Category: 1st XV

CANTERBURY 49 WORTHING 21

by David Haigh

Three wins from three make this Canterbury’s best start for several seasons and this time their control produced seven tries against a Worthing team still looking for a first National 2 East victory. The city side made a statement of intent as early as the third minute with a try under the posts from Harvey Furneaux after Number Eight Tyler Oliver, playing his 100th game for the club, made the initial dent in the defence. Frank Reynolds, faultless from the tee all afternoon, converted and although a couple of penalty goals by Charlie Spencer kept the visitors in touch, by half time Canterbury had stretched away with another three tries and secured a bonus point. An obstruction, a penalty and a catch and drive joined and finished by wing Garry Jones, brought the second touchdown and when Worthing’s Kieran Tomlinson was yellow carded they paid the price. The extra space was quickly exploited with a try for centre Will Waddington and although Spencer had landed his third penalty goal Canterbury had something spectacular up their sleeves. A minute before the break scrum half Tom Williams found space and pace near his own 22 area and arced round the defence for the outstanding score of the day which pushed the lead to 28-9. Faced with an uphlll task Worthing produced their own bit of magic four minutes into the second half. Canterbury were in full attack mode when they spilled ball in the shadow of the posts and Worthing skipper Jack Forrest made a punishing break before Spencer scored at the other end and converted his try. Soon, however, the city side were building further pressure and this time they made no mistake as Williams went blind from a maul and sent Jones over for his second try. A yellow card for Furneaux handed Worthing the chance of a catch and drive score for Jimmy Staples but Canterbury’s control of possession gave them the taste for more as Waddington collected a Reynolds chip and opened the way for wing Max Campbell to sprint clear for his first league try. Flanker Chad Thomas powered across the line from close range for the final touchdown and table topping Canterbury now face their sternest challenge when they fly to Guernsey on Saturday to meet another unbeaten side.

Canterbury: H.Young, G.Jones, A.Moss, W.Waddington, K.Heatherley, F.Reynolds, T.Williams, O.Frostick, E.O’Donoghue, D.Herriott, D.Irvine, S.,Rogers, H.Furneaux, T.Olive. Replacements, A.Cooper, N.Morris, F.Morgan, C.Thomas, M.Campbell

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Images may be subject to copyright – Phillipa Hilton

SEVENOAKS 14 CANTERBURY 27

by David Haigh

Canterbury lead the early National 2 East table with maximum points after a Kent derby victory which was set up in a dominant first half. At the break the city side were nineteen points clear and well in control but then had to dig in as Sevenoaks dominated possession and won the second half try count by two to one. That said, the result never looked seriously in doubt as Canterbury’s defence passed most of the tests and a breakout ten minutes from the end brought a bonus point try which sealed the result. They seized the initiative early in the game and scrum half Presley Farrance rewarded his forwards pressure by sniping over for the opening try after only twelve minutes. With ‘Oaks on the back foot the situation was ripe for exploitation but Canterbury’s biggest obstacle was their own lack of focus. Too often they lost the ball in contact and an over-anxious back line lacked fluency. A yellow card for home skipper Scott Sedgwick on the half hour, however, opened the way for a second try as wing Garry Jones joined a powerful rolling maul to make the touchdown. It wasn’t until the final minute of the half that another score came and again it was the pack that did the spadework before Chad Thomas plunged over for his first try for the club. Reynolds slotted a second conversion but there was a feeling that the team had left points out there. That became plainer as Sevenoaks began to get a strong foothold in the game but were never clinical enough to make best use of their possession. One the few clean line breaks of the afternoon was then made by city captain Jamie Stephens but the try went begging for want of a final pass and Canterbury had to settle for a Reynolds penalty goal. After that it was mostly a matter of containment. Sedgwick registered the home side’s first try, converted by George Montgomery, after 60 minutes, but even though Kurt Heatherley was sin binned Canterbury found a positive reply and an overhead pass saw Sam Rogers canter over unopposed. The closing minutes belonged to Oaks but their only success was Sedgwick’s second converted try, from a driving maul, when the game was beyond their reach.

Canterbury: H.Young, M.Campbell, A.Moss, F.Morgan, G.Jones, F.Reynolds, P.Farrance, C.Macmillan, E.O’Donoghue, D.Herriott, D.Irvine, J.Stephens, C.Thomas, H.Furneaux, T.Oliver. Replacements: O.Frostick, S.Rogers, N.Morris, K.Heatherley, T.Williams,

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Images may be subject to copyright – Phillipa Hilton

CANTERBURY 53 COLCHESTER 13

by David Haigh

This thumping victory gave Canterbury an ideal start to the new National 2 East league season. They dominated all areas as they crushed the league newcomers with a blast of seven tries. Although Head Coach Matt Corker said afterwards that there is still work to do he has plenty of talent at his disposal as he looks to smooth any rough edges. The city side’s forwards quickly took control and thirteen points in the first twenty minutes, through Cameron Macmillan’s catch and drive try and a conversion and two Frank Reynolds penalty goals, set the pattern. A Corey Button penalty goal put Colchester on the scoreboard but they were soon learning that life at a higher level will need serious adjustment. Their failure to contain a vibrant Canterbury backs division cost them dearly as Aiden Moss and Garry Jones scored converted tries to push the lead out to 27-3 at half time. The punishment was piled on early in the second half as two expertly marshalled catch and drives brought hooker Eoin O’Donoghue, who enjoyed an outstanding a game, a brace of tries. Colchester’s best spell was born of their ability to read Canterbury errors and a couple of unwise passes were intercepted to give the visitors rare attacking territory. Tries from Mike Stanway and Leroy O’Neil brought them temporary relief but in the last quarter it was business as usual for Canterbury. Frank Morgan sold a neat dummy to get his side’s sixth try and and a brilliant individual effort from replacement scrum half Tom Williams, which started in his own half, rounded off this impressive performance. Eighteen points from the boot of Reynolds, six conversions and two penalty goals, set last season’s top league points scorer firmly on his way once again.
Canterbury: H.Young, G.Jones, A.Moss, F.Morgan, M.Campbell, F.Reynolds, P.Farrance, C.Macmillan, E.O’Donoghue, D.Herriott, D.Irvine, J.Stephens, C.Thomas, H.Furneaux, T.Oliver. Replacements: N.Morris, O.Frostick, S.Rogers, T.Williams. K.Heatherley

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.