By David Haigh

Forward power underpinned Canterbury’s 31-10 victory over Oxford Harlequins which lifted them to fifth place in National League 2 East.

By half-time they had four tries and a bonus point tucked away as their dominance kept Quins, who were punished for their lack of discipline, on the defensive.

After a bright start, with a catch-and-drive try after only two minutes, the visitors submerged under a wave of penalties and two yellow cards. Centre Archie Van Dijk was the first to head for the sin-bin for a high tackle and the city side quickly took the lead with a driving maul and a try for hooker Eoin O’Donoghue converted by Frank Reynolds.

Once in front, Canterbury stayed there and when Quins skipper Willo Bicknell was next to see yellow they pushed further ahead. Reynolds threaded a kick behind the defence and Aiden Moss pounced for the try.

There was a temporary setback when Quins produced an excellent 50/22 kick to create an opportunity for the pack and Allan Purchase added a try to the early Ben Bodingham score, but that was the last time they were seen as an attacking threat.

Canterbury pinned them back and Tom Mackenzie burst on to Danny Herriott’s pass to score under the posts. Reynolds converted and was on target again when continued pressure brought O’Donoghue his second try on the stroke of half-time.

With a 26-10 scoreline the stage seemed set for a Canterbury stroll and with Quins’ scrum in full retreat after the break it was a reasonable assumption. It did not happen that way because the Oxford outfit put in a greatly-improved defensive shift, the city side made costly handling errors and muddled thinking saw them ignore easy penalty points.

It wasn’t until the 73rd minute that they found a way through, with Kurt Heatherley giving Alfie Orris a clear overlap for the fifth try to complete a comfortable, if slightly low key, success.

This Saturday Canterbury travel to second-placed Dorking.

Canterbury: Heatherley, Jones, Morgan, Waddington, Moss, Reynolds, Farrance, Frostick, O’Donoghue, Herriott, Irvine, Stephens, Thomas, Mackenzie, Oliver. Replacements: Rogers, McGovern, Williams, Huntley, Orris.