Canterbury IIs 62 Colchester Ravens 10

The Ravens second away game of the season was the long haul down to Kent to visit the home of National League 2 side Canterbury in a match against their second string ‘Pilgrims’. Although threatening to rain near kick off, the match was played out in perfect conditions on a fast, dry track with not a hint of wind to speak of.

Canterbury’s pack was a solid bunch and scrum time was always looking like highly contestable area for them to put pressure on the visitors. However some good work on defence from the Ravens secured position and a solid exit for Colchester took the Pilgrims back to half way. Colchester’s early line speed pressure forced a scrum, and from the ensuing attack Canterbury conceded a penalty; Fly Half Lewis Williams nudging the ball for a lineout in the home team’s 22. With an unfamiliar starting pack, it was going to take a while for the Ravens to find their range, Colchester losing the first lineout against the throw which gave Canterbury their chance to exit. Although Canterbury regained possession, Colchester’s defence was stout which forced another penalty on the Pilgrims 40 meter. Unfortunately this was the first of a succession of injuries to the visitors, Lock Ben Harfield leaving the pitch with a badly dislocated finger.

Some good play from both side ended in a penalty to Canterbury who took the game into the Ravens half but yet again Colchester’s resolve won them back the ball. Further pressure allowed Colchester to put a string of attacks together which resulted in a kickable penalty which Williams dutifully put over. 0-3 to the Ravens after 12 minutes. From the restart, the Pilgrims gathered inside Colchester’s 22 and after two minutes of collisions they scored the first try of the match, converting to make it 7-3 to Canterbury. For the next five minutes Canterbury continued to knock on the door but again Colchester were up for the battle and the otherwise sharp Pilgrims attack pushed a pass forward in the Colchester 22. From the resulting scrum the Ravens gained a free kick and the booming left foot of match-day captain Jon Perry took the lineout all the way to halfway.

Canterbury’s structured set piece resulted in their second try; quick ball from the top and good support through the backs took the score to 14-3. Gathering the restart Colchester exited, with the clearance bouncing off Canterbury for a lineout on about 35 meters. Canterbury stole another throw but a forward pass set the scrum for the Ravens, with Williams pushing the ball deep into Canterbury’s territory. A good chase pressurised the home side into knocking the ball on and with the scrum engaging on the Canterbury 40 meter line, Colchester lost their second forward for the game, Prop Ben Gledhill injuring his lower right leg.

Canterbury regained possession and countered, with the play reaching the near side 5m line; a heroic last ditch tackle from Will Tillett stopping a certain try which resulted in the young Scrum Half coming off with a stinger to his hip. Colchester managed to exit from deep but a mistake in defence allowed Canterbury to touch down wide on the right hand side, taking the score to 19-3. Entering the last 10 minutes of the half, Colchester ramped up the pressure and forced another mistake from the Pilgrims. Scrum time was now an uneven contest for the Ravens and the focus was to get the ball out quickly at every opportunity. Canterbury pressure forced a turnover, but from more solid defending Colchester was awarded a penalty, the tap and goes catching the home team napping. Another penalty gave the Ravens a line out deep into the Canterbury red zone and the ensuing attack got Colchester oh-so-close, the midfield maul being held up over the line. The Ravens struggling scrum coughed up the ball but again some serious defence won it back and the incessant slew of penalties continued; another attacking line out on the 5 meter line the option taken with only a handful of minutes left in the half. Unfortunately the throw wasn’t straight and from the resulting scrum the Canterbury backs sliced through the inside shoulder, running 95 meters to score under the posts. A tiring Colchester regathered from the drop and after some good work via a solid exit strategy, a seventh penalty in the first 40 minutes for a high tackle was given to Colchester which Williams just pushed past the left hand post. The half time score read 26 points to 3 to Canterbury.

The resumption of the game saw a hectic to-and-fro affair which ended up with a lineout in the Colchester 22 after only two minutes. From the throw, Canterbury scored their fifth try of the game, converting to take a 31-3 lead. With Colchester competing at the kick off, Canterbury ended up with a scrum put in and their skilful inside backs cut through again to score the second of the half after only six minutes. At the restart, Colchester pushed the boundaries and conceded a rare penalty to Canterbury, who nudged the ball to set another lineout only 30 meters from the Ravens goal line. With Canterbury starting to rotate their bench, Colchester had to dig deep to stay with the pace of the game. Another set of solid defence saw Canterbury lose the ball and a kick through by Perry forced the players back into the other half of the field. With the penalty count starting to mount on the home side, Colchester took another quick tap but the phases came to an end after the ball was lost forwards. With 30 minutes left of the match, the Ravens forwards were doing it tough, Hooker Tom Jepson having a spell on the side and Kieron Payne (whom had been on since the 9th minute of the match) stepping up to prop on the loose head to keep the scrums contested. Yet for all of this hardship the scrum stayed together and when Canterbury played it out, another penalty was awarded to Colchester who opted for a lineout 10 meters from the try line. Another wayward throw turned the ball over to Canterbury who went wide from the off and scored another length of the field try, dotting down on the right hand touch.

With many of the Ravens now struggling with injury, the forwards and backs kept rotating around; Tillett was back on the field and the forwards included starting centre-cum-winger Charlie Champs and the Australian Scrum Half Will Chapman on the flanks. Turkish Centre Guvan Tasgoglu, who had been replaced at half time because of a wrist injury also re-entered the fray, taking up a position on the left wing. From the restart Colchester managed to force a scrum and from the attack the unfavourable penalty count saw a Canterbury player sit the next 10 minutes out on the side line for slowing down the ruck. Canterbury regained possession and played out of their half, but the Ravens countered, taking the game back into Canterbury territory.

With the home team again winning possession around the 35 meter mark, they attacked down the left hand side and from the wing, Paul Summerson raced up on defence to intercept a pass and run in unopposed to score a well-deserved try. Williams converted to reduce the deficit to 45-10. With the visitors almost completely spent, Canterbury kept rolling the subs and from the kick off scored another converted try, which was mimicked from the subsequent restart pushing the score to 57-10 with only 5 minutes remaining. Colchester rallied for one last raid on the Canterbury half and from a lineout, outstanding Fullback Ed Parry took on the defence one last time. Unfortunately the attack ended in a penalty to the home side and with only a minute left on the clock Canterbury chanced their arm for a lineout inside the Colchester 22. From the throw, Canterbury drove towards the line and the last act of the game was for them to score once more, with the side line conversion drifting wide. At the whistle it was Canterbury Pilgrims 62, Colchester Ravens 10.