Canterbury's twin pieces of profit came from Tom Taylor penalties and while coach Scott Robertson was bullish about the eventual outcome, there must have been some concern about their lack of attacking precision.
The pressure came. Counties prop Pauliasi Manu went to the bin for a late high swinging arm and Taylor goaled then Luke Whitelock barged across to reward a tight-head scrum win.
It was an opportune boost as Counties roared back into life when they brought on subs like Maama Vaipulu and Manu was restored from the naughty chair to the front-row. It was their turn to ramp up the heat.
Centre Sam Vaka intercepted a floating pass from replacement Rob Thompson and streaked 50m for the converted try and Canterbury's lead was cut to two with 15 minutes left. They ground downfield with more of their possession for Taylor to convert another penalty.
How they needed it. Counties muscled towards the shadow of the posts with crunching waves of attack until they were penalized. It proved to be their last chance but they were impressive.
Canterbury will be mighty relieved. They were organized and dominant and it took all their combined clout to crack this victory.
Canterbury 20 (L Whitelock try; T Taylor 5 pen)
Counties 15 (J Page, S Vaka, tries; P Francis pen, con.)
Halftime: 6-5
