Canterbury remains second on the Air New Zealand Cup points table after an impressive 36-9 win against North Harbour in Albany on Saturday night.

Canterbury was never in danger of losing to the province that has become its bogey union in recent seasons, the red and blacks playing with enormous confidence and skill to score five outstanding tries.

There was a late change to the Canterbury run-on side, with Stephen Brett withdrawing, Colin Slade moving from full-back to the number 10 jersey, James Paterson coming in on the wing and Paul Williams moving back to fullback.

Played in fine conditions, Canterbury started strongly with a try by lock Isaac Ross after two minutes. The try came after fullback Paul Williams had run the ball back strongly, the Marist-Albion player feeding Ross who crossed unopposed. Colin Slade’s conversion gave the visitors a perfect start.

Wellington loan player Jimmy Gopperth got the home side on the board after eight minutes with a penalty after Canterbury was penalised. Gopperth showed (if there was any doubt) that he had a huge boot and that he would penalise Canterbury if they infringed in their own half.

Midfielder Ryan Crotty was in trouble after the kick-off when he injured his leg in a tackle. Crotty - one of the finest young players in Canterbury - was assisted off the field, his run-on start ending almost before it began.  

Canterbury continued to play with momentum and confidence. A break by Slade was only halted when prop Wyatt Crockett was penalised for leaving his feet. Still, the red and blacks looked like a team high on self-belief.

Canterbury extended their lead after 20 minutes when the outstanding Paul Williams scored after Canterbury had put together a number of phases and Tyson Keats had expertly worked the blind. The fullback (who was having a cracker of a match) weaved his way between the Harbour defenders to score the visiting side’s second try. Slade kicked the conversion to extend Canterbury’s lead to 14-3.

Canterbury was playing like a team wanting to give their departing prop Campbell Johnstone the perfect send-off. Their recycling of ball, the way they were stringing together passes was, for example, a joy to behold.

Colin Slade was particularly impressive. Regularly running with the ball, he was able to gain plenty of ground as a result of the home side’s defence falling off him. Other provinces may not be fooled by his apparent innocence, but tonight he relished the freedom.

Canterbury scored after the half-time hooter had sounded when after a series of attacks (including a strong run by Paul Williams), they swung the ball left and, with Mose Tuiali’i and Scott Hamilton involved, lock Michael Paterson was on the outside to score. Slade converted brilliantly to give Canterbury a 21-3 lead at the break.

While Canterbury had not always taken their opportunities in the first half, they had still played superbly. Any rugby purist would have admired the way they strung together passes and put the man outside in space.

In this respect, Williams, Slade and Keats were outstanding in the backs, while the forward pack as a unit was quite magnificent. For the red and black fan it was as if this side was reaching its full and glorious potential.

With 78 per cent of the territory and 52 per cent of the possession in the first half, Canterbury was fully deserving of its lead. The issue was now whether Canterbury could push on in the second half and round out victory.

North Harbour started the second half strongly, stringing together six phases and being awarded a penalty after Canterbury was offside. Gopperth landed his second penalty of the night to reduce Canterbury’s lead to 21-6.

The Canterbury scrum though was magnificent in the next phase, totally dominating its opponent. In this respect props Johnstone and Crockett were outstanding.

After eight minutes in the second half North Harbour was penalised right in front of their sticks and Slade extended Canterbury’s lead to 24-6.

North Harbour had an opportunity to score points after 13 minutes in the second half when the visitors were again penalised for being off-side. Gopperth took the opportunity to narrow the gap to 24-9.  

With the Canterbury coaching staff now making plenty of substitutions, the game to some degree started to lose shape. Still, it was essential that the likes of Owen Franks and Hamish Gard received some decent game-time.

Franks, however, was sin-binned after 23 minutes for lazy running and North Harbour surged back onto attack. The sin-binning though seemed to stimulate Canterbury and James Paterson scored soon after.

Paterson’s try came about after replacement half-back Steve Alfeld worked the blind and skillfully put the left-winger into space. The High School Old Boys player took the opportunity to whiz down the line like the energizer bunny to score Canterbury’s bonus point try.

Paterson scored his second try after 33 minutes with a stinging break down the left hand side that left the North Harbour defence gasping. What a try this was! Slade’s conversion gave Canterbury a commanding 36-9 lead.

To their credit North Harbour continued to attack until the final whistle, although Michael Paterson went very close to scoring Canterbury’s sixth try of the match with a big run as the final whistle sounded.

Kieran Read said after the game that his side could have capitalised on more opportunities but that the performance was “really good”. He said he was impressed with his side’s intensity and concentration and that the performance was a good way to farewell Campbell Johnstone.

Canterbury fully deserved their win. The Auckland match aside, this was the red and blacks' best performance of the season so far. While the number of injuries will be a concern to their coaching staff, they will take great satisfaction in knowing that this was a performance that will have the rugby purists appreciating that Canterbury is a real contender in the Air New Zealand Cup this season.

Canterbury 36: Tries: James Paterson (2), Isaac Ross, Paul Williams, Michael Paterson. Conversions: Colin Slade (4) Penalty: Colin Slade.

North Harbour 9: Penalties: Jimmy Gopperth (3).