Category: Match Reports

Pilgrims Match Report

Posted on | by Becca Williams

Pilgrims 17

 

Sutton & Epsom 36

 

The pilgrims made the journey to Sutton in their last league fixture of the season knowing they needed to secure a bonus point win and deny Sutton any bonus points of their own to prevent a relegation playoff next Saturday.

The game started with both sides looking to exert their authority on the match with pilgrims having an advantage in the lineout and Sutton having a slight advantage at the scrums. The pilgrims robust gain line defence was frustrating Sutton until a good running line saw them break through to score under the posts for a 7-0 lead.

The Pilgrims showed good discipline as Sutton kept the ball well for long periods of the first half, but when they did get the opportunity they used the ball effectively to score a try of their own out wide with the conversion missed. 7-5. With the half drawing to a close, the pilgrims back 3 were caught out of position which allowed a speculative Sutton Kick in behind to be regathered and dotted down out wide to bring the half time score to 12-5.

The second half started with what has often epitomised the pilgrims season with the bounce of a ball deciding the next score, with the pilgrims on the attack a loose ball was almost regathered for what would have been a certain score for Owain Collins, but instead the ball bounced in Sutton’s favour and they went the length to score a converted try to take the score to 19-5. The pilgrims emptied the bench after injuries to Archie English and Stan Bull and once again looked threatening with ball in hand, but it was Sutton who scored their bonus point try which condemned the pilgrims to a relegation play off next weekend, regardless of the games outcome.

The pilgrims responded well with 2 tries of their own to bring the score to 26-17, but Sutton, safe in the knowledge their league status was secured began playing with more freedom and they added 2 further unconverted scores in the closing minutes to win an entertaining game 36-17.

The pilgrims must now win a relegation playoff next weekend against Dartfordians at the MTG to ensure they remain in regional 2 next season.

Deacons vs Folkestone 2’s – can they kick it? No they can’t!

Posted on | by Becca Williams

Loss aside, a combined points score of over 100 points in 80 minutes is testament to the Deacons resolve.

 

We’d been looking to put out a strong squad and win this fixture since the away debacle. With all 5 Men’s senior teams playing a number of our regular players were called up to the Canons while a couple dropped to the 5’s. Nevertheless, we still had a strong team and a couple of subs.

The was out and it was a great day for rugby – the atmosphere around the club was great as we shared the MTG with the first team as they played Esher. We opted for the top pitch as we thought the 1st team would prefer the attention of the crowd, despite the ground being harder than Ross Kemp wearing a vest drinking a can of Stella.

 

Folkestone had a full contingent travelling. A young and well organised team with a few rapid players dotted around the park. We had a blend of UKC players, regular Deacons, CCCU players & a couple of others we’d lured out of Greggs with a sausage bean and cheese melt.  On paper the team was fierce. If we ever had a rehearsal it might be unstoppable……

 

The first half started with us recovering the kick off. It was clear ‘the Stone’ had pace and that we were still yet to find the footing where we could comfortably get some go forward in attack. If I could count to 15 it might’ve helped as we started with only 14 on the pitch before someone pointed out we were short 🤦

 

Our own set piece was looking good, Matt Burchell had a fantastic game at hooker & his darts from the sideline were on point.

Ethan Mussell repeated his superb appearance from last week and was even better in the air at line out time – serving our very own little French bulldog Freddie at 9 with quality ball.

Defence was a different story however & Folkestone used their well prepared line out moves to great effect playing as much for penalties as possession.

 

So. Anyone who reads these will know the story by now. The first half started, there were some gaps in defence and the oppo started fast.

We went down a couple of tries quite quickly, which absolutely wasn’t the game plan. Folkestone seemed to be returning the ball towards us as such speed after a restart we couldn’t catch our breath and were stunned.

After 15 minutes we’d barely touched the ball and had nothing on the scoreboard to answer the visitors 12 points.

 

It was time to dig in. To try and retain the ball a bit & play our way. We had a fantastic team, Dan Head was back at 10. The back line comprised of Jake Upward and Aidan Demery in the centres and strong presence on the wing in Joseph Butler-Moor & Josh Pinnock and with Jake Vovell at full back our try line was well defended and counter attacks from deep were guaranteed.

We started to warm up. And in a move that lifted our spirits Canterbury stalwart Jake Upward went over the line allowing Dan to convert. At 7-12 the scoreline looked healthier.

 

We would have to dig in, but didn’t as quick as we might’ve liked. With Folkestone crossing the line once more, but missing the con. When the visitors struck again immediately after the restart the ref spotted (what I can only assume was accidental) some unsportsmanlike conduct and Josh P was off to the bin for 10 minutes.

The rest of the first half would be like running uphill in water wearing lead wellies. It was hot and hard we were a man down in defence; Folkestone were looking for a cricket score and a couple of them were being real dicks about it.

 

Fortunately though, once again the pack were the visitors nemesis. The phrase ‘scrum please sir’ was as welcome to Folkestone as a Monday morning alarm clock. Brad Nicholson was turning his opponent on the tighthead into a human squeezebox, and the loose side was going just as well.

The formidable second row pairing of James Newman and Alasdair Kite providing the drive as time after time the City boys dominated the scrum and defensively Carter Jeffereys & Ted Field were dynamite hitting the 9 & 10 to slow the attackers progress.

 

Despite this and while battling to get back in the game we lost Jake to injury before half time. And Folkestone scored once more.

The score going into the break was something like 7 – 36.

Half time Haribo saw heads down. We were back to 15, but the bench was now empty going into the 2nd half and some words of wisdom were required. Sadly it was me, so I waffled a bit and handed around the star mix.

 

Act 2 began. We kicked off. They scored.

So we had another go. This time, we settled and we started to work our way up the pitch. As we began to work through phases and move the ball around.

Freddie Vion had the best game he’s had in a couple of seasons hitting breakdowns and pulling balls left and right working with his fly half.

Within 15 minutes of the second half starting tries from Ted field, Josh Pinnock & Joseph Butler-Moor safely converted by Dan meant the scoreboard was looking closer.

Folkestone struck back to keep their tally ticking over, exploiting every mistake we (even me) made, with a couple of easy tries to keep them just out of reach. But with some of the away supporters on the sidelines uttering ‘we may not win this’ the visiting side had to resort to some ‘gamesmanship’ declaring they had lost all bar 2 of their front row and scrums would now be uncontested.

 

Ted Field struck once more to bring the score within 2 tries only for the Stone to get one back and towards the end of the game both teams were suffering from injuries dropping numbers to 14. With 90 seconds remaining and an uncontested scrum with Folkestone’s put in, their backline put the ball in the air only to find Jake Vovell who had been threatening for 80 minutes. He skipped through a number of tackles and crossed the try line (Ted said we wouldn’t score again) dropping the conversion through the posts to bring us to 40 points vs the visitors at 63. What a comeback!

Quite the game, if they could kick more than 1 or 2 conversions it would’ve been hideous.

 

Huge shout out to the ref who was refereeing his first senior game and had a great game.

 

1 more to go. Gravesend 3’s 25th April at home. Earlier kick off at 1pm most likely.  See you there.

 

Tries :

Jake Upward

Joseph Butler- Moor

Ted Field x 2

Josh Pinnick

Jake Vovell

 

Cons:

Dan Head x 4

Jake Vovell

 

MOTM – Ted Field

 

Thoughts are with Jake Upward now out for the foreseeable.

And huge thanks to Si Crossley for being our super sub covering various positions across the back field as he was needed.

Zingari v Old Gravesendians Match Report

Posted on | by Becca Williams

Match Report. 17.04.26

Old Gravesendians 2nd v Canterbury 5th

Canterbury5th 54pts.  Old Gravesendians 12pts.

The Zingari delivered an outstanding performance against Old Gravesendians putting them back in contention for a possible league title. With all to play for the Zingari came out of the blocks from the kick off driving deep into Gravesendians territory for Ashley Nwapa to break free of his would-be tackler for the first converted try. The pressure was unrelenting and ten minutes later quick ball from a ruck gave Vince Collett his chance to break the defensive line for the city’s second converted try. The pattern was set the city forward’s making ground with the backs exploiting the gaps, this had a secondary effect allowing Ash Nwapa to set off on a tackle braking run for his second try of the afternoon converted by Rob Horan. Next up was Brad Allchurch  making a return after a long absence showing some of his old magic sliding through the gaps in a broken defence to add to the try tally, with Rob Horan adding the extras. Gravesend who had looked dangerous on several occasions only the Zingari tackling had stemmed them before they took to the boot gaining a lineout in the Canterbury twenty-two that they exploited to power over from short range for a converted try giving them the last word of the half.

 

The second half  started much the same way with the Zingari applying all the pressure, and it wasn’t long before Vince Collett spotted ta gap in broken play to go under the posts for a converted try. However, it was Old Gravesendians who struck the next blow putting in a long penalty kick  winning the lineout to go over out wide for the unconverted try. Canterbury got back to work after this setback with a greater sense of urgency with some of their best play of the season, despite Gravesendians aggressive tackling the Zingari opened up play with some of the best handling of the season with backs and forwards combining to open up the defence. Soon the gap appeared for Vince Collett try converted by Rob Horan  followed by Finnan Langley crashing over for his converted try. With the game going into the last minutes the final blow came from Tony Carollo coming in from full back providing the extra man to touch down cementing a convincing win.

 

1Ash

2 Vince

3 Ash

4  Brad

 

5 Vince

6 ? Vince

7 Finnan

8 Tony

Canterbury Hang Tough For Victory

Posted on | by David Haigh

CANTERBURY 34 ESHER 33

by David Haigh

Ultimately, it was Canterbury’s ability to hang in at the end that settled a game which produced eleven tries, two hat tricks and enough twists and turns to keep a crowd, basking in Spring sunshine, in a state of nervous tension. Esher, full of purpose in their battle to avoid a relegation play-off match, held a narrow lead going into the final ten minutes. But the city side, who put a careless first half behind them, kept their cool, won a penalty and from it organised a massive driving maul for Eoin O’Donogue’s winning try. The victory lifts them to fifth place in National 2 East and, with a game in hand on the clubs above them, they will be eyeing a top four finish to the season. They were given early notice that Esher meant business as their prolific wing, James Botterill, added two tries to his growing tally in the opening 20 minutes. Forward grunt set up the first, crisp handing made the second. Canterbury were full of loose passes and unforced errors, but a yellow card for Esher’s Josh Thorne gave them an opportunity. Tyler Oliver delivered from a smart lineout drill and Frank Reynolds converted but there was more trouble in store. A Presley Farrance kick was charged down and Ben Robbins cashed in with the try that took the visitors to a half time lead of eight points. What a different beast the second half was for Canterbury. In the first seven minutes, Number Eight Oliver completed his hat trick, first a storming run of 40 metres after finding a midfield gap, then on the end of a catch drive, to give his side the lead for the first time. It did not last, however, as Owen Waters, who was off target with all his conversion attempts, slotted a simple penalty goal and Esher next put crushing pressure on the city defence to earn themselves another seven points with a penalty try. They quickly blew that advantage through a poor decision to kick from their in-goal area; Reynolds ran it back and the support opened the way for a Ryley Thomas try which Reynolds converted. There was still more drama to come; the restart was spilled and Botterill punished the error with his third try. Next, a charge down by Jesse Vries allowed Canterbury to mount an attack before Frank Morgan released Kurt Heatherley for the team’s fifth touchdown. It was heart stopping stuff and Esher’s slender one point lead became four when Waters struck again with a drop goal but, with six minutes remaining, the city side did not panic. The O’Donoghue score was clinically executed and in the closing stages the ball was successfully stowed away to thwart any Esher response.

Canterbury: K.Heatherley, M.Campbell, H.Sloan, W.Waddington, L.Talbot, F.Reynolds, P.Farrance, D.Huntley, E.O.Donoghue, O.Frostick, C.McGovern, J.Stephens, J.Walker, R.Thomas, T.Oliver. Replacements: T.Williams, J.De Vries, F.Morgan, J.Dengate, C.Macmillan

Match Report: Deacons away to Gillingham Anchorians 2’s

Posted on | by Becca Williams

Deacons away to Gillingham Anchorians 2’s

Grit, graft and determination pave the way.

Another revised Deacons outfit lined up against a very different Anchorians team from the fixture played at the MTG. Anchorians brought out some young talent with a number of colts enjoying their first taste of senior rugby. With Zingari’s fixture cancelled we picked up some youth and wisdom to bolster the squad & once again featured a Father/Son combo. Finally, after years of ‘weighting’ 😉 Jez & Piers Weigh took the field together.

Buoyed by a full bench, the sun shining and knowing we had been improving with every game confidence was high amongst the Deacons & receiving the kick off the game was on!

Intent was clear from the off with some strong carries into contact. Anchorians were strong at the breakdown and competition for the ball was fierce.
The first scrum was intense with the City boys unable to capitalise on what has been a strong area of the game all season. Fortunately with some quick analysis from Alasdair Kite and smart changes across the back row it didn’t take long to fix the set piece.

Once again it took the Deacons some time to settle. The first 30 was tense. Anchorians had much of the ball meaning we had to defend hard for long periods of time. As hard as we tried it was difficult to keep the home side at bay & we went 2 tries behind. The wind was in our favour and neither were converted, the kicker choosing to aim for an entirely different pitch on both occasions.

When we did have the ball we looked dangerous. With Rob Horan acting at 10 (our infamous Dan Head suffered an ouchy ruling him out) combining with the centre partnership of Canterbury stalwart Jake Upward and incredible developing talent Ed ‘the excorcet’ Exley we looked really sharp on attack.
With the backline being marshalled by Piers Weigh playing out of position at fullback, it was clear we would get across the line if we could maintain possession and after a period of pressure built through the forwards we celebrated Jake Upward steaming across the try line setting up an easy conversion for Rob.
At 10-7 we could get back in this game…..

Once again we received the kick off with some purpose, setting a platform to work forward from. Things were starting to click with forwards working together to move the ball into space & release the backs.
It was off the back of some fast hands from Dylan Coyle (9) hitting no8 Ethan Tighe working his way through a couple of tackles and keeping his feet before offloading the sweetest of passes to the Deacons hooker running a ‘world class hard line’ beating a tackle and leaving only 25m between him and the try line before the referee called them back for an infringement from some time before – we all agreed that was a monumental turning point in the game.

Deacons scrum set a platform allowing Jake to once again cross the line for a sympathetic conversation and we went up 10-14.
We’d waited a lot of match minutes to be ahead, but the lead didn’t last long, Anchorians taking the opportunity to capitalise on our lapse of concentration to once again take the lead.

But with the wind in our sails the Deacons continued to apply pressure in all areas of the park before a loose ball and some fantastic handling skills saw Joseph Butler-Moor dot the ball down to increase our lead in only his second game this season.

Going into the half time Haribo we were up on points and ambition, the second half was gearing up to be a real battle if we wanted to maintain the lead and win the game.

Restarting with some half time changes Deacons drew first blood. Brad Nicholson powering over the line like a beautiful balletic bear.
For the forwards, Ronnie West thrived under the pressure of stiff competition from his oppo in the front row, Alex Acaster moved selflessly to second row allowing Carter Jefferys to thrive on the flank – moving at such a pace off the scrum to effectively shut down any momentum from their 9. Ethan Mussel on the other flank had a phonomenal game, tackling with power and precision and being a nuisance at the breakdown; and Lennie West’s guest appearance for 7 minutes gave us all a boost because he’s got a wonderful demeanour that lifts us all.

The rest of the game was an arm wrestle. Jez Weigh came on for some of the textbook shithousery he’s been known for for years. Gillingham scored again to narrow the scores.
Dylan Coyle took a moment off from moaning & whinging to score a try (we’re all still waiting for another drop goal attempt) which bought us some breathing space.
Once again, Gills came back at us going back ahead. Any mistake from either side would result in points – it was tense.

But cometh the hour – cometh the men. In a blistering attack combining forwards and backs, some slick passing and watching through our fingers, the ball ended up with young Jorge who has been learning his craft with us quietly over a couple of seasons. He also understood he was going to come up short and fizzed a pass that none of us knew he had in him to Callum Townsend (returning from a horror injury earlier in the season) to score under the posts so Rob could slot the extras.

Up by 4 points. With less than 2 to play!
There was nothing else to be done. Get the ball back and finish the game.
We did so, the ball finding its way back to DC to kick it to touch with the nonchalance of another fine 9, DC formerly of Quins.

We’d done it.
Beaten our fellow league foundation team with a really great, close, good natured, well contended game of rugby.
Thanks Anchorians.
But it was just a rehearsal for next week’s big game against Folkestone 2’s – at home at 3pm.

MOTM – Alasdair Kite – silent but deadly, floating like a butterfly, stinging like a Bee. He was everywhere in defence and a menace in attack.

It’s the twilight of our season, with a couple of games to win to finish strong. There’s still time to get involved as a player, or a supporter. Come and be a part of the Deacons family community rugby with us. #oneclub

Canterbury Dig Deep to Secure 15–10 Win Over Portsmouth Valkyries

Posted on | by Becca Williams

Canterbury dig deep to secure 15–10 win over Portsmouth Valkyries

Written by Amber Waitimas

Canterbury travelled to face Portsmouth Valkyries and came away with a hard-fought 15–10 victory in testing conditions. A combination of long travel, limited recent match time, hard ground, heat, and a persistent wind made for a challenging afternoon, but Canterbury showed resilience and determination to secure the win.
The opening exchanges saw Portsmouth apply early pressure, and they were first to get points on the board after forcing a penalty inside Canterbury’s 22. Opting to take the points, Portsmouth slotted the penalty to take an early lead.
Canterbury responded well, with scrum-half Ella Jenkins spotting a gap around the breakdown and breaking the line cleanly. She offloaded to El Crowe, who powered over the try line to score Canterbury’s first try of the match and shift momentum.
Portsmouth struck back with their first try following a sustained period of pressure. A series of pick-and-go phases under the posts allowed them to cross the line, and with a straightforward conversion, they regained the lead.
Canterbury had an opportunity to respond shortly after when a Portsmouth penalty provided field position. Robyn Gulley, stepping up at fly-half, opted to take the points, but the kick was unfortunately pushed off target with the assistance of the wind.
Despite some attacking promise, Canterbury continued to struggle with accuracy beyond the second phase. However, their set-piece dominance, particularly in the scrum, provided a strong platform throughout, thanks to the efforts of Lizzie Deverson, Rosie Payne, Alex Mills, Amber Waitimas, and Emma Alleyne.
Defensively, Canterbury were resolute. Hannah Sandeman was outstanding in midfield, repeatedly denying Portsmouth’s centres the gain line, while the back three, including Lola Yuille-Clough, impressive on her first outing at fullback, dealt confidently with both attacking threats and the difficult conditions. On the wing, Alice Hayward delivered a flawless defensive display, earning Back of the Match with a series of dominant one-on-one tackles.
The forwards continued to put in a tireless shift, with El Crowe consistently breaking the gain line and putting Portsmouth on the back foot. Captain Lucy Relf then added Canterbury’s second try, picking up the ball from a pick and go on the try line and taking it on the blindside to score.
In the closing stages, Rachel Betteridge made a huge impact off the bench, bringing physicality with big carries, tackles, and scrummaging effort, earning Forward of the Match honours.
The decisive moment came in the final ten minutes, when El Crowe crossed for her second try of the game, extending Canterbury’s lead. From there, Canterbury managed the game intelligently, maintaining possession and controlling territory to prevent Portsmouth from mounting a final comeback.
Credit must go to Portsmouth Valkyries, who delivered a determined and competitive performance throughout and never let the game slip away easily.
While not at their clinical best, Canterbury showed grit, adaptability, and strong defensive organisation to secure the result, proving that even on tough days, they have the ability to dig deep and get the job done.

Composure Wins The Day

Posted on | by David Haigh

GUERNSEY 29 CANTERBURY 33

by Chris Fullbrook

Canterbury produced a determined and resilient performance to overcome a physical Guernsey side in an entertaining and hard‑fought encounter, showing composure at key moments to claim a bonus point victory. The match began with an early setback for the city side when Guernsey crossed for a converted try after sustained pressure. A loose Canterbury pass was intercepted and, although Max Campbell won the subsequent foot race, he was tackled in goal. Guernsey opted repeatedly to scrummage from penalties close to the line and Matt Creber eventually powered over and full back Tom Teasdale converted. Canterbury responded impressively. Their first try came after a flowing passage of play, sparked by Harry Sloan breaking the line and sending Ryley Thomas through a gap. Quick hands followed as the ball moved via scrum‑half Presley Farrance and Luke Talbot, before Thomas, who had continued to support, finished the move. Frank Reynolds’ conversion brought Canterbury level. Momentum swung further in the visitors favour shortly afterwards. A penalty kicked to the corner and the resulting catch‑and‑drive proved too strong for the Guernsey defence, with Jimmy Walker applying the finishing touch and Reynolds again converting.

The game then tightened, with Canterbury temporarily reduced to 14 men when Thomas was shown a yellow card midway through the first half. Guernsey made that numerical advantage count, capitalising on another loose pass which was intercepted before centre Jon Dawe raced in from 20 metres out. The try went unconverted and Canterbury reached the break leading 14-12 but now with gusting wind at their backs.

They began the second half brightly, a speculative kick from fly‑half Reynolds causing problems for the Guernsey fullback. His fumble allowed Reynolds to regather before feeding captain Jamie Stephens who set Max Campbell free. The wing showed outstanding pace to finish in the corner for the city side’s third try. Minutes later, Guernsey struck back; a midfield penalty was kicked to the corner and, from the ensuing line‑out, replacement hooker Tom Ceillam was at the back of the maul to bring this tight match to 17-19. The islanders continued to press and were awarded a penalty try following a scrum five metres out and Canterbury hooker Eoin O’Donoghue was sin‑binned. Despite being down a man, the side showed real character. to take back the lead. Defending inside their own 22, Guernsey attempted a clearance from the base of a scrum that was charged down by Stephens. He gathered, fed Will Waddington and the centre calmly popped a pass to Walker, who powered over for his second try of the afternoon, converted by Reynolds. Guernsey mounted a final push in the closing quarter and struck again through Dawe, who scored his second after a break from influential fullback Anthony Armstrong. The missed conversion kept the game finely poised at 29-26. With the match in the balance, Canterbury showed maturity in the final minutes and deep inside Guernsey territory, Reynolds kicked a penalty to the corner. The resulting ten‑man driving maul—backs and forwards combined—proved decisive, with O’Donoghue redeeming his earlier sin‑binning by grounding the ball for the fifth and decisive converted try

Canterbury: K.Heatherley, M.Campbell, H.Sloan, W.Waddington, L.Talbot, F.Reynolds, P.Farrance, D.Huntley, E.O’Donoghue, O.Frostick, J.De Vries, J.Stephens, J.Walker, R.Thomas, T.Oliver,. Replacements: J.Dengate, T.Williams, C.Macmillan, C.McGovern, A.English.

Pilgrims Match Report

Posted on | by Becca Williams

Pilgrims 41

Beckenham 22

 

The Pilgrims welcomed Beckenham to the MTG for their final home game of the season knowing that 2 wins from their final 3 games will secure their place in regional 2 for next season.

The reverse fixture was decided when the pilgrims missed the kick at goal with the final play of the game to give Beckenham the victory and the city side were keen to put that right and showed good intent from the first whistle as they attacked down the slope in the 1st half. The pilgrims looked solid in the set piece and that was giving the home backs a good platform to attack with Beckenham’s defence commendable in stopping a number of promising early attacks. The Pilgrims did get on the score sheet after 12 mins when a fine break from returning centre Garry Jones saw Tom Mackenzie in support to power over out wide for a 5-0 lead which was quickly followed by Owain Collins adding a second unconverted score before Beckenham hit back against the run of play to score a converted try, 10-7. HT.

Pilgrims kicked off the second half and instantly added their 3rd score when a loose Beckenham kick was secured by Constant and offloaded to Isaac Devine whose skillful run and offload found Collins who in turn put Bull in space before he found wingman Max Campbell who scored in the corner under pressure to cap a fine score that was converted well from the touchline by Hilton, 17-7. Beckenham looked to hit back and thought they had scored following a missed tackle by the ruck only for fullback Owain Collins to somehow get his body under the Beckenham player to prevent the grounding and force a goal line drop out.

The respite was short lived as Beckenham followed up with a fine break from their powerful number 8 and the Beckenham backs found their way over in the corner, 17-12.

Pilgrims added their bonus point score after good work from the forwards from a 5m penalty saw prop Cam MacMillan power over, 22-12. Max Campbell then added a 2nd following a strong run from Constant into heavy traffic, 29-12.

Beckenham were struggling to deal with pilgrims aggressive defence and an element of niggle started to enter the game. A push on Stan bull following a fine tackle saw him yellow carded after he was deemed to retaliate with a push of his own. Beckenham kicked the penalty to the corner and mauled well allowing them to break off the back and score out wide, 29-17. Pilgrims hit back 5 minutes later when fine interplay between forwards and backs saw pilgrims surge towards the line and only a cynical infringement from Beckenham prevented a score which saw their winger receive a yellow card and see both teams down to 14. Tom Mackenzie powered over from the resulting penalty to extend the lead to 36-17.

Pilgrims then gave away 2 penalties in quick succession that allowed Beckenham easy territory gains with the 2nd being kicked to the corner well. A well worked line out was mauled from 5meters out and the Beckenham scrum half broke off the back to dive over and score their bonus point try. 36-22.

With the clock ticking down the pilgrims added a further try-Man of the match James Everrat carried powerfully and bumped off an attempted tackler to get in behind. The ball was moved wide to Max Campbell and he dived over in the corner to cap a good pilgrims performance and bring the final score to 41-22. Pilgrims know that a win from either of their remaining two fixtures away at Battersea Ironsides on 11th April or Sutton & Epsom on 18th April will see them secure their place in regional 2 next season without the need for a playoff game.

Canons Match Report

Posted on | by Becca Williams

It was disappointment for the Canons, as a young Gravesend side came out winners in a close game at the MTG.

 

Expecting a big, physical opposition, it was all change for Gravesend as they lined up with a team full of graduating colts and youngsters.  Although Canterbury were strong in the tight opening phases, Gravesend quickly used the speed and pace advantage that their young side possessed to break and use the width to score in the corner.   Canterbury regathered, but it was almost a mirror play.  Although Canterbury got back to make a last ditch tackle, the referee deemed for there to have been a deliberate knock on in the covering defence which resulted in a yellow card.  Gravesend kicked from the corner and broke off from the maul to score.   From the kick off, there was a high tackle from Canterbury, resulting in a second yellow card and reducing Canterbury down to 13 players for a period of 9 minutes.  Despite this, the team kept Gravesend out, however in the last play of the half, Gravesend scored again to increase their advantage to 17-0 at the break.

 

After some strong words at half time, and a game plan to utilise the physical advantage that Canterbury had over Gravesend, the home team came out firing.  From a clearing kick, Josh Lamb collected the ball in the Canterbury half and broke through a number of tackles to score under the posts.    Gravesend reacted well, and responded within 5 minutes with a bonus point score of their own.  The home side were not going to roll over, and continued to use their forwards to break down Gravesend.  Scores followed for Ollie Jeffery from a well worked tap and go penalty, and shortly after from Adrian Geddes for the scoreline to read 19-24.  With 10 minutes to play, a fourth Canons try felt like it was on the cards, however poor execution and errors meant that Canterbury were unable to breach the tryline again.  Gravesend looked to end the game with a penalty kick for the posts, but this slid wide and the Canons maintained their losing bonus point.

 

With a break for Easter, the Canons have a tough run in for the end of the season, welcoming 2nd place Tunbridge Wells to the MTG, and visits to 4th place Whitstable and 3rd place Hastings.  Nonetheless, the team will be looking to have a positive end to the season, and cause an upset in these games.

Late Try Ends Victory Push

Posted on | by David Haigh

LONDON WELSH 22 CANTERBURY 21

by David Haigh

A late Welsh try settled a close but fitful game in which Canterbury never recaptured the high standards they achieved in their previous outing. It is said that the devil is in the detail and that was manifested by the city club’s lack of accuracy at key moments. Forward passes, small handling errors and failure to turn attacking positions into points let them down and, arguably, denied them a couple of important scores. Having taken the lead nine minutes before the end they had the opportunity to close out the game, but could not resist Welsh’s strong finish. Canterbury made the first breach when Jimmy Walker cleaned up untidy lineout possession to burrow over for a try converted by Frank Reynolds. By half time, however, it was Welsh, exploiting he slope cannily to set up position, who were eight points to the good. A driving maul brought a try for flanker Tom Williams and a flat pass, fired by fly half Matt Hodgson, sent wing Iwan Humphreys across for the second. Obstinate Canterbury defence resisted more heavy pressure before the break so Hodgson, who converted his side’s first score, settled for a penalty goal. Memories of the city side’s stunning second half effort two weeks ago were quickly revived when a fine driving maul was capped by a Ryley Thomas try and Reynolds’ conversion a minute after the break. But dawns can often prove false and it was not until deep into the final quarter that the city side found a way to edge ahead. Accuracy was missing, line breaks by Tyler Oliver and Frank Morgan went unrewarded and it wasn’t until until the 71st minute that another score came. Welsh were pinned in a corner, made a mess of their own lineout throw and Charlie McGovern pounced for the try. Reynolds was on target again, but the home side now grabbed the initiative. Two minutes from the end a penalty handed them a last catch and drive opportunity and Harry Breeze crashed over. Victory was down to a Hodgson conversion and he made no mistake.

Canterbury: K.Heatherley, F.Morgan, H.Sloan, W.Waddington, L.Talbot, F.Reynolds, P.Farrance, L.Young. J.Dengate, O.Frostick, C.McGovern, J.Stephens, J.Walker, M.Campbell, J.De Vries, D.Huntley, C.Oliver