Canterbury 36 Clifton 52

A POWER cut that plunged the clubhouse into darkness and silenced the match announcer an hour into the match should have come as no surprise to a Canterbury side which had switched off long before the lights went out.

They lost thanks to a first half display of numbing mediocrity which coach Danny Vaughan summed up by saying: "You only get what you put into a game. We deserved nothing and some players did not seem to have their minds on the job. There will be changes next week."

A frustrated Vaughan watched his side concede five first half tries and reach the interval trailing 38-5.

Not even a big second half revival could undo the damage of those first 40 minutes as relegation-threatened Clifton eased their worries with Canterburys full co-operation.

Most of the problems stemmed from weak defence and basic handling errors which Clifton's quick and efficient backs exploited to the full.

FULL MATCH REPORT IN THIS WEEK'S KENTISH GAZETTE