Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Strong finish wanted
FURTHER VICTORIES TARGETED
Andy Pratt hopes Canterbury Rugby Club can finish their National League 1 campaign strongly after they beat basement boys Hull Ionians on Saturday.
It was only their second league victory of the campaign as they won 24-15.
The city club, now five points clear of Hull, don’t have a fixture this Saturday before they return to action on March 21 in Berkshire.
“We have a rest week this week. But we are at Rams who are a very capable team next weekend,” said Canterbury head of rugby Pratt.
“There are opportunities there (to pick up victories).
“But fairy tales will not just happen, you have to make them happen. “Victories are hard to come by in this league.
“We have to keep working and, if we do that, we can maybe look for another one or two wins this season. “That’s important with next season in mind.”
Despite having beaten Hull after encouraging displays against leaders Richmond and Chinnor, Pratt feels the break has come at the right time for his side.
He said: “We have needed that for a while with the injuries we have. “It’s been good to give the lads a week off. It’s given them time away from the club and away from the team bus. “We are happy with that. Hopefully, we will be refreshed for next weekend and can look for a strong finish to the season.”
Canterbury now have just five league fixtures to play this term.
“We have learned a lot,” admitted Pratt.
“With the injuries we have had, we have not been as stronger as a unit as we were at the end of last season. “But the group are learning some great lessons.
“Certainly, the standard in National 1 is far superior to the standard in National 2.
“In the last two games, we have put in good performances but, this season, we have not followed them up with a win. So we were pleased to actually finish it off on Saturday.” A second-half burst helped the city club see off Hull.
On the home victory, Pratt said: “Obviously, any win is welcome. The boys put it in.
“Again, some of the execution was not quite there.
“It was a strange game because there was a different pressure for us to deal with. But I think we more than deserved the win on the day.”
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