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DINGS CRUSADERS first outing of the New Year ended in defeat against a streetwise Canterbury out-fit who triumphed without doing anything spectacular at Landseer Avenue. Dings were guilty of trying to play a loose
off-loading game, which often landed them in trouble while their Kent counterparts did their basics well and adopted a kick chase policy, which paid dividends for them.

The home teamed looked decidedly flat and seemed to lack that vital spark. The whole team would have been disappointed with their display above all else and nobody really stood out for Crusaders in this lack-luster display.
That said, Dings had to contend with the huge opposition pack and they struggled to contain visiting open-side flanker Peter Kelly who's rampaging charges in mid-field created all sorts of problems for the home side which
meant that Dings were often trying to play rugby on the back foot. As the contest unfolded, the pitch began to churn up and the visitors did little more than to sit back and wait for Dings to make mistakes.

A disappointed Dings coach James Farndon said; "We took a couple of steps back today. The long lay-off seemed to effect us more than them and we looked like a team that hasn't played rugby for a while. Canterbury played the conditions much better than us and deserved to win today," he said

Canterbury led throughout the match and opened the scoring through No8 Ed Roche. Dings hit back with a Tom Lukjaniec penalty on 20-minutes but the visitors crossed for their second try of the afternoon on the half-hour mark when lock Rob Keir crashed over after full back Gert De Kock made inroads
when he fielded a way ward kick from the home side. Fly-half Phil Gibson extended the visitors lead with a penalty to give Canterbury a 13-3 lead at the break.

Dings did have a couple of chances in the second half but poor execution let them down at crucial moments. Gibson landed another penalty on 56-minutes and knocked over the extras when skipper Chris Hinkins barged over on the stroke of full time. Dings must now pick themselves up as they prepare to take to the road for the next two weeks where they will face stiff opposition in Shelford and high-flying Ealing. The one positive that can be drawn from this display however is that they capable of playing much better than this performance suggests and will surely improve as the weeks go on.