By David Haigh

Being on the wrong end of close-run things has become Canterbury's default position recently, but they reversed a sequence of four defeats with a 40-38 National 2 East league win over Bury St Edmunds.

How they came to be in trouble after establishing a 31-7 lead by half-time will be top of the post-match inquest. In the first 40 minutes the city side played some of their most effective rugby of the season as pace, accuracy and flair brought four tries and a bonus point.

After the turn round they looked a different outfit as they came under constant pressure from a motivated Bury who added five tries to their first-half score.

Canterbury struggled for possession, created only one real try-scoring opportunity and it was only fly-half Frank Reynolds’ kicking, with three penalty goals, that saw them home.

It was Reynolds who slotted the first three points of the game before Bury were taken apart. It started with ball spread wide from a catch and drive where Harry Sloan speared over.

Next came a sharp break by Presley Farrance, finished by Frank Morgan, and the scrum-half was again involved in the move which brought Harvey Furneaux a third try.

When Bury made rare progress they gave a small hint of things to come, breaking off a maul for a try by James Harrison converted by Callum Hall. It seemed a minor blip when Jesse De Vries marched over under the posts two minutes before the break and Reynolds kicked his fourth conversion.

Then the game was turned on its head by a Bury side determined to mark the start of the club's centenary celebrations with a better show. They took just three minutes to strike through a catch-and-drive score by Finn McCartney and the pressure on penalty-prone Canterbury very rarely eased. McCartney again, and Alex Earnshaw crossed, before Reynolds hit back.

Bury responded with tries by George Grigg-Pettit and, late on, a converted touchdown from George Loose, but it was not enough as Reynolds kept them at bay with a massive strike from half way and another nerveless kick five minutes from time.

Canterbury host seventh-placed Henley on Saturday.

Canterbury: Moss, Furneaux, Sloan, Waddington, Morgan, Reynolds, Farrance, Huntley, O’Donoghue, Frostick, De Vries, Stephens, Mackenzie. Replacements: McGovern, Herriott, Williams, Rogers, Best.