Cannon fires five times as Portsmouth shoot down Old Georgians

A devastating five-try burst by winger Noah Cannon lifted the mood at Portsmouth in a storming 31-5 win against Old Georgians at Rugby Camp.
Noah Cannon scored five tries for Portsmouth. Picture: Keith Woodland (160219-240)Noah Cannon scored five tries for Portsmouth. Picture: Keith Woodland (160219-240)
Noah Cannon scored five tries for Portsmouth. Picture: Keith Woodland (160219-240)

Senior coach Neil McRoberts reckoned it was just what was needed after the defeat at Andover had badly dented their London three south west promotion hopes.

Cannon again showed what a devastating finisher he is, opening his account inside the opening 30 seconds.

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McRoberts believes the young University of Portsmouth student can have a big future ahead of him.

He said: ‘Noah will quite rightly get the plaudits for his try-scoring and quite rightly so.

‘His finishing was top class. All bar one of his tries, though, were fantastic team tries that he finished off.

‘He possesses a crazy amount of pace which can defeat most defences.

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‘At the same time for a 20 year old he is big, strong and not afraid to get stuck in.

‘He possesses all the necessary core skills, pace, power and is a very good handler of the ball.

‘These are all qualities that will stand him in good stead going forward.

‘I am sure that there are teams higher up looking at him because he is a very good player.

‘He is also a good guy to have around the squad.’

Cannon stamped his mark on the game right from the start.

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From the Portsmouth kick-off he rose above a defender to catch the ball.

He landed perfectly, handed-off another defender and raced through a gap that was hardly there for a superb individual try.

It provided the perfect start for a side looking to restore their confidence from the previous game.

Eight minutes later Cannon rounded off an excellent three-quarter move by outstripping the covering defence from just inside his own half.

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Lee Chandler added the conversion to give the hosts a 12-0 lead.

The home side were then forced to produce some good aggressive defence to keep the visitors out.

When Portsmouth returned to the attack Cannon completed his try hat-trick before half-time.

Again Chandler converted, giving his side a 19-0 lead at the break.

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Cannon's fourth try resulted from a good blindside break by Alex Duffus from a penalty.

He rounded off his afternoon’s work with a final try before Daz Leggett broke his monopoly with a try three minutes from the end.

Despite the bonus-point win Portsmouth remain seven points behind second placed Battersea Ironsides.

For McRoberts it was a much-needed performance going into some big games.

He said: ‘After this we can approach the rest of the season with confidence.

‘Our aim is to win every remaining game and see where it takes us.’