community.”

While there has been no official government order to halt sporting activities within the area at the time of writing, the two teams involved have decided that “the health, safety, and well-being of our players, volunteers, members, and the wider community must always come first.”

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“The government are putting costs ahead of saving children’s lives”

This isn’t the first time that meningitis has struck the rugby world. Back in 2016, Rugby World Cup winner Matt Dawson appeared at Portcullis House to give evidence to the Petitions Committee in an effort to make the meningitis B vaccine available to all children under the age of 11.

He spoke from personal experience, telling the committee that his two-year-old son Sam had suffered “two weeks of hell” as a result of meningitis.

The petition, signed by over 800,000 people, was thrown out by the UK Government, which claimed that it was “not cost-effective” and would be a waste of NHS money.

The Department of Health claimed that it was following the expert advice of its Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), saying at the time: “With this programme, our priority is to protect those children most at risk of Men B, in line with JCVI’s recommendation.

“The NHS budget is a finite resource; it is therefore essential that JCVI’s recommendations are underpinned by evidence of cost-effectiveness.

“Offering the vaccine outside of JCVI’s advice would not be cost-effective and would not therefore represent a good use of NHS resources, which should be used to benefit the health and care of the most people possible.”

The organiser of the petition, Lee Booth, said following the verdict: “It’s very disappointing that that’s the initial sort of reaction to the campaign.

“There’s 817,000 people that have obviously raised concerns over the lack of the meningitis B vaccine being available to their children. It beggars belief really that the government are putting costs ahead of saving children’s lives.”

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NHS information on meningitis

Information from the NHS website reads:

‘Meningitis is an infection of the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord (meninges).

It can affect anyone, but is most common in babies, young children, teenagers and young adults.

Meningitis can be very serious if not treated quickly.

It can cause life-threatening sepsis and result in permanent damage to the brain or nerves.

Symptoms of meningitis and sepsis include:

a high temperature
cold hands and feet
vomiting
confusion
breathing quickly
muscle and joint pain
pale, mottled or blotchy skin (this may be harder to see on brown or black skin)
spots or a rash (this may be harder to see on brown or black skin)
headache
a stiff neck
a dislike of bright lights
being very sleepy or difficult to wake
fits (seizures)