Injury-hit Canterbury were beaten 48-20 by strong and efficient Barking side in National 2 South on Saturday.

The city club must have feared that it wasn't going to be their day when they lost wing Carlton Littlechild with a twisted ankle in the warm-up, and then saw his replacement, Mark Robinson, leave the field with a hamstring injury after just nine minutes.

Yet it was Canterbury who scored the first try through hooker Tom Rogers before Barking wing Dave Vincent replied with a converted try.

Ben Thomas (pictured), who had converted Canterbury's try, edged them ahead again with a penalty but from there on the Canterbury story became grim.

Misfortune struck again before half-time when they lost the scrummaging power of Matt Pinnick to a calf injury and Barking forged ahead with two further tries.

There was an inevitability about the second half and although Canterbury again started brightly with Thomas's second penalty, they soon lapsed into mediocrity and ill-discipline, allowing Barking to score three more tries before flanker Peter Kelly replied with a late converted score.