Morgan hat-trick downs Westcliff

By RICHARD COMPTON

Canterbury…………..52

Westcliff…………….. 15

FRANK Morgan’s hattrick of tries helped Canterbury to an emphatic bonus-point win over basement boys Westcliff.

The outside centre scored once in the first half and twice in the second as the hosts ran in eight tries in rattling up a half-century.

For Westcliff, who had lost all 12 of their previous league fixtures, it meant an unlucky 13 despite a 15-point haul from full-back Gregory Bannister.

It took only eight minutes for Morgan to breach the Westcliff defences, fellow centre Kyan Braithwaite kicking the extras. Bannister struck back for the visitors four minutes later, but Braithwaite converted his own score on the half hour.

Westcliff ’s George Anderson-Brown was then yellow-carded and Canterbury got a third try before the break by winger Guy Hilton.

Full-back Aidan Moss added a fourth soon after the restart, but Bannister’s second try cut the deficit to 28-15.

Canterbury woke up, with winger Dwayne Corcoran and Morgan both crossing in the space of four minutes.

Reece Conlon was yellow-carded, but Morgan raced in for his hat-trick and Thomas Williams raised the half-century with the eighth try three minutes from time.