SATURDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2024 - 3.00 PM KICK OFF NATIONAL LEAGUE 2 EAST
Sevenoaks entertained Canterbury at a beautiful sunny-drenched Knole Paddock on Saturday 14 September, for what promised to be an expansive National Two encounter involving two clubs from the east and west parts of the county in an established, longstanding Kent rivalry.
Canterbury had the upper hand in this particular battle with a five pointer having put too much blue water between them and the home side in the first half before a final third come back from Oaks proved too little, too late.
Canterbury dominated the first half, opening the scoring in the 12th minute with a try from Presley Farrance, successfully converted by Frank Reynolds. At the 34th minute, Garry Jones added another try for Canterbury from a well-executed catch and drive. Just before the break, Chad Thomas crossed under the posts to further extend Canterbury’s lead, with Reynolds adding another conversion. The team heads into halftime with a commanding scoreline, showing strength both in their forward play and clinical finishing, leaving their opponents with much to do in the second half to mount a comeback.
The second half began with Frank Reynolds slotting a penalty in the 50th minute to extend Canterbury’s lead. However, Sevenoaks came alive, dominating play and scoring their first try in the 60th minute through Scott Sedgwick, with George Montgomery converting. Canterbury responded in the 70th minute with the bonus-point-securing fourth try from Sam Rogers in the corner. Sevenoaks continued their fightback with a powerful catch-and-drive, Sedgwick grabbing his second try of the match at 75 minutes, again converted by Montgomery. Despite Sevenoaks' resurgence, Canterbury held firm to secure the win in a thrilling second half after the more one side first half.
Full time Sevenoaks 14 - Canterbury 27
Half time Sevenoaks 0 - Canterbury 19
First Half scores
12 mins Canterbury: Try Presley Farrance / Con Frank Reynolds
34 mins: Canterbury: Try Garry Jones
40 mins: Canterbury: Try Chad Thomas / Con Frank Reynolds
Second half
50 mins: Canterbury: Frank Reynolds penalty
60 mins : Sevenoaks: Try Scott Sedgwick, George Montgomery conversion
70 mins: Canterbury: Try Sam Rogers
75 mins: Sevenoaks: Try Sedgwick, Montgomery conversion
Sevenoaks RFC: George Strainge. Scott Sedgwick. Zaki Chamnaoui. Josh Pettet. Cameron Signorini. Angus Southon. Kade Bird. Brayden Porteous. Ben Cooper. George Montgomery. Seth Mokuolu. Charlie Corrigan. Barney Stone. Drew Forrester. Ed Shepperdson. James Simmons. Joe Moran. Zach Johnson. Ethan Jones. Finn Stables.
Canterbury RFC: Cameron Macmillan. Eoin O’Donoghue. Danny Herriott. Dave Irvine. Jamie Stephens (C). Chad Thomas. Harvey Furneaux. Tyler Oliver. Presley Farrance. Frank Reynolds (Vc). Max Campbell. Frank Morgan. Aiden Moss. Garry Jones. Harvey Young. Nathan Morris. Ollie Frostick. Sam Rogers. Tom Williams
Referee: Simon Waite, RFU National Panel. Assistant Referee 1: James Richardson. Assistant Referee 2: David Gallagher Fourth Officials: Glenn Waltham. Grant Scandling.
Attendance: 410
Player of the Match: Brayden Porteous
