Canterbury Rugby Club end 2012 on a high note with second away win of National 2 South season at Barking
by David Haigh
Canterbury secured their second away
win of the National 2 South season with a 43-10 victory at Barking
on Saturday.
The win, in the only game of the day
played in their division, took the city club to eighth in the
table, their highest position of the campaign.
Canterbury made a flying start against
their winless hosts in a mud-bath in Essex with two tries in the
first 12 minutes as their pack quickly imposed their authority but,
despite dominating possession and territory, they could not add to
their lead until just before half-time.
The early tries saw lock Tom Burns, in
an impressive debut for his new club, announce himself by bursting
on to Martyn Beaumont's pass and power over to leave Scott Browne
an easy conversion.
Beaumont's pace brought the second
after centre Alex Veale had driven hard to set up the position.
With Canterbury firmly in charge they
threatened to sprint away with the game but never quite recaptured
that early accuracy. Barking defended doggedly, made the occasional
foray into enemy territory and were grateful to receive a good
helping of penalties.
Fly-half Craig Ratford got them on the
scoreboard with a penalty goal after a yellow card was waved at Tom
Sherson. He was quickly followed to the sin-bin by the home side's
Francis Ambrose.
A scrappy phase in the game ended when
a city catch and drive brought a try for skipper Peter Kelly with
an assist from Tom Rogers in the final minute of the half.
Three minutes after the break a power
cut plunged the pitch into darkness but when the floodlights came
back on it was Canterbury who lit up the proceedings as they
rediscovered their wattage.
Great footwork by Tom Best left
Barking floundering and his try was soon matched by one from
elusive wing Mike Melford.
Browne converted both scores to
stretch the lead to 28 and victory and the bonus points were
guaranteed. Barking had their moment when solid forward pressure
earned a quickly-taken penalty and Dave Kearsey scored a try which
Ratford converted.
The return of the rain made it even
harder for the players but Canterbury closed things out in style.
Swift handling put Aiden Moss in for the sixth try before Beaumont
crowned the day. The full-back's pace and guile took him the length
of the field after a turnover for a spectacular score which Best
had no trouble converting.
23/12/12
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