A richly entertaining match, which produced a total of fourteen tries, may have ended in defeat but Canterbury’s bonus point against a good side was well deserved and kept them in the league’s top five.

Worthing are expected to be leading candidates for promotion this season and on a day made for running rugby they put their attacking credentials on display.

High pace and dexterous off-loading made them a pleasure to watch as they tested some indifferent Canterbury defence to breaking point. Wing Joe Maslen may have been their chief destroyer with four tries but it was direct running, good handling and the ability to slip the ball out of the tackle to support players that did the major damage.

You feared for a city side, who are still a work in progress, when they conceded two tries in the first 11 minutes, but they hit back decisively and it wasn’t until the last quarter of the match that Worthing finally pulled away.

By the 20th minute Canterbury had neutralised early scores by Matt Farnes and Sam Hewick with two tries of their own. Mike Melford’s kick and chase set up position and excellent handling ended with Chris Hinkins striding over behind the posts and Scott Browne converting

Next, a stolen lineout ball by Steve Goode – an area where the city club were the always effective – led to Number Eight Wim Baars smashing his way over the line.

Worthing, unused to this kind of retaliation, restored the 12-point margin as their silky skills brought Maslen a brace of tries and Matt McLean kicked the second of his five conversions

Ten minutes into the second half a catch and drive score from the expert poacher Peter Kelly, and a good conversion from Browne, could have been an important turning point with only five points now between the teams.

But Worthing sensed it, too, and lapses in concentration by the city club were ruthlessly exploited. Excellent tries by Maslen, McLean and John Heaver kept made sure their unbeaten record was secure.

A clever move from the tail of the lineout opened the way for prop Jim Green to register Canterbury’s bonus point try, converted by Browne, and the final word was theirs as Martyn Beaumont’s counter attacking flair set up Baars for his second touchdown.

By that time, however, Maslen, juggling expertly with a cross kick, and former Ealing man Kiba Richards had done further damage, but while the defensive work will need attention there were grounds for optimism in this spirited Canterbury performance.

Canterbury T.Best, A.Moss, J.Del Val (repl D.Devlin-Jones), A.Veale (repl M.Beaumont), M.Melford, S.Browne, D.Marshall, J.Green, T.Rogers, (repl N.Wakefield), S.Goode (repl M.Pinnick), J. Darley, C.Hinkins, T.Sherson (repl S.Rogers), P.Kelly, W.Baars.