Five weeks without a victory raised serious questions about the Canterbury side but they came up with all the right answers in this eight-try performance.

It was a game that both sides, neither of whom have done themselves justice, needed to win. The city club, feeding off the momentum gained in last week’s heroics against league leaders Henley, took control from the start and ran away with the match in the second half.

Four of the Canterbury tries were scored by Martyn Beaumont, two of them spectacular individual efforts that have become his speciality, but the full back was not the only player to contribute mightily.

The foundations were laid by a busy and aggressive pack of forwards who pressurised Southend at scrum time and worked hard to win some tough exchanges in the loose, Tom Sherson and Sam Rogers setting telling examples in the back row .

It was the city side’s back division, however, who were light years ahead. Beaumont, of course, was a constant threat as he demonstrated with the opening try after four minutes when he latched on to Scott Browne’s weighted kick, but he was not alone.

Alex Veale, solid in defence, sharp in attack, was the best centre on view and wing Ricky Mackintosh, who had risen from his sick bed to play, had Southend reaching for the medicine bottle.

The wingman scorched away for the second try when Canterbury handled deftly after snatching possession in the Southend half.

Twelve minutes later the lead stretched to fifteen as Kwaku Asiedu finished off good work by Beaumont and David Devlin-Jones.

Southend’s attacking threat had been minimal but on the stroke of half time they came back into the game. A rare missed tackle put Canterbury under pressure and the visitors showed commendable patience before working Jamie Douglas over from short range and Bradley Burr added the conversion.

A seven-point lead looked pretty thin for a side which had dominated territory and possession but Canterbury quickly put things into perspective. Browne, who failed with three difficult kicks in the first half, slotted a 45-metre penalty goal a minute after the restart and went on to convert four of the five tries which now sank Southend.

The city side probed both left and right before Veale put in a powerful finish to earn the bonus point score. Canterbury’s growing command was re-inforced on the hour with a catch and drive try from prop Ruairi McLeod, his first for the club, but Southend refused to accept the inevitable. A swift counter attack, inspired by Charlie Vaughan, was finished by Billy Driver whose eye-catching try was converted by Liam Macgeachy.

That score was wiped out instantly when Canterbury won a scrum from the restart and whipped the ball wide where Veale’s skillful cut-out pass sent Beaumont clear for the corner.

The final dagger thrusts were both inflicted by Beaumont. Looking for alternatives in attack the full back somehow created a gap for himself and raced 50 metres for a stunning try.

He had to go even further for the last score of the day. Southend, seeking a consolation, saw the final pass intercepted on Canterbury’s five metre line and Beaumont held off all pursuers as he capped a decisive victory.

Canterbury: M.Beaumont, R.Mackintosh, D.Devlin-Jones, A.Veale, K.Asiedu (repl (A.Povel), S.Browne, D.Marshall (repl C.Tandy), R.McLeod, T.Rogers, (repl N.,Wakefield), M.Pinnick (repl R.Matthews), B.Massey, C.Hinkins, T.Sherson, S.Rogers (repl B.Smith), W.Baars.