Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Frost puts bite on victory bid
Ollie Best squared matters with a penalty goal before Frost struck for a second time.
None of the scores were converted but Titans defended well against some fierce catch and drive pressure but were then let off the hook when a delayed pass was knocked-on with the line beckoning.
Canterbury’s prospects at the break did not look promising, five points down and now facing wind and slope, but the transformation in their approach was a tribute to their strength.
They upped the pressure immediately and five minutes into the new half Mccormick-huston stretched over and Best’s conversion won back the lead. A break by the foraging George Micans and a run from full back Aiden Moss was the prelude to the Edwards try which pressed Canterbury’s claims.
Gary Kingdom kicked a pen- alty goal for Titans but breaks by Guy Hilton and Moss did not end in the tries they deserved and a heavy price was paid.
Canterbury made a handling mistake which turned over possession before Frost stepped through the tackles too easily to grab the spoils and hand out a harsh lesson in making the most of things when it matters. Canterbury: A.moss, G.hilton, T.best, W.farris, H.sayers (repl M.beaumont, repl B.howard), O.best, D.smart, A.cooper (repl J.green), T.rogers (repl S.rogers), S.kenny (repl A.cooper), T.burns (repl G.edwards), R.cadman, T.edwards (repl T.rogers), H.mccormick-huston, G.micans.
The Pilgrims ran in 14 tries as they swept to an overwhelming 92-0 Zoo Shield victory at Westcliff 2nds.
They dominated from the start and built an unassailable 40 point lead by half-time and then ran riot in the second half.
The home side were only able to mount limited periods of pressure and had no answer to the skill, power, pace and guile of the city side.
They were given an early warning of the problems to come when Jonny Jones’ solo run ended in a try under the posts after four minutes and Will Hilton kicked the first of his 11 conversions.
With a steady stream of possession from line outs and scrums Pilgrims made the most of it before the break with tries for scrum half Kyan Braithwaite, who went on to register a hattrick, Elliot Deacon, Hamish Veitch, Vaughn Meredith and Jon Gallagher.
Braithwaite kick-started the second half with a quick tap and go which gave Elliot Cohen a try under the posts.
Pilgrims cruised to victory with further tries from Braithwaite (2), Dan Gill, Cohen, Deacon, Jones and Ross Comfort.
Canterbury 3rds recorded their easiest league points of the sea- son when opponents Edenbridge pulled out of their scheduled Invicta 2 game and conceded a 40-0 victory to the city side.
Canterbury 4ths again paid the price for not being switched on from the start and making too many errors as they went down 22-16 at Sevenoaks 3rds.
A poor quick tap gifted Oaks their first converted try but Canterbury began to dominate possession and Scott Payne landed three penalty goals, one of them after a home player had been red carded, to give his side a narrow half-time advantage.
The lead was surrendered in a five minute spell after the break when Sevenoaks poured through the fringes, setting up their backs and scoring 12 points.
The city side rallied with a try from Timms, converted by Lee, and with only two points between the teams going imto the final 10 minutes the result was wide open.
It was Sevenoaks, however, who came out on top through a penalty goal when Canterbury ventured offside and the city club were unable to get any return from the late pressure they created.
Canterbury 5ths enjoyed a comprehensive 97-7 win over Maidstone 4ths.
A heavy-weight Maidstone veteran pack were more than a match for Canterbury’s forward power, the decisive difference was though Canterbury’s backs who scored all the visitors’ tries.
Kevin Stevens helped himself to five, as did Ollie Jaynes while full-back Toby Allen, on his return to the Zingari, managed four, with a final try going to Aaron Salter on his debut.
Conversions came from Stevens (3), Jaynes (4) and Allen (4) as the city club enjoyed a recordbreaking win.