Corker proud despite defeat

A late Canterbury try ensured they snatched two National League 2 East points from a narrow defeat on Saturday which could prove critical. Henley’s final score threatened to rob Matt Corker’s city side of anything. But as the clock ticked into the 80-minute zone, flanker Harvey Furneaux put in the finishing burst for his second try as it ended 36-35. While coach Corker was disappointed to end up on the losing side, the points collected could be crucial as Canterbury aim to cling to seventh in the table. He said: “For large passages of the game, we controlled it. “We said before about Henley being a really difficult place to play. If I’m honest, I think we missed an opportunity to really take control before halftime where we came away without any points. “There were times where, with Frank (Reynolds, fly-half), maybe we could have kicked for a few points.

“In terms of the actual performance, there was some fantastic rugby. Never at any point did we look like we were giving up.

“Obviously, we want to win games. But to come away with two points from a difficult place, that’s something we can be proud of.”

Only eight points separate Canterbury in seventh from 11th-placed Guernsey, who have a game in hand, with just one more league game to play at home to 10th-placed Sevenoaks next Saturday. “The reason we’re not a little bit higher in the league is there’s games we have come away empty-handed with three tries - but not got the fourth,” admitted Corker.

“Some of the teams a bit higher have lost a bit better.”

Will Waddington and Will Hilton also dotted down. After being edged out by their fourth-placed hosts, Corker said: “We’re in a situation now where we’re consistently competitive with the best in the league.

“That’s what we want to be doing but, equally, we don’t want to be competitive - we want to be winning.”