With expectations high, after last week's outstanding second half at Taunton, Stortford started disappointingly, conceding a soft penalty for what barely constituted a challenge an instant before a leaping Canterbury player, fielding a good box kick from Tom Banks, touched the ground. This indiscretion was then compounded by some poor tackling, which allowed Canterbury to free right wing, Kieran Thompson to run in a try from around the halfway line. Will Hilton converted, but the scores were level within 8 minutes, when Stortford had regathered themselves to go through many phases of powerful forward drives, with Dec Caulfield and Seb Brownhill to the fore, before unleashing the backs and a great line run from Nick Hankin off the wing saw him take a perfectly-timed short pass from Tom Coleman to crash over under the posts. This gave Tom Banks an easy conversion. Still falling well short of last week's high standards, though a poor chase of another good box kick from Banks allowed Canterbury to counterattack and win a kickable penalty, which Hilton duly converted to take his side back into the lead. This was short-lived, however and a resurgent Stortford were rewarded after 5 minutes with a try to Johnny Neville, again built on some great forwards' play, but rounded off with some mesmerising first-time passing between the big centre, Nick Hankin and Will Simmonds to leave the visitors' defence floundering. Banks' conversion stretched the lead to 4 points and this became 9 within 5 minutes, when Simmonds ran in to touch down out wide from some 30 yards out, after an incisive break by Hankin. Banks' great conversion attempt bounced back from the crossbar. Stortford's 4th, bonus point try followed within 4 minutes, when Banks scored a typically battling try, driving over through three defenders, after more excellent play by his threequarters had put his side into the red zone. His conversion attempt went narrowly wide but almost straight from the restart, Stortford were penalised at a breakdown, giving Hilton a relatively easy 3 points. A seemingly harsh yellow card was then shown to John George for impeding Canterbury's 9, as he ran a quick penalty from inside his own 22, but the next score, nevertheless, went to the home team, as Jimmy Rea ferreted the ball from the base of a maul stopped right on the Canterbury line for an unconverted try. The determined visitors were undaunted by the 16-point deficit, however and proceeded to go through many phases of aggressive rugby, mostly through their powerfull forwards to suck in the Stortford defence and eventually give right winger, Guy Hilton room out wide, which he exploited to the full, with a smart chip ahead and chase to regather and run round under the posts. This gave his brother an easy conversion and narrowed the halftime points gap to only 9 points.

In the cold and blustery conditions, the quality of rugby in the second period could not match that of the first and play became more fragmented.Thus it was that the next try, after 8 minutes of the half, came from an individual burst from Stortford's Matt Tomlinson, who broke the first tackle and then used his pace to run around the remaining defence to touch down under the posts, giving Banks an easy extra 2 points. Six minutes later, though a yellow card to Dan Elsom, penalised, not for the first time, at a breakdown, took momentum away from the home side, as the resultant penalty under Stortford's posts was kicked by Hilton. Banks responded in kind almost immediately, as Canterbury were penalised twice in quick succession, but Stortford carelessness from the restart produced a knock-on and an immediate penalty, as a team-mate played the ball from an offside position. The penalty went to touch and, this led almost immediately to a penalty try, as Stortford were blown up for going in at the side of a maul, driving at their line from the resultant lineout.. Hilton's conversion, just before Elsom's sin-bin period ran out again narrowed Stortford's lead to 9 points. With Canterbury's aggressive and unpredictable approach to the game, this was a far from comfortable position, but any nerves that home players and supporters may have felt were effectively settled 7 minutes later, when Neville bagged his second try. The centre ran a great line onto an early short pass from the base of a maul from a 5 metre lineout, when the visitors were set to defend the expected forwards' drive. Banks' conversion stretched the lead to 16 points and, although the visitors hurled themselves into a desperate search for their own bonus point try, the home defence held firm, with some determined tackling in their own 22.

Price Bailey Man of the Match went to Steve Ball for his great 80 minute shift in both attack and defence, at the heart of some excellent loose play by the whole pack, with James Apperley also outstanding.