Category: Match Reports

Pilgrims Tame The Lions

Posted on | by David Haigh

DEAL & BETTESHANGER LIONS 21 CANTERBURY PILGRMS 32

by John Mitchell

It all started with the minibus stuck in a field! But that’s a story for another day, sorry.

This East Kent derby game started well for Pilgrims, wing Garry Jones being put away for a great try in the first five minutes, converted by Tom McMann, but in wet and windy conditions it was not easy for the kickers. Former Canterbury fly half Ollie Best ,for Lions, and McMann were both off target before Tom found his range with a penalty and made it 10-0. That didn’t last long as Pilgrims infringements at breakdown and scrum were punished with two Best penalty goals. Play, inevitably, was scrappy in the conditions and Canterbury were allowing the home side to dictate matters. But when opportunity came Pilgrims struck. A penalty 20 metres out saw Luke Webber tap and go and the seas just parted for him as he ran through to the posts for a try converted by McMann. Still, Canterbury were giving silly penalties away, again for coming in from the side, and Best duly obliged to make it 9-17 at half-time. Yellow cards played a part after the break. The Lions Number 5 was the first to go and more pressure from Canterbury saw McMann make it 9-20 from yet another penalty. When Will Hunt was sin binned for chat the Lions opted for a scrum, broke away with the help of two missed tackles and scored between the posts. Best converted. With only four points in it was it going to be squeaky bum time for the Pilgrims? However, it was now the side showed its resilience. From open play Sonny Trew-Neville ran an absolutely superb line and offloaded for Tom Halliday to score and McMann converted. Surely they would go on to win! Still the home side caused problems, but Pilgrims held out and then landed a decisive blow with a close range try by prop Will McColl which earned the bonus point. The hosts are not the sort of team to give up, pressed to the end and had the last word with an unconverted try. The final whistle could not come soon enough for Canterbury in this hard fought victory which takes their record to six wins from six, all with a bonus point, and retains their leadership of Counties 1 Kent.

Pilgrims next meet local rivals Dover at home on November 4th, kick-off 2pm. Both these sides were promoted last season, so it promises to be a great game, regardless of current league position or form.

The Zingari subdue the Warriors

Posted on | by Denys Andrianjafy

Canterbury 32 –Weavering 24

The Zingari were a little apprehensive taking on top of the table Weavering Warriors while carrying a long injury list that began to look justified in the opening moments. The warriors from the kick off controlled the opening exchanges and got their reward with a try with just ten minutes on the clock. It wasn’t until twenty minutes into the half before the Canterbury pack began to click securing quality ball their backs used to great effect. First was Gareth Thomas breaking the line for the city’s first try, quickly followed by Ben Knight out stripping the defence to go round behind the post giving Brad Allchurch the simple conversion. This seemed to instil confidence into the forwards with some of the less experienced coming into their own with Lawrence Frattaroli, & Tom goode making some devastating breaks to set up George Thomas emulating his fathers previous try with a try of his own. This was followed by Edward Cockell for his first try of the afternoon touching down out wide to build a comfortable halftime for the city side.

The second half started much the same with the city dominating the loose sending the ball wide to give Edward Cockell his second try of the afternoon, keeping up the pressure the city forwards got within ten meters of the line before Richard Collins broke free to go over the line. As the game went into the last quarter Canterbury sitting on their substantial lead began to ease off were soon to pay the price for this complacency The Warriors forwards sensed the shift in momentum and pressed hard with some of their best plays of the afternoon, finding gaps in the city ‘s defence racket up two well taken converted try’s. With the game going into the last minutes the City side found themselves with a fight on their hands, determined not to give away their advantage they increased their tackle rate and scramble defence. This seemed to blunt their attack until the last play of the game with the warriors making a last effort to go over in the corner, not enough to affect the result but enough to show why they were league leaders.

Second Half Storm

Posted on | by David Haigh

CANTERBURY PILGRIMS 52 DARTFORDIANS 7

The unbeaten Pilgrims unleashed a second half storm of 40 points as they consolidated their lead at the top of the Counties 1 Kent league table. After an untidy first half in which they dominated possession but were restricted to two tries they cut loose against a Dartfordians side that came to Merton Lane as one of Canterbury’s potential challengers but could do little to prevent their heaviest defeat of the season. There were too many errors in the early stages for either side to make an impression but Pilgrims got under way after a powerful break by centre Morgan Dayes led to a try for wing Joe Rumsey. They had to wait until two minutes before the interval before a second score came, this time a close quarter drive from prop Dan Gil converted by Brad Law. There had been little flow to a game punctuated by frequent injury stoppages and penalty awards but on the restart Pilgrims threw the switch. Two tries in the opening five minutes from Will Hunt and Harvey Furneaux brought a bonus point and set the pattern as Canterbury’s pack took charge and Darfordians could only try to limit the damage. A charged down kick gave Pilgrims their next chance and the powerful Luke Webber went over. Dayes hacked on a loose ball before scrum half Hector Valldares got the sixth try, quickly followed by a second from Furneaux. The visitors did break through to create an overlap and a converted try before replacement wing Fady Sheta made the last Pilgrims touchdown, courtesy of Max Halliday’s break, and Law added his sixth successful goal kick.

Pilgrims: M.Halliday, A.Geddes, M.Dayes, B.Law, J.Rumsey, W.Waddington, H.Valldares, A.Malik, B.Dunkerley, P.Holland, W.Hunt, L.Webber, T.Mackenzie, H.Furneaux, A.Evans. Replacements: D.Gill, F.Holland-Oliver, F.Sheta

Canterbury Pay For Early Damage

Posted on | by David Haigh

Barnes 39 Canterbury 22

by Andy Rogers

With four enforced changes in the back division from last week’s narrow defeat against league leaders Dorking this was always going to be a difficult encounter against a confident second placed Barnes. However it wasn’t cohesion that was lacking in a disappointing first half display as Canterbury failed to exert sufficient pressure from their large and experienced pack, not helped by early injuries to second row Shay Kerry and hooker Nathan Morris, both having to leave the field within the first 20 minutes. Instead Barnes stole the early initiative and Canterbury had no answers to their offloading master class. Three tries in the first 20 minutes, including a brace from elusive winger Paul Webb, had Canterbury on the ropes and with Kerry and Morris now off the pitch Barnes secured their bonus point score before half time. It came via a 20 metre driving maul before dancing fullback Cameron Roberts was released to squeeze over in the corner. Trailing by 24 to nil at half time a response was required and to a point Canterbury delivered. Frank Reynolds kicked a simple penalty early on before Barnes stretched their lead with a catch and drive try from flanker Ethan Harbinson. With the game seemingly beyond them Canterbury were now taking the initiative and two tries followed. First a fine finish from winger Jack Weaver; then centre Lewis Hollidge rounded off perhaps Canterbury’s best attacking move after a lovely line break from Eoin O’Donoghue. Barnes kicked another penalty but Canterbury were at last building some pressure and with the hosts repeatedly infringing it cost them three yellow cards. Centre Frank Morgan capitalised from a subsequent penalty with a try from a line out catch and drive, converted by Reynolds, and with 15 minutes still to go Canterbury could suddenly sniff a losing bonus point. Barnes were to score again to take the score to 39 to 22 but with the clock ticking down the city side were on the front foot again but missed their chance of a fourth try. It went wrong as they opted for a quickly taken tap penalty when a kick to the corner and an attacking lineout might have been more productive, so they left with nothing
Canterbury: T.Best, T.Halliday, F.Morgan, L.Hollidge, J.Weaver, F.Reynolds, B.Cooper, B.Young, N.Morris, D.Herriott, S.Kerry, D.Irvine, S.Rogers, C.Murray, J.Stephens. Replacements: E.O’Donoghue, C.Macmillan, T.Williams, J.Dengate, P.Farrance

Pilgrims match report

Posted on | by Denys Andrianjafy

HEATHFIELD & WALDRON 18 CANTERBURY PILGRIMS 34

by John Mitchell

The unbeaten Pilgrims stayed ahead of the Counties 1 Kent pack with this bonus point victory on their first ever visit to Heathfield and Waldron. The game started badly for the visitors. Two knock-ons, holding on, poor scrummaging and a line out throw that was not straight. Result, penalty 3-0 down and they were soon ten points behind after further mistakes in the 5 metre area gave the home side a converted try. So different to last weeks superb performance. Then from a scrum, half backs Tom Williams and Tom McMann made space for Adrian Geddes to score out wide out and McMann converted. They next took full advantage of a yellow card for H&W with Luke Webber driving over from a lineout maul and McMann again adding the extras. Just before the half hour mark Jack Weaver made inroads, linked with McMann and he sent Geddes over for his second try, but the conversion attempt hit the post Now it was the visitors turn to get a yellow, this time Webber paid the price and took a team card for high tackles. A Heathfield and Waldron cross kick seemed bound for touch but Pilgrims kept the ball in play and an unfavourable bounce handed the Sussex side an unconverted try. But their kicker made no mistake from a penalty award and at half time the Pilgrims lead at 19-18 was down to one point. The second half, however, belonged to the Pilgrims. Good pressure and excellent handling saw the ball moved quickly to Tom Williams, now out on the wing, for him to drive over for an unconverted try. The Canterbury forwards were now dominating, with Cameron Macmillan and Jake Dengate leading the way, and the backs were beginning to gel as they sent Sonny Trew-Neville over for another unconverted touchdown to extend the lead to eleven points. The visitors continued to press and Presley Farrance, coming on at Number 9 for the second half, gave the pass for Luke Webber to score the final try and seal the win. Pilgrims top the league with 20 points, four clear of the second and third placed teams, one of whom, Dartfordians, come to The Marine Travel Ground this weekend.

Zingari triumph in a physical contest

Posted on | by Denys Andrianjafy

Canterbury 37 – 17 Ashford Barbarians

This was a physical contest from the outset with both sets of forwards trying to dominate, while the Barbarians held the upper hand at the set piece the Zingari had the advantage in the loose. This led to Canterbury’s first try with Toby Allen picking off a ball on the outside with a straight dash to the line. Next up was Brad Allchurch showing what he could do from close range with a tackle breaking charge to go over out wide. Ashford reply was swift, their forwards building pressure before they found a gap in the city defence to claim back a try with a charge from short range. With twenty minutes on the clock Canterbury now entered a purple patch, keeping the ball alive running everything, even from deep in their own half began to pay dividends, First Joe Rumsey out stripping the defence ran the ball behind the posts for the city’s only conversion courtesy of Brad Allchurch. This was followed by Will Rayner jinking his way round his would-be tacklers to touch down, and on the stroke of half time Jerome Weigh was on hand to burrow his way over to give the Zingari a well-earned half time cushion.

The second half saw the Barbarians trying to keep the ball tight that paid dividends with an early try, only to be thwarted when the city pounced on a loose ball and set off down field to be finished off with Connor Langley making a scything run over the line. Ashford Barbarians kept to their game plan bringing them success after concerted forward pressure on the city line rewarded them with a converted try. The city now had to endure more of the same, and set themselves into defensive mode with some heroic tackling and scramble defence that proved enough to hold their line. As the game went into the closing minutes, and deep in defence the Zingari manage to secure a loose ball sending it wide to Toby Allen, who then turned the defender before cutting back inside to win the sprint to the lime cementing the Zingari win.

Tries

Toby Allen 2
Jerome Weigh 1
Joe Rumsey 1
Will Rayner 1
Brad Allchurch 1
Connor Langley 1

Conversions

Brad Allchurch 1

Fight Back Falls Short

Posted on | by David Haigh

CANTERBURY 31 DORKING 36

by David Haigh

Canterbury’s habit of playing second half catch-up gave National 2 East league leaders Dorking plenty to think about but it was the visitors defensive strengths that eventually saw them maintain their unbeaten record and take home a bonus point win. Two tries in the first ten minutes after the break gave the visitors a 22 point lead and the game seemed to be in their pocket. But the city side, as they had the previous week, found a second wind and four minutes from the end Shay Kerry’s converted try had closed the gap to eight points. It was tantalisingly close but not quite enough although continuing pressure won a penalty and Canterbury took the pragmatic decision to kick it and claim a second bonus point. Dorking, with the confidence of five wins under their belt, took an early lead through a Henry Anscombe penalty goal and Fraser Mosely’s converted try before Canterbury got their act together. Two sniping tries by scrum half Ben Cooper, the first from a maul, the second after a strong carry from prop Billy Young, newly returned from the collapsed Jersey club, kept them in the hunt but Dorking were still good value for a 24-14 half way lead. Their scores were made by former Canterbury forward Will Scholes and wing Will Sanders with Anscombe topping up both tries. They built impressively on that advantage early in the second half with a catch and drive try by hooker Jonny Ellis and a seering long range run from wing Toby McCrae who outpaced every one on his way to the line. Canterbury were left with that old cliche ringing in their ears ‘a mountain to climb’ but after McCrae’s brilliant effort they quickly began the ascent. Within two minutes Aiden Moss collected a clearance kick, speared though and Alfie Orris finished off after good link work with Jamie Stephens. Reynolds converted and Canterbury kept on coming, It was now that Dorking’s defenders dug in and under intense pressure repelled all attacks. When Canterbury exhausted the unproductive catch and drive route they finally made the breach as Kerry muscled his way over the line from a tap penalty, too late however to influence the result.

Canterbury: A.Davies (repl F.Morgan), A.Moss, G.Jones, L.Hollidge (repl T.Best), A.Orris, F.Reynolds, B.Cooper, P.Holland (repl B.Young), N.Morris (repl E.O’Donoghue), D.Herriott, S.Kerry, J.De Vries, J Stephens, S.Rogers, T.Oliver (repl H.Furneaux)

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v Dorking - 7 Oct 2023

Images may be subject to copyright – Phillipa Hilton

Zingari take maximum points

Posted on | by Denys Andrianjafy

Deal & Betteshanger Lions 2nd XV 24 – 46 Zingari

Again, the Zingari take maximum points with a display of open running rugby against a sometimes-rampant Lions pack. The city side opened their account with an early try from Thomas, followed minutes later by George Ayres touching down before convert his own try. This early onslaught by Canterbury prompted the Lions pack into action, with some devastating drives into the city defence that yielded a well taken converted try before the Zingari managed to stem the flow. First with Thomas and then Brad Allchurch crashing over the line, and with George Ayres conversions the city side looked to be building a comfortable lead. However, the Lions had other ideas, their forwards pressured Canterbury into conceding three points with a penalty before snatching a try and conversion just before halftime.

The second half started as the first finished with Deal & Betts forwards breaking the city line with a try & conversion putting them within striking distance of the city. Canterbury pack aware of the situation sensibly played to their strengths, while the Lions well drilled pack dominated the set piece the city exceled in the open broken play keeping the ball alive. First to take advantage of this style of play was Toby Allen and George Ayres both touching down out wide. Deal & Betts Lions now stretched across the field found it more difficult to combat these tactics, and in the last few minutes Canterbury sealed it up with a move started on halfway spreading the ball down the line for Allen to squeeze in the corner to tie up the match.

Tries
Thomas 2
George Ayres 2
Toby Allen 3
Brad Allchurch

Conversions
George Ayres 3

PILGRIMS GO TOP

Posted on | by David Haigh

CANTERBURY PILGRIMS 76 CRANBROOK 0

by John Mitchell

This runaway success, which produced twelve unanswered tries, took Pilgrims to the top of the Counties 1 Kent table as they made it three wins from three A good start saw full back Jack Weaver live up to his name as he shredded the defence for the first of his four tries, converted by Tom McMann, and the Weaver/McMann combination repeated the dose minutes later. Cranbrook exerted pressure and one thought they might get back into the game, but Brandon Dunkerley crashed through, Alex Evans picked up to score and that was quickly followed by Weaver’s hat trick touchdown. Tom Halliday was next on the list after fine work by the backs, with McMann converting, and before half time Cranbrook had cracked again. McMann lost his 100 per cent goal kicking record when Adrian Geddes scored wide out but at the break Pilgrims were 40 points clear. The second half started with a yellow card to Cranbrook for a high tackle but for 20 minutes the visitors held firm and their half time team talk obviously helped. But then ‘iron man’ Luke Webber made a decisive run which set up Gus Lister’s try. The wingman got his second soon after, taking a pass from Geddes and selling a sublime dummy and with McMann adding the extras Pilgrims were now past the 50 mark. We were watching some of the best off loading and unselfish passing we have seen for years. Tom Mackenzie, who had an awesome game, got the ball to scrum half Hector Valldares for the next try but a yellow card for Webber meant a period was spent in defence. That ended when Lister stole a ball in his own 22 area and Halliday’s perfect cross kick saw Weaver gather and sprint home for his fourth try. There were till two scores to come, Sony Trew-Neville and Valldares combining from half way for the scrum half to touch down, and finally a great 30 metre burst by impressive captain Alex Evans, both tries converted, rounded off a superb team performance. Jake Dengate received the supporters ‘Man of the Match’ award but it was a great all-round effort. Next week Pilgrims travel to Heathfield and Waldron in Sussex. There is room on the bus if anyone would like to come and support this exciting young squad.

v Worthing

PACK POWER PAYS

Posted on | by David Haigh

WORTHING RAIDERS 38 CANTERBURY 45

by David Haigh

Pack power won this game for a Canterbury side that came from fifteen points down to claim a bonus point victory which lifts them into the top half of the National 2 East table. The catch and drive proved to be a lethal weapon, producing four of their five tries with hooker Nathan Morris claiming a hat trick for the second time this season. Fly half Frank Reynolds was anther major contributor, his twenty points made up of four conversions and four penalty goals, adequate compensation for the charged down kick that handed Raiders an early lead through Joe Knight’s converted try. The first half set the tone, a contest between Canterbury’s powerful scrummagers and a pacy Worthing back division in which full back Tom Bowen was a constant danger. Thanks to his two tries, plus conversions and a penalty goal from Tom Derrick the home side led by four points at the end of a hotly contested half. Jamie Stephens countered the early Worthing try through the inevitable catch and drive, Reynolds slotted two penalty goals and three minutes before the break Morris touched down as the Worthing forwards splintered. In the first twenty minutes of the second half the Raiders took charge and inflicted what could have been terminal damage to Canterbury’s hopes. Reynolds landed an early penalty goal but when the home side were handed possession from avoidable errors the backs struck through converted tries from wing Peter Drummond and the elusive Bowen. Going into the final quarter the scoreboard read 23-38. The way back was pointed by centre Garry Jones, the pick of the city side’s threequarter line, who ran in from half way, after ball was turned over, and the forwards began to assert their strengths in clinical fashion. Overwhelmed at the set scrums, Worthing leaked the penalties which gave Canterbury the territory they needed to complete the comeback. Good lineout ball and organised drives proved irresistible with Morris providing the finishing touches which recaptured the lead. Reynolds converted both tries and had the easiest of penalty shots with the last kick of the match.
Canterbury; A.Davies, F.Morgan, G.Jones, T.Best, A.Moss, F.Reynolds, B.Cooper, P.Holland, N.Morris D.Herriott, D.Irvine, J.De Vries, J.Stephens, C.Murray, T.Oliver. Replacements, E.O.Donoghue, C.Macmillan, H.Furneaux, A.Orris, L.Hollidge

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v Worthing - 30 Sept 2023

Images may be subject to copyright – Phillipa Hilton