This wasn’t just a victory, it was a small piece of history in the making as Canterbury won at Redruth for first time and in the process demolished the Cornish side’s unbeaten home record this season.

They achieved it through pace, opportunism and a mighty forward effort, rocking the home side with a withering opening blast, containing a threatening fight back then regaining the lead and taking control of the vital late stages.

Five tries and accurate goal kicking by Tom Best brought the city side a bonus point win against a side who, until this defeat, were in the league’s top three.

Canterbury set about erasing the memories of those past humiliations in the best possible way, scoring 21 points in the first ten minutes as Redruth’s defence was shredded three times.

J J Murray’s break did the initial damage before Aiden Moss cantered over for the first try and two more quickly followed. Best was on the scene to retrieve possession from a hanging kick by Dan Smart and recycled ball provided Tyler Edwards with a huge overlap.

A minute later the city club repeated the dose, their sharpness creating space for Guy Hilton to grab the third try.  Best coolly converted them all.  Redruth, shaken but too experienced to panic over the early set backs, then slowly played  themselves back into contention.

Pressure brought penalties, a catch and drive score for lock Sean Buzza and as Canterbury went through a nervous spell wing Lewis Vinnicombe’s clever running made turned over ball into a try which Angus Taylor converted.

The city club got over that and with their set piece always a rock went looking for a bonus point try before half time.  In the face of solid defending they had to settle for a Best penalty goal and knew that a twelve point lead was not the best insurance when playing against a cold wind.

They blew a chance immediately after the break and soon paid a heavy price when the Redruth pack camped on the city line and the pick and go route saw Buzza cross for his second try. The momentum swung further to home side when they broke from deep for Buzza to complete his hat trick and Taylor’s third conversion robbed Canterbury of the lead.

With the game well into the final quarter it was now a test of Canterbury’s will and they responded magnificently.  The Cornishmen were still proving difficult to crack but a piece of opportunism changed the course of history. Redruth attacked dangerously, but Guy Hilton read the final pass and his interception and 70 metre run to the line turned the game again.

Best hit the post with the conversion attempt but the city club now had an eye on history. Aggressive scrummaging won a penalty, which was kicked to the corner and the backs piled in to sustain a surging catch and drive. When they wrestled it over the line Best was at the bottom to touch down and make it a day remember.

Canterbury:  A.Moss (repl H.Sayers), G.Hilton, J J Murray,W.Farris, M.Beaumont, T.Best, D.Smart (repl K.Braithwaite), J.Green (repl A.Cooper), T.Rogers (repl C.Townley), S.Kenny, T.Burns, L.Woodbridge (repl V.Meredith), T.Edwards, S.Rogers, H.McCormick-Huston.

Picture supplied by Phillipa Hilton.