Honest half-time words work wonders

Returning skipper Max Cantwell revealed how ‘a kick up the backside’ from the coaching team sparked Canterbury Rugby Club’s excellent second-half revival against Henley on Saturday.

Canterbury won 25-24 at the Marine Travel Ground after trailing by 14 points at the break and Cantwell admitted head of rugby Andy Pratt and assistant coach Matt Pinnick pulled no punches in their half-time assessment.

Cantwell, back in the side after two weeks out with a rib injury, said: “We had a passionate half-time team talk. Andy started it and then Matt finished it off.

“They both said they were a bit disappointed with our aggression. Henley played with a lot of confidence but unusually for us, we did not start well.

“We did not stick to our structures, we made some silly mistakes and let them run at us. What Andy and Matt said acted as a bit of a kick up the backside.”

Cantwell revealed that Henley had been quite vocal throughout the opening 40 minuites and that Pratt suggested the best way to silence the visitors was by Canterbury doing their talking on the pitch. In the end it was still tight with Henley missing a last-minute conversion which would have given them the win.

Cantwell added: “As well as being a physical war, it was a war of words (in the first half). You had two teams willing to have a dig at each other and there was a lot of chit-chat from them, especially when they were on top.

“One of the big things Andy said at half-time was that actions speak louder than words and that if we start scoring points, they would shut up and that helped us turn it around in the second half. By the end, we deserved the win.”

Canterbury stand sixth in National 2 South ahead of Saturday’s trip to London Irish Wild Geese and before Christmas they also face home games against Redingensians (December 9) and Tonbridge Juddians (December 23) as well as a trip to leaders Chinnor (December 16).

Chinnor and the two teams behind – Cinderford and Taunton – already look to have put daylight betweem them and the chasing pack but Cantwell remains firm in his belief that Canterbury are capable of beating anyone on their day.

The 26-year-old back row added: “Our aim is to be top five. At the moment we’re just outside that which is not good enough but December is a big month for us and we’ve seen how quickly things can change in this division.

“I go into every game full of confidence and I don’t think there is a team we can’t beat when we play well.”

‘We made some silly mistakes and let them run at us’