Category: 1st XV

HENLEY HAWKS 33 CANTERBURY 24

by David Haigh

This last away game defeat was fairly typical of Canterbury’s inconsistent National 2 East season. After looking confident and organised for 60 minutes, and scoring three tries which gave them a narrow first half lead, they handed the initiative to the Hawks. They came away with a losing bonus point with a try from the final play but that was small consolation after the earlier good work. It was disappointing after a bright start which took the city side ahead in the second minute when wing Tom Halliday scored from Lewis Hollidge’s probing kick. Hawks replied through Will Crowe, who finished smart work by his backs, and a Max Titchener conversion and penalty goal kept the hosts happy. However, it was the Canterbury forwards who looked the hungrier of the two packs and they satisfied that appetite in the best way. Dave Irvine crashed over from short range and when Hawks hauled down a driving maul illegally the penalty try opened a seven point gap. With Henley’s lineout wobbling and their back division well policed it all looked promising until penalties undermined the Canterbury effort. Hawks used one to put Rory Mason across the line shortly before the break. It was a warning Canterbury failed to heed as the penalties continued to flow from a referee who was unhappy with the set scrums and it was their undoing. Titchener bounced a successful penalty goal off the crossbar and as the city side regularly conceded field position they were punished with two catch and drive scores by hooker Morgan McCrae, Titchener adding a conversion. Those scores came in the space of five minutes and while Canterbury lacked the accuracy to make something of two good chances it was Hawks who had a grip. Titchener’s third penalty goal widened the gap to sixteen points but in the 80th minute Canterbury found a final flourish and Frank Reynolds’ try and conversion rescued the bonus point.

Canterbury: C.Kingsman, T.Halliday W.Waddington, T.Best, F.Morgan L.Hollidge (repl F.Reynolds), B.Cooper (repl T.Williams), B.Young, S.Rogers (repl B.Dunkerley), D.Herriott (repl E.Lusher), D.Irvine, J.De Vries (repl A.Evans), J.Stephens, H.Furneaux, T.Oliver.

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Images may be subject to copyright – Phillipa Hilton

CANTERBURY 41 GUERNSEY RAIDERS 24

By David Haigh

This was an emphatic victory for the city side and an important one, soothing their fears of being drawn into the National 2 East relegation scrap. After a stunning start which brought a 19 points lead they wobbled slightly under a Raiders revival before taking charge with an impressive second half performance. Six tries were shared between backs and forwards but the foundations of this success were laid by a pack which dominated the set pieces and put Canterbury firmly on the front foot. Hooker Eoin O’Donoghue led the opening burst with a try in the third minute and Guy Hilton was only five minutes behind him. The third score was an individual gem as flanker Cameron Murray marked his last appearance before a spell in Australia with a powerful break. Two conversions from Lewis Hollidge, looking totally at home in his switch to fly half, widened a gap which could have left Raiders in the rear view mirror but they shook off the early lethargy and hit back hard with three tries before the break, one converted by Owen Thomas. Prop Jacob Pinckney from close quarters, wing Antony Armstrong completing a move full of good handling and support work, and in the last minute of the half a Dan Morgan catch and drive score threatened Canterbury’s prospects. Would they lose confidence? The answers came quickly and ruthlessly as they cracked the Raiders defence twice in the first five minutes of the new half. Prop Billy Young surged over for his eleventh try of the season and Hollidge’s half dummy opened his own way to the line. He converted the Young try and as the forwards tightened their stranglehold Raiders were denied the ammunition to find a response. Mounting pressure brought a penalty goal for Hollidge and Tom Williams’ break had the crowd on its feet as his pace did the rest and Hollidge topped up the final try. Guernsey went home with a losing bonus point courtesy of a late catch and drive score by Tom Ceillam but this was Canterbury’s day.

Canterbury: C.Kingsman, G.Hilton (repl T.Williams), W.Waddington, T.Best, F.Morgan (repl G.HIton), L.Hollidge (repl F.Reynolds), B.Cooper, B.Young (repl E.Lusher), E.O’Donoghue (repl C.Macmillan), D.Herriott, D.Irvine, J.De Vries (rel H.Furneaux), T.Oliver, C.Murray, J.Stephens

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Images may be subject to copyright – Phillipa Hilton

OLD ALBANIAN 35 CANTERBURY 21

by David Haigh
Two Albanian tries in the final two minutes before half time left Canterbury chasing a game which, until those lapses, was wide open. They chased hard, too, dominating the second half but then, incredibly, threw away the bonus point their hard work deserved. The early action had a familiar feel about it with Canterbury dominating possession and territory without making best use of it and then falling behind the first time their defence was tested. After finding a good touch Albanians set up a series of close drives before Nathan Mitchelow plunged over between the posts and Greg Lound converted. Six minutes later Canterbury, again of the front foot, responded and when their forward battering failed to make an impression they whipped the ball wide to make an overlap try for Guy Hilton which Frank Reynolds topped up with a fine conversion. They fell behind again to a smart Albanian try as wing Jordan Evans made the most of a clever chip kick and kind bounce, but with only seven points in it and the half drawing to a close the city side looked comfortable until those fatal lapses. A missed tackle gave Albanians the opportunity to send Jarryd Sage over for his side’s third try and Canterbury quickly folded again. A scramble in defence, a yellow card for Sam Rogers and a catch and drive try which saw Lound nail his fourth conversion did the damage. From that low point the city side set about a repair job in commanding style. They controlled the second half, playing with pace and verve, chipped away at the deficit with two catch and drive scores from prop Billy Young, both converted, and looked on course for even better things. They denied Albanians a score, survived a yellow card for Reynolds and seemed to have secured a losing bonus point. That was threatened when Lound was given a last minute penalty chance which fell short but with the clock showing red Canterbury just needed to make the ball dead. Instead, they attempted to run from their own line. Was it fine ambition or madness; take your pick? The ball was dropped, it gifted Albanians the softest of touchdowns and left the scoreline telling a wildly unrepresentative story.

Canterbury: C.Kingsman, G.Hilton, W.Waddington, L.Hollidge, F.Morgan, F.Reynolds, B.Cooper, B.Young, E.O’Donoghue, D.Herriott, D.Irvine, J.De Vries, S.Rogers, C.Murray, J.Stephens. Replacements: E.Lusher, C.Macmillan, T.Oliver, P.Farrance

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Images may be subject to copyright – Phillipa Hilton

CANTERBURY 11 BURY ST EDMUNDS 28

By David Haigh

This was Canterbury’s third consecutive loss and after an uninspiring performance they could easily be drawn into the National 2 East relegation battle. The four sides beneath them all have a game in hand and on this poor showing the city side will find it hard to come up with the victory that could make them safe. A lack of finishing firepower once again contributed to their downfall as they failed to turn first half dominance into a meaningful lead. They were ahead by four points at the break but discipline and accuracy deserted them in the second half and Bury strolled home, adding three further tries to their first half opener. That came after Canterbury had exerted all the early pressure but had nothing to show for it. In the fIfteenth minute Bury’s half break made space for wing Mike Stanway and full back Charlie Reed, who never missed from the tee all afternoon, converted the try. Canterbury, despite repeated errors, found a reply with a catch and drive score by Nathan Morris but the only other points came from the boot of Frank Reynolds with two penalty goals, one on the stroke of half time. All that waste was put into perspective when the visitors took the lead just three minutes into the second half. A needless penalty for offside gave them territory, fly half Ben Penfold hoisted a cross kick, Stanway snatched the try and Canterbury were rarely in the game after that. They made life even harder for themselves when Will Waddington and Morris got yellow cards and the nearest they came to another score was a failed penalty shot. Even as the rugby on offer lapsed into the ‘forgettable’ category Bury were never seriously inconvenienced by a side lacking ideas and energy. Reed and their captain Matt Bursey scored the tries which earned them a bonus point win.

Canterbury; C.Kingsman, G.Hilton (rel T.Halliday), W.Waddington, L.Hollidge, F.Morgan, F.Reynolds, B.Cooper (repl T.Williams) C.Macmillan (repl B.Young), N.Morrris, E.Lusher (repl D.Herriott), D.Irvine, J.Stephens, H.Furneaux (repl S.Rogers), C.Murray, T.Oliver

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Images may be subject to copyright – Phillipa Hilton

CANTERBURY 15 BARNES 38

by David Haigh

This was a frustrating Canterbury performance as they gave Barnes a head start and then were too inaccurate to sustain a threatened second half revival. Conceding four tries before the break to one of the league’s in-form sides left them struggling for credibility and although they lifted the tempo of their game in the third quarter too many basic errors killed off the challenge. The visitors went ahead after only three minutes as their backs exposed the Canterbury defence all too easily for Jordan Souter’s try. A Frank Reynolds penalty goal pegged that back but it took a confident Barnes only a minute to fashion a second try scored by wing Paul O’Dell. A penalty gave the visitors the territory for a third score, this time a close quarter finish as lock James Bloxham crashed over and Simon Keller’s second conversion pushed the lead to a comfortable sixteen points. Canterbury did settle more at this stage and while they threatened little in attack the deficit looked manageable if they could hold on to half time. Those hopes were dashed when Dave Irvine went to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on and the penalty conceded put Barnes where they wanted be. Hooker Alex March drove over, Keller converted and the bonus point was in the visitors pocket. How important that score became was highlighted when Canterbury engaged a higher gear after the break. They played with pace and ambition, which paved the way for a good try by Guy Hilton, and going into the last twenty minutes forward pressure made another inroad with an Irvine try and a Reynolds conversion. But all that effort was undermined by dropped passes and possession turned over in contact. Barnes re-asserted control in the late stages with tries for Cameron Leigh and Chris Stegman and a Keller conversion, while Canterbury’s woes were compounded by Sam Sterling’s red card for an illegal tip tackle

Canterbury: C.Kingsman, G.Hilton, S.Sterling, L.Hollidge (repl T.Halliday), F.Morgan, F.Reynolds, B.Cooper (repl T.Williams), B.Young, N.Morris (repl C.Macmillan), E.Lusher (repl D.Herriott), D.Irvine, J.Stephens, H.Furneaux, C.Murray (repl S.Rogers) T.Oliver

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Images may be subject to copyright – Phillipa Hilton

ROCHFORD HUNDRED 28 CANTERBURY 26

by David Haigh

Going into this game Canterbury Head Coach Matt Corker warned that relegation threatened Rochford would fight like wounded animals after their mauling by Barnes the previous week. Fight they did and so effectively that they edged a tight contest which brought Canterbury two bonus points but disappointment that they could not maintain their recent improved form. Despite starting positively and leading at the break they were too casual and inaccurate to put away some decent first half chances and those failures came to bite them. Harvey Furneaux’s seventh minute try, converted by Frank Reynolds, made Rochford look vulnerable but they soon put that idea to rest. Fly half Tauren Henwood stepped neatly through midfield with a quick reply but it was the city side who held the attacking edge. The forwards did the work again for a Billy Young try, which left Reynolds an easy kick, but that was all they could find. On the stroke of halftime Chris Dudman’s penalty goal sliced the Canterbury lead to six points and they were soon under pressure from a fired up home side after the restart. It earned Rochford territory and penalties and two from the boot of Dudman brought the scores level. Going into the last quarter a disjointed Canterbury, who did not look after the ball, fell behind to a converted try by Rory Gray but then found some momentum of their own. It brought a close quarters try for Dave Irvine, topped up by Reynolds, but missed tackles handed centre Sam Cappaert the hosts a third touchdown with eight minutes left. Dudman’s successful kick left the city side needing a converted score to salvage a draw and they gave the ball width to send Ben Cooper over for a bonus point try. Reynolds was faced with a difficult conversion, which he narrowly missed, and Rochford’s second half battling performance was rewarded.

Canterbury: W.Waddington, G.Hilton (rel C.Kingsman), S.Sterling, L.Hollidge, F.Morgan, F.Reynolds, B.Cooper (repl T.Williams), B.Young (repl C.Macmillan), N.Morris (repl E.O’Donoghue), D.Herriott (repl E.Lusher), D.Irvine, J.Stephens, H.Furneaux, C.Murray, T.Oliver.

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Images may be subject to copyright – Phillipa Hilton