Canterbury 15 Mounts Bay 16

CANTERBURY remained third in National League 3 South after a narrow defeat to league-leaders Mounts Bay on Saturday.

The city club didn't discover any real self-belief against the Cornish powerhouses until the closing quarter of an hour but despite Pat Sykes opportunist try they were left with too much to do.

Bay took the lead after just five minutes but Gert De Kock replied with a 40-metre penalty before Theo Rhodes touched down after a kick and chase to give Canterbury a surprise lead while Bay were down to 14, but De Kock missed a relatively simple conversion.

A charged-down kick allowed Bay to take a two-point lead into the break and two penalties in the second half extended the advantage to eight before Sykes charged down a clearance and burst through for a score which De Kock converted.

Despite late pressure, Canterbury couldn't find a winner but did earn a losing bonus point.