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Canterbury head of rugby Andy Pratt says every game in National 2 South presents a new challenge and Saturday’s trip to Tonbridge Juddians will be no different.

Canterbury go into the contest lying second after an eight-match winning sequence, but that impressive run of form doesn’t mean Pratt’s side will be taking their derby rivals lightly.

The teams met in Canterbury’s opening home game of the season when a 29-20 win for the hosts was only sealed with a score six minutes from time.

The fixture is Canterbury’s last before the Christmas break and Pratt admits it would be nice to sign off 2018 with another win.

He added: “I’ve got huge respect for Tonbridge. Defensively they are excellent, they work very hard and they have a good goalkicker so we won’t be taking them lightly

“We both know a lot about each other but I think Saturday will be a very different game to the first one.

“The weather and pitch conditions are likely to be very different to when we met them in September. We need to bear that in mind and plan accordingly.”

Rams – who beat Canterbury 44-15 on the opening day of the season – appear to be the division’s class act, but Pratt’s side are certainly one of the teams in the mix for the play-off spot behind them.

The city club occupy second on 60 points, one ahead of Henley and six clear of Taunton.

TJS are in fifth, two points further back.

Canterbury have won 12 of their 15 matches and have not tasted defeat since they lost 14-10 at Redruth on October 13.

Even so, Pratt admits he isn’t allowing himself to dream about promotion just yet.

He said: “Things are going OK, but we don’t want to start looking too far ahead because I’ve been burned too many times.

“We’ve had spells before where we’ve won six or seven on the bounce so we’re capable of going on these sort of runs but this league challenges you every week, pretty much from September to the end of April.

“We’ve had some good challenges already and we’ve been equal to most of them but if you take your eye off the ball there are plenty of teams who can sit you back down.”

Max Cantwell (knee) could miss the rest of the season after a setback in his rehabilitation but Alex Wake-smith is continuing his recovery from injury and Harvey Young can resume training after a broken jaw.

Four-bedroom Ratling Court Lodge, at Aylesham, near Canterbury, is on the market with Jackson-stops, with a guide price of £850,000. It offers single-storey living, with entrance hall and four bedrooms, one of which is lined with fitted wardrobes and is currently used as a dressing room. There are three bathrooms and a 17ft x 14ft kitchen/breakfast room as well as the impressive living/dining room. A 27ft office with cloakroom is above a detached triple garage. Gardens have lawns and sun terrace as well as mature trees and shrubs. Dee Ryall, of Jackson-stops, says: “Ratling Court Lodge is a lovely detached timber framed weatherboarded barn under a tiled roof. “The property offers spacious and stylish open plan living with many character elements such as vaulted ceilings and exposed beams. Canterbury is around 9.5 miles away.”