Bury Pack Power Decisive

BURY ST EDMUNDS 27 CANTERBURY 10

by David Haigh

A strong pack and a sound defence gave Bury the upper hand in this clash of two top four sides. Canterbury, starved of possession as they struggled at the set pieces, played some enterprising rugby when they did get their hands on the ball, but could never convert it into the necessary points. They were not helped by the exit of centre Harry Sloan with a shoulder injury and, later, hooker Cameron Macmillan who sustained more serious damage, but the city side were always behind on the scoreboard after missed tackles let Bury grab an early lead with a try from hooker Matt Hicks, converted by Ben Penfold. They built on that with two more before Canterbury found a response in the dying minutes of the first half. Bury’s quickly taken penalty and then a smart lineout drill brought tries for Samir Kharbouch and a second for Hicks to open a seventeen point gap. That was cut when Frank Reynolds astute cross kick saw Kurt Heatherley rise high to palm the pass for an Aiden Moss try, but Reynolds’ conversion attempt from wide out hit a post. The city side started the second half brightly but their lineout problems cost them another score as an overthrown ball paved the way for Bury prop Ben Cooper to register his side’s bonus point try. Canterbury then produced their best spell in the game. moving the ball at every opportunity and stretching the home defence. They made decisive line breaks, attacked though the wide channels and seemed likely to play their way back into contention. Two yellow cards slowed a Bury side feeling the pressure, but excellent last ditch defence proved a stumbling block as Canterbury were restricted to a solitary try, scored on the overlap by Heatherley. They went very close again but Bury survived, controlled the closing stages and added a fifth try as they ran back a clearance kick and Penfold was given the easiest of run ins. The defeat sees the city side drop to fifth place in the National2 East table.
Canterbury: K.Heatherley, F.Morgan, H.Sloan, W.Waddington, L.Talbot, F.Reynolds, T.Williams, D.Huntley, C.Macmillan, O.Frostick, .McGovern, J.Stephens, J.Walker, R.Thomas, T.Oliver. Replacements,: A.Moss, J.Dengate, L.Young, P.Farrance, J.De Vries.