With only three points separating the sides when this game went into the final quarter Canterbury were in with a real chance of upsetting the runaway league leaders.

Henley, hit by a yellow card and two classy tries which chewed up a seventeen point lead, were in trouble against a city outfit which refused to be overawed by reputations.

The Hawks, however, are not top of the National 2 South heap by accident and they rediscovered their momentum to grab two late tries and claim a victory which was nowhere near as clear cut as the score line suggests.

It was a cruel end for Canterbury who also missed the consolation of a losing bonus point but deserve huge credit for their attitude and performance after major disruption to their pre-match plans.

Late withdrawals through illness and with injury problems putting further limits on selection they fielded a pack with two teenagers in the back row, where Giles Westgarth made an encouraging debut, and no recognised hooker.

When Henley opened the scoring two minutes into the game fears that the city side’s lack of experience might cost them dearly took on some substance.

Those doubts, however, quickly proved to be unfounded and after an exhilarating first ten minutes Canterbury settled and were never outplayed.
Will Woodward’s try for the Hawks from a driving maul was countered as soon the city backs got their hands on the ball and unleashed wing Mason Rosvall for an equalising touchdown. Tom Best and Henley’s Connor Murphy both kicked conversions and landed penalty goals.

It was frantic stuff but the Canterbury’s pack, with Cameron Townley as makeshift hooker and prop Jimmy Green returning to the starting line-up for the first time this season, imposed themselves. Their domination of the scrums was complete but, mysteriously, they were not awarded the penalties that seemed inevitable and by half time Henley had stolen into the lead again. Slack tackling gave wing Loyd Owen the chance of a converted try and Murphy’s second penalty goal was another blow.

Those early doubts surfaced again at the start of the second half as Canterbury made another poor start and wing Jake Randall punished them. Murphy’s conversion opened a daunting gap but the city side’s reaction was first class.

They built pressure, saw Henley prop Hugo Milford-Scott go to the sin bin and punished the Hawks with a Martyn Beaumont try, moving the ball smoothly from a scrum. Best converted from the touchline and then did even better with a sharp break that created a second try for Rosvall. The conversion threw the game back in the balance but it was now that Henley’s experience served them well.

They eased themselves into the right areas to set up tries for forwards George Eastwood and Jimmy Lichfield with powerful drives close to the line. A frustrated Canterbury team, in which every player stood up to be counted, were left to seek a bonus point fourth try, but could not find the accuracy to make territory and promising positions count.

Canterbury: M.Beaumont, R.Mackintosh, C.Harding (repl O.Best), A.Veale, M.Rosvall,. T.Best, G.Kay (repl G.Hilton), J.Green (repl R.McLeod), C.Townley, A.Wake-Smith (repl S.Kenny), R.Cadman, R.Corr, G.Westgarth, R.Ward, A.Cathcart.