Canterbury 10 vs TWRUFC 3rd XV 39

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Match Report

Canterbury Deacons 10 Thanet Wanderers 3s 39

There may have been over 4 decades between the youngest and oldest player in the team, but the desire to smash Canterbury was felt equally across the generations, and led by Tom Gough’s 14-point haul on his senior debut this is exactly what the Thirds delivered.

The tone of the first half was set straight from the kick-off when Fin Twyman’s first up hit led to a turnover with the ball shipped quickly to Zac Oliver-Hendry who burst through a gap for the first try.

Thanet continued to dominate the early exchanges, with forwards handling like backs and backs rucking like forwards. With Canterbury not contesting the breakdown, there were several multi-phase periods but few opportunities to strike.  On the rare occasions Thanet’s pack had to defend, they tackled with intensity and the one time the opposition second row did break through, Leon Gordon-Jones came flying off his wing to cut him down.

With the front row of James Whowell, Harry Price and Chris Williamson outmuscling their opposite numbers, Thanet were in the ascendency in all areas. After a penalty to take the score to double figures, it was Whowell whose quick thinking led to the next score, skipping round a ruck to charge down a box-kick with Tom Gough reacting quickest and dribbling through for a debut try. 

Brimming with confidence, Gough made the next try with an audacious cross kick which held up perfectly in the in-goal area for Zac Oliver-Hendy to score his second of the afternoon.

Still making little ground, Canterbury were resorting to the kick and chase. Thanet exploited this tactic as well with good return runs from Greg Shingles and Finn Wilmans who left two would-be tacklers in a heap in the process of making a 40 metre gain. This should have been a warning sign, but it wasn’t heeded, and the first half scoring was wrapped up when a booming Ed Harvey kick was returned to Ellis Plumridge who fed a bloodied Joe Shelley to take the score to 29-0 at half time.

Whether it was Thanet’s complacency or Canterbury’s determination not to be humiliated, the balance of the game changed in the second half. Pinned back for lengthy periods, it was testimony to the collective defensive effort - and a number of trademark turnovers by Simon Harris - that it took 20 minutes before Thanet’s line was eventually breached.

Baffled by the referee’s interpretation of the laws, Thanet were in danger of losing their discipline. Of all people it was Tony Boyce who kept the calmest head and led by word and deed with sage advice and several strong carries to help get the team back on track. 

As Thanet regrouped it was clear that there was space for their runners to exploit. Any possibility of an unlikely Canterbury comeback were dashed when Ellis Plumridge, who made considerable ground with every carry,  finished off a flowing move for the first of his two tries.

His second was set up by scrum half Antoine Dupont Bill Wallace, whose perfectly executed box kick was chased down by Joe Shelly who flicked it up to the supporting Plumridge to score under the posts. 

As time wound down it looked like the match was going to be capped by a score for Vinny Ganley who received the ball with 5 metres to go and one defender to beat. What followed was a sidestep so perfect it fooled everyone. Unfortunately, this included Vinny himself who proceeded to fall over his own feet and throw the ball forward!

Despite this, it was a satisfying win for Thanet in a match that was played in unusually good spirits considering the opposition. The performances of  the colts, not only in this game but across their first season of senior rugby, are a testament to all those who have given up their time to coach them over the years, and augers well for the future health of Wanderers men's rugby.

Wanderers Starting XV: Whowell, Williamson, Price, Twyman, Boyce, Harris, Shelly, Plumridge, Wallace, Gough, Shingles, Oliver-Hendy, E. Harvey, Gordon-Jones, Wilmans. Finishers: Ganley, T.Harvey.

Tries:

Conversions:

Penalties: None

Drop Goals: None