KEY POINTS:
Canterbury put distractions aside to sweep past North Harbour 36-9 in an Air NZ Cup rugby match at Albany tonight.
Canterbury bristled with positive intent as they scored five tries to none and consolidate their second placing behind Wellington through six rounds.
Personnel changes shortly before the game then just 10 minutes into the contest did not impede their progress as they proved much too good for North Harbour.
The match was meant to mark the return of the highly touted Stephen Brett after an injury-enforced absence but team management instead chose to start with Colin Slade at No 10 when Brett complained of calf problems this week.
That also meant Paul Williams was shifted from wing to fullback, where he proved a constant menace on the counter-attack, setting up Canterbury's first try and scoring the second as they went into the halftime break 21-3 ahead.
Canterbury coach Rob Penney was also forced to use reserve Tim Bateman at second five-eighth after just 10 minutes when starting debutant Ryan Crotty was forced from the field with what appeared to be a serious leg injury.
Despite all this Canterbury were a cut above North Harbour in all facets of play and only a plethora of handling errors stymied their progress.
Their accuracy was not what it could have been but their intent was clear, particularly when North Harbour captain and first five-eighth Jimmy Gopperth chose to kick to relieve the pressure on his team.
North Harbour conceded two of the three first-half tries from Gopperth kicks, first when Williams launched a counter for lock Isaac Ross to score and then when No 8 Mose Tuiali'i ran the ball back before wing Scott Hamilton fed Michael Paterson for the big lock to score in the 40th minute.
All North Harbour had to show for their efforts was a 50m penalty from Gopperth, who traded more penalties with Slade after the interval before the tryscoring action resumed through Canterbury wing James Paterson.
North Harbour's defence stiffened markedly in the second half but James Paterson used his pace and clever footwork to create space for himself down the left flank in the 66th minute.
He doubled his haul seven minutes later, this time beating his marker on the outside before veering infield to catch the home side's defenders short again.
Canterbury 36 (James Paterson 2, Isaac Ross, Paul Williams, Michael Paterson tries; Colin Slade pen, 4 con) Harbour 9 (Jimmy Gopperth 3 pen). Halftime: 21-3.
- NZPA
