CANTERBURY12 BLACKHEATH 41
by David Haigh
The power and pace of a Blackheath side which won this Friday night pre-season encounter by seven tries to two was a reminder of the standards required at higher levels of the game. The National Division One side bossed the breakdown, were ruthless with the catch and drive, which accounted for three of their tries, two of which were converted, and served up the clean ball on which their back division thrived. It was not, however, all one way traffic. Canterbury had their moments but when they created chances lacked the accuracy to turn them into points. Blackheath opened a seventeen point lead before the city side got things right, handled quickly and sent Garry Jones over for the try. The visitors hit back before the break with a converted touchdown and their forwards were in charge for crucial periods of the second half. The positives for Canterbury in those second forty minutes were that they matched ‘Heath in the set scrums and were unfailingly brave in defence but the visitors still added three more scores. Consolation came in the final play when scrum half Tom Williams, who minutes earlier had made a stunning break, finished off some good work by the backs with a try converted by Frank Reynolds.
Canterbury wing Garry Jones got the best birthday present he could have wished for, scoring two crucial tries for Kent in their County Championship final victory over Yorkshire. After joining the club at the start of last season from Australian club USC the chance to play at RFU headquarters on Saturday, June 15th was a red letter day for the birthday boy. His tries came in the 50th ad 65th minutes and helped the county side to retain the title they won in 2023 by the narrowest of margins, 31-30. Garry, who is originally from Newcastle, was not the only Canterbury player to have a significant role in Kent’s successful campaign this season. He was joined in Saturday’s starting line-up by hooker Eoin O’Donoghue and flanker Cameron Murray, with Cameron Macmillan, Alfie Orris and Michael Fankah coming on from the replacements bench. It was Eoin’s pin point throwing at the lineout which gave his side a 100 per cent return in an area where they were superior to Yorkshire. In the Pool Rounds, centre Will Waddington was another first choice for the county until he suffered a shoulder injury against Hampshire. Kent’s back to back successes have been overseen by our own Director of Rugby Taff Gwilliam who also heads the county’s senior playing programme.
