Canterbury brought the curtain down on their roller coaster season with a flourish as they ran in seven tries to record the biggest victory of the campaign.

Released from the pressures of relegation they played with a refreshing freedom and brave but out gunned Clifton had no remedy.

Both clubs have struggled with crippling injury lists, which was reflected in the starting line ups, but it was the city side who made light of losing of five players from the side which ensured their survival at Cambridge the previous week.

After falling behind to a catch and drive try by Rhys Luckwell in the early minutes, they took an iron grip in all departments and by half time had a 17-point lead to set up the win.

The work of a dominant pack, with skipper Tom Sherson and his back row always prominent, set the benchmark.

The possession they generated was at the core of this Canterbury performance and the men outside them were quick to make the most of it,

Leading try scorer Mason Rosvall’s hat trick took his took his season’s tally to 20 and fellow wingman Connor Wallace-Sims intelligent support running was rewarded with a brace.

It was Rosvall who got the city side moving after 20 minutes with a fine, defence splitting burst and minutes later when full back Ollie Best was given space he hared away on the outside before Wallace-Sims finished the job.

The third try came a couple of minutes before the break, this time for prop Alex Wake-Smith from a surging catch and drive by the pack. With two conversions and a penalty goal from Tom Best widening the gap it was Clifton who desperately needed an early second half score to stay in touch.

Instead ,Canterbury had matters wrapped up five minutes after the restart with two killer tries. Moving the ball wide and at pace, the city side saw Rosvall register his second before the big wing next outpaced the Clifton defence to sent Wallace-Sims over.

Best’s conversion of that try left the visitors hanging on and a spate of injuries and replacements did nothing to improve their chances. What Clifton did, however was tackle wholeheartedly, mount spirited sorties through their chief weapon, the rolling maul, and keep the score in check.

They were unable to shut the door completely and with their pack under increasing pressure at the scrums it came as no surprise that Canterbury’s sixth try was a pushover touched down by the deserving Adam Cathcart.

It was fitting that the impressive Rosvall rounded things off in the final minute when he strolled though a yawning gap and left Best to complete the formalities in this entertaining finale.

Canterbury: O.Best, C.Wallace-Sims, R.Mackintosh, T.Best, M.Rosvall, G .Hilton, D.Smart (repl G.Kay,), J.Green, N.Wakefield (repl T.Rogers), A.Wake-Smith (repl R.McLeod), R.Cadman (repl G.Westgarth), R.Corr, S.Rogers, T.Sherson, A.Cathcart