Barnes 37 Canterbury 26: National League 2 East match report

By David Haigh

Having donated victory to Barnes with a dreadful first-half performance, Canterbury hauled themselves off the floor to win a losing bonus point in a 37-26 National 2 East defeat.

At half-time they were trailing by 22 points and when the home side ran in their fourth try six minutes after the break the city club's prospects looked even bleaker. Then, late in the day, they became serious competitors and scored three converted tries.

There was too much ground to make up to snatch a victory, but the lift in momentum was welcome after Barnes had clearly been the better side.

They went ahead in the first minute when Rory Kassapian easily brushed off the tacklers on his way to the line and Simon Keller converted. It was the first of several gifts Canterbury offered that were eagerly accepted in that first 40 minutes when the home side looked dangerous every time they had the ball.

Keller scored and converted the second try after his pack had done the spadework and the fly-half added two penalty goals before Canterbury made any impression. Cameron Murray's close-range try offered a glimpse of daylight but that was snuffed out within three minutes.

A pass to no one in particular was seized on by Barnes and Josh Souter left Josh Davies a simple conversion.

The signs that Canterbury might have something to contribute emerged early second half with strong carrying from replacement Alex Evans and the consistent Murray. That didn't prevent Barnes full back Paddy McDuell from setting up the bonus-point try for Will Lewin when he turned a clearance kick into an opportunity and stretched the lead to 27.

But now came the shift in fortunes. Despite struggling at the set scrums, the city club started to find territory. Frank