Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Late try secures derby victory
After a near perfect first half which saw them open a 28-point lead, Canterbury had to dig deep against a resurgent Juddians before they claimed their first National 2 South win in this Kent derby.
So effective was TJS response that they came within a converted try of levelling and it was only in the final minute of the game that Kieran Thompson’s touchdown settled matters for the city side.
How Canterbury plunged from the sublime to the submissive only they will know.
In a blistering first 40 minutes, their pack gave them almost total control, the tactical plan was spot on and they were rewarded with five tries, one of them a penalty.
The onslaught began in the fourth minute with a catch-and-drive score from prop Aaron Cooper, converted by Ollie Best, and when the chances came, Canterbury were clinical.
Max Cantwell’s line break led to a second try, involving a strong finish from wing Harry Sayers and although TJS managed a penalty goal from Liam Prescott, they could not halt the flow.
The city side’s domination of scrum and lineout and their physical and intelligent pick-and-drive game paid huge dividends.
An astute grubber kick ended in a try for full-back Charlie Kingsman, converted by Best, and the bonus point score soon followed as forward pressure forced a penalty try.
Scrum-half Dan Smart pushed them
through the 30-point mark before a shell-shocked TJS retreated to the changing room at half-time.
But the hosts are a side who have not been beaten for almost a year and they came out refreshed for the second half.
Canterbury, who fell away badly the previous week, were again guilty of losing focus, making poor decisions and handing over possession too easily.
TJ’S exploited the weaknesses with tries from Jon Mcmahon, Will Colderick and Hugo Watson.
The reliable Prescott converted all three and a major upset was clearly on the cards.
It was those excellent forwards who came to Canterbury’s rescue. In a late surge, they mangled a TJS scrum, picked and drove to suck in defenders and made the space for Thompson’s face-saving dive over the line.
Canterbury: C.kingsman (repl G.hilton), K.thompson, JJ Murrray (repl F.morgan), T.best, H.sayers, O.best, D.smart, J.green (repl A.cooper), T.rogers, A.cooper (repl S.kenny), R.cadman (repl L.woodbridge), M.corker, M.cantwell, S.rogers, G.micans. National League 2 South Results: Barnstaple 29 Redruth 24, Broadstreet 16 Bury St Edmunds 20, Chinnor 39 Henley 20, Cinderford 57 Clifton 5, Old Redcliffians 10 Taunton Titans 48, Redingensians 44 London Irish Wild Geese 16, Tonbridge Juddian 24 Canterbury 36, Wimbledon 15 Worthing 31. Fixtures: Bury St Edmunds v Old Redcliffians, Canterbury v Broadstreet, Clifton v Tonbridge Juddian, Henley v Cinderford, London Irish Wild Geese v Chinnor, Redruth v Wimbledon, Taunton Titans v Barnstaple, Worthing v Redingensians.