England were not the only team to get taken to the cleaners on Saturday. Canterbury put on a curtain raiser for the national side in a deeply flawed performance which saw them plunge to a second successive loss.

From the city club’s standpoint it is hard to find positives from the wreckage of a game where their shortcomings allowed league newcomers Bury to dominate from the start.

Apart from a brief period in the second quarter, when they hauled themselves back into contention, Canterbury were found wanting in most departments.

Turnovers, penalties, poor handling, lack of aggressive intent and a wobbling scrum added up to the weakest show of the season, lacking both technique and basic skills. It leaves troubling questions about the weeks ahead as the early season bubble well and truly burst.

Bury, who had won only one game up to this point, were delighted with the gifts on offer and wasted no time stacking them up. They did everything so much better than Canterbury and were rewarded with six tries.

It took only two minutes for them to get the first score as the city sie made a horrendous start and by the eighteenth minute were 17 -3 ahead. Full back Chris Lord set them on their way from a simple, first phase move and one of the many turnovers they won led to a second from Tim Mann.

Brad Cook, that rare species a goal kicking prop forward, converted both tries and landed a penalty goal while Tom Best’s boot got the city side on the scoreboard.

After those early wounds Canterbury managed to get a foothold in the game. The scrum settled, they built momentum and when a lineout catch and drive opportunity came Max Cantwell broke off the maul to score and Best added the goal points from wide out.

The loss of prop Jim Green with a rib injury was a blow but reaching half time only seven points adrift could have pointed towards better things.

Instead, the mistakes and errors of judgment all resurfaced and Bury ran the second half show with alarming ease.
Despite some defensive heroics from the likes of Sam Rogers and the efforts of Cantwell and Sean Nixon the city side conceded tries to Clement Le Roy, Shaquille Meyers, Sean Stapleton and, in the last minute, a second for the man who started it all Chris Lord. Cook could only manage only one more conversion, sparing Canterbury more of the pain that they inflicted on themselves.

Canterbury: M.Beaumont, H.Sayers (repl C.Kingsman), A.Moss, C.Horey, M.Rosvall, T.Best, O,Best (repl D.Smart), J.Green (repl I, Miljak), S.Rogers (repl E.Deacon). A.Wake-Smith (repl I.Miljak), R.Cadman, T.Edwards (repl S.Rogers), G.Micans, S.Nixon, M.Cantwell