Author: David Haigh

CANTERBURY 34 GUERNSEY 8

by David Haigh

The third win in a row, a hat trick of tries for hooker Eoin O’Donoghue and a maximum return of five points made this a good day at the office for Canterbury. It is clear, also, they enjoy working at home, having lost only once at The Marine Travel Ground this season and after a flurry of three tries in the first twenty minutes never looked in much danger of defeat. Guernsey took an early lead through full back Callum Roberts’ interception try but were a side lacking bite and were quickly found out. Wing Alfie Orris, making his first appearance after a preseason injury, set Canterbury on their way as he fielded a kick on half way, powered through a hesitant defence and support runner Aiden Moss cantered over from Presley Farrance’s pass. The visitors were quickly under pressure again as Canterbury put the ball through their hands at every opportunity and a sweeping attack on the left flank was completed by the ever alert O’Donoghue. His second try was delayed, briefly, by an exchange of penalty goals from Guernsey’s Ciaran McGann and Frank Reynolds but, from the restart, the city side struck again. This time it was Moss who made the decisive break and O’Donoghue stepped past the last defender, leaving Reynolds to land his second conversion. They thought Harry Sloan had bagged a fourth try, but were called back for an earlier infringement and had to be content with a 22-8 half time lead. It took 19 minutes of the second half before the bonus point touchdown was added. That was down to some dogged resistance from Guernsey and failings in the city side’s accuracy. When the score came it was a trademark catch and drive which gave O’Donoghue his opportunity. Guernsey, denied possession by superior lineout skills and the home side’s ability to turn over ball, continued to battle but could do nothing to counter more impressive handling in the 67th minute. Skipper Jamie Stephens surprised everyone with a turn of foot which ended under the posts and Reynolds converted. Two further scoring chances were mangled in the scrappy closing minutes but it would be harsh to criticise an ambitious display from this Canterbury side.
Canterbury: L.Talbot, G.Jones, A.Moss, W.Waddington, A.Orris, F.Reynolds, P.Farrance, D.Huntley, E.O’Donoghue, O.Frostick, J.Stephens, C.McGovern, J.Walker, R.Thomas, T.Oliver. Replacements: L.Young, H.Sloan, T.Williams, J.Dengate, J.De Vries.

MATCH PREVIEW

Oxford Harlequins away gave us the opportunity to back up our win against London Welsh and the players put in a strong performance in challenging conditions. Through a dominant set piece and effective ball movement, we secured the bonus point by half time. Even though the second half was less eventful, we finished as 19–42 winners.
That’s not the whole story, though. We lost both Jamie Stephens and Eoin O’Donoghue early in the second half and Mo Pangarker followed shortly after scoring his try. Ryley Thomas played the final ten minutes in the second row and Presley Farrance shifted to Number 6. Even with all this disruption, the last ten minutes showed the true character of this team. Despite the game already being won, the lads were stubbornly defiant and refused to give Oxford a losing bonus point. I thought it was important to share that final defensive play with the team at training last night. The character they showed is something to be proud of and a great sign of how our defence has progressed this season.
The week off also gave me the chance to watch the Pilgrims play live for the first time this season. It was great to see Jesse De Vries, Alfie Orris and Harry Sloan all return from recent injury layoffs—and all come through the game unscathed. And what a game it was. To go twenty-one points behind and still come out on top 30–26 shows how this team is rising to the challenge of Regional 2. The second-half performance is where the match was won, and when the final whistle blew you could see what it meant to the players—and to coach Mal Graves. The Pilgrims now have four wins from their last five games as they travel to fourth-place Beckenham looking to continue their strong run of results.
After a week off, the 1st XV welcome Guernsey Raiders to the Marine Travel Ground. Guernsey sit one place and two points ahead of us as we begin the final block of the year. With only three games to go before the Christmas break, we know how important it is to continue our recent run of results. Fixtures with Guernsey are always closely fought affairs and we know it will take our best to get the win

MATT CORKER, HEAD COACH

Oxford Harlequins 19 Canterbury 42

by Chris Fullbrook

Canterbury travelled to Oxford Harlequins on the back of mixed results but managed to put that behind them with a strong performance in poor weather conditions, but with the hosts having an artificial grass pitch, the playing surface was excellent. The city side have a good history of playing on plastic pitches and after an early onslaught, Eoin O’Donoghue broke free from a routine lineout catch and drive to score the first of his side’s seven tries. With Canterbury in the ascendancy, fly half Frank Reynolds barreled over from close range but was unable to convert his own try. O’Donoghue bagged another catch and drive score before a midfield break from Jimmy Walker and a clever kick ahead from Reynolds, allowed Luke Talbot to win the chase and touchdown and Reynolds add the extras. Despite an uncharacteristic off day with the boot, Reynolds was influential elsewhere and was on the end of some good support play to register his second try which took his side into the shelter of the changing room at half time with a 27-7 lead. Oxford’s only response had been a converted try, on the 30 minute mark, from Ben Jenkins, converted by Tom Cooke. With the weather easing after the break Canterbury hoped to continue their dominance but a dropped ball and stubborn defence from the home side, who twice held up surges over the line, denied the city side. Losing both captain Jamie Stephens and O’Donoghue to injury was another factor in keeping the second half scoreless for 15 minutes. Eventually Number Eight Tyler Oliver made the breakthrough his side was looking for with a try, this time converted by Reynolds.
With Canterbury reduced to 14 men for repeated infringements, the home side took advantage and Jenkins’ second try was again converted by full back Cooke. The city men replied immediately with Mo Pangarker finding a gap to bundle over. Forced to make several interchanges Canterbury then lost shape and momentum, allowing a strong Quins finish and a third try by Harry Burn. Reynolds’ late penalty goal brought up the 40 mark but as the home side chased a much-deserved bonus point, stout defence, where Ryley Thomas was excellent all day, kept them out and rounded off a much needed win for the Canterbury side.
Canterbury: L.Talbot, G.Jones, A.Moss, W.Waddington, O.Hewett, F.Reynolds, P.Farrance, D.Huntley, E.O’Donoghue, O.Frostick, C.McGovern, J.Stephens, J.Walker, R.Thomas, T.Oliver. Replacements: H.Drane, T.Williams, M.Pangarker, O.Collins. J.Dengate.

MATCH PREVIEW

On the stroke of fifty minutes, we scored our fifth try against London Welsh and were comfortably ahead 31–5. We had navigated the first ten minutes of the second half—a period in recent weeks where we have often let the momentum swing away from us—and we had executed the plan we had prepared.
A combination of penalties, turnovers, and lineout errors saw us concede three tries in fifteen minutes, narrowing the gap to a single score and increasing the pressure on us. There was some excellent defence in the final passages of play and a great lineout steal from Charlie McGovern in the final minutes sealed the victory.
This was a much-needed win after our recent results, but there are some important lessons we must learn. As I have said many times before, there are no bad teams in this league and London Welsh have experience from leagues above, including the Championship, in their ranks. Controlling a game’s momentum is crucial if we are to continue winning and how we hand over possession to the opposition is at the heart of coming out on top.

Our attention now shifts to Oxford Harlequins this weekend, the last fixture of this three-game block. The shorter blocks we are now into are helpful in offering regular rest breaks, but it remains essential to stay focused. Oxford are a high-energy side who will play from anywhere and we travel knowing that we must be on high alert to contain their attacking threat.

The Pilgrims are also back in action with an away fixture at Sidcup, who sit second in the table. Winning their last three games has given the team renewed confidence and they are looking forward to the test that Sidcup will offer.

MATT CORKER, HEAD COACH

CANTERBURY 31 LONDON WELSH 24

by David Haigh

Canterbury ended a three match losing sequence with this bonus point win, which lifts them to eighth place in the National 2 East table. Bur what appeared to be plain sailing, as they cruised to a 26 point lead early in the second half, ended with them repairing heavy storm damage inflicted by a rejuvenated Welsh. “We probably thought the job was done, ” said Canterbury skipper Jamie Stephens, “and we let out concentration slip.” Up to the 50th minute, the city side’s confidence was not misplaced as they dominated play, produced high quality moments and by half way had banked the bonus point. As in recent games, they made a fast start with two tries in the first fourteen minutes. A turnover and a break by flanker Jimmy Walker cleared the way for the first by Aiden Moss. Lively wing Owen Hewett scored the second, slipping through mid-field from a neat set piece ploy. Frank Reynolds converted both and although he was off target when a fierce driving maul produced a touchdown for Tyler Oliver, Canterbury went nineteen points clear. Welsh had hardly featured as an attacking force and, when they finally worked a clear overlap, wing Dylan Jones spilled the last pass. However, they made up for that error on the left flank where Ben Davies finished good work by his backs. It was a temporary reprieve as, in the last minute of the half, Moss scored his second, chasing down Reynolds’neat kick behind the defence. Ten minutes after the break it seemed that Canterbury had made the game safe as Reynolds combined with Presley Farrance and converted his half back partner’s try under the posts to open a commanding 31-5 gap. Then came the storm as Canterbury visibly faded, Welsh began to dominate possession and territory, seized on errors and scented an unlikely outcome. Two tries in eight minutes from centre Max Bodilly, converted by Matt Hodgson, changed the script and when full back Osian McAvoy scored their fourth Canterbury were hanging on. In the closing minutes they were again under huge pressure and lost Cameron Macmillan to a yellow card. However, a lineout steal by Charlie McGovern, five metres from the home line, denied Welsh the chance of a draw and the city side should be truly grateful.

Canterbury: L.Talbot, G.Jones, A.Moss, W.Waddington, O.Hewett, F.Reynolds, T.Williams, D.Huntley, E.O’Donoghue, O.Frostick, C.McGovern, J.Stephens, J.Walker, R.Thomas, T.Oliver. Replacements: C.Macmillan, M.Pangarker, P.Farrance, O.Collins, J.Dengate

MATCH PREVIEW

Last Saturday we gave ourselves an opportunity. Leveling the score away from home with four minutes left on the clock we were in a position to come away with five points. In the big moments of a game, doing the right thing at the right time is what allows us to come out on top. We didn’t execute and, when a refereeing decision went against us, we handed Oundle an opportunity which the took. It was a tough, last-minute heartbreak.

There was still plenty to be proud of in a performance that was both physical and gritty. We travelled with a clear plan, the players brought it to life, and that makes losing by the narrowest of margins even harder to take. As a group, we’re acutely aware that this is now our third loss in a row and this weekend’s game against London Welsh carries extra significance because of our recent results.

London Welsh come to the Marine Travel Ground having scored fourteen tries in their last two games. They registered a strong win over Havant at home and their narrow defeat to Bury mirrored our own. We won’t be taking them lightly, even if this is their first season in the league. Containing their attacking threats will be crucial and the set piece will be another major battleground. The players have worked hard throughout the week and everything is in place for another big Saturday of National League rugby at Merton Lane.

The Pilgrims have extended their winning run to three games after a strong performance against Old Colfians last weekend, putting 57 points on the board. This important victory lifts them another place in a tightly packed table, now just five points off fifth. The team have a week’s rest before facing second-place Sidcup. It will be a great test of the progress they’ve made so far this season.

MATT CORKER, HEAD COACH