By David Haigh

Canterbury's season ended as it started, with victory over a Colchester side beaten 50-33 as they failed to survive their first experience of National 2 East rugby.

In an entertaining but messy affair which produced 13 tries, the city club started well, were rightly punished for making simple errors either side of half-time but then wrestled back control with three tries in the last 11 minutes.

The player who enjoyed himself most was Canterbury hooker Eoin O’Donoghue, who scored four of the team’s eight touchdowns, the best a 50-metre sprint which killed off all those perceptions of plodding front-row forwards.

He opened the scoring from a trademark catch-and-drive after seven minutes and further tries followed for Garry Jones and Henry Kenny.

Despite the league’s leading goal kicker, Frank Reynolds, having a rare off day, the lead looked comfortable. Colchester pulled one back when good work by their lively scrum-half was completed by Brett Cutbush and converted by Jack Edwards, but O’Donoghue’s second, supplemented by Reynolds, earned the bonus point.

It was in the closing stages of the half that Canterbury went into slipshod mode and paid the price. A neat offload put Danny Whiteman across the line seconds before the break and Edwards’ conversion cut the lead to eight. The city side then made a poor start to the second half and an Edwards try drew Colchester closer.

The pressure became suffocating when both Jones and Danny Herriott found themselves in the sin-bin and, against 13 men, Colchester took the lead with a converted try from Cameron Kerr.

O’Donoghue came to the rescue, scooping up a dropped ball and setting off for his long-distance score, converted by Reynolds, but the pressure was still on. A Haydn Sykes try and Edwards' conversion saw Colchester go back in front, but Canterbury now showed their staying power as they regained control of possession.

O’Donoghue got his fourth but the most popular try of the day was set up by Tom Best, playing his 319th and final game before heading into retirement. The kick and chase was finished off under the posts by Tom Williams and, with Reynolds substituted, Best added the conversion.

A catch and drive saw prop Cameron Macmillan close out the game with the final touchdown and Best's successful kick ended his distinguished club career on a winning and scoring note.

Canterbury finish the season in fourth place, 18 points behind champions Tonbridge Juddians.

Canterbury: Moss, Morgan, Sloan, Best, Jones, Reynolds, Williams, Huntley, O’Donoghue, Frostick, Kenny, Stephens, Thomas, McGovern, Oliver. Replacements: Herriott, Waddington, Calder, De Vries, Macmillan.