CANTERBURY GET A REMINDER

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.