Canterbury’s third defeat in four games, their biggest and most humbling of the season, saw them swept aside by a vibrant Taunton team who ran in six tries in a victory which took them to the top of the of National Division 2 South table.

It was an outstanding performance by the Somerset club, whose pace and precise handling would have tested the best, and the city club were nowhere near theirs.

Injuries have disrupted their early season efforts significantly but here they contributed mightily to their own downfall with defensive lapses, poor handling and by coming second best in the battle for possession.

They were also, once again, heavily penalised as they attempted to hold back the Taunton tide and only briefly did they give the travelling support cause for optimism.

It came in the first minute of the second half when the backs, with Tom Best back in action for the first time, created space for Martyn Beaumont to run a great inside line and score by the posts. Ollie Best’s conversion eat further into Taunton’s seventeen point interval lead, and the scent of revival was in the air. All to briefly as it turned out,

Four minutes later the city side took a wrong option, ball was turned over and Taunton punished them with their third try, a point from, where they rarely looked back.

The first half followed a worrying recent pattern with home skipper Dan Lee being waved through for the first try and scrum half Lewis Webb finding an inviting a gap at a ruck after a period of intense pressure. Gary Kingdom landed a penalty goal and two conversions to leave Canterbury in the all too familiar catch-up situation.

It might have been worse, ironically, had it not been for some great defensive work which twice saw Taunton held up over the line, but the damage had been done.

Once that early second half optimism was doused by prop Jake Woolmore’s try Taunton, masters of possession and skilfully prompted by fly half Toby Lea, went on a spree. Admittedly the ball often fell their way and not Canterbury’s, but they were a side whose eye for an opportunity, off-loading skills and glue like handling could not be denied.

They met stout resistance in midfield from cente Alex Veale, committed and brave as ever, but others did not always follow his example. Woolmore’s score was followed by crisply worked tries from Alex Wilcoxon, Ollie Massey-Birch and Kingdom, who converted all thee.

Canterbury, never short of effort in the face of superior opponents, made a final gesture by cleverly working space for wing Mason Rosvall who finished strongly for the try.

Canterbury: M.Beaumont, M.Rosvall, T.Best, A.Veale (repl O.Best), C.Wallace-Sims, O.Best (repl C.Kingsman), D.Smart (repl G.Kay), S.Kenny ( repl R.McLeod), N.Wakefield, R.McLeod (repl C.Townley), R.Cadman (repl B.Massey), B.Massey (repl T.Burns), S.Rogers (repl F.Tonry-Brown), T.Sherson, G.Micans