Canterbury Rugby Club head coach Matt Corker tells players be proud – just not happy – after narrow 36-34 defeat to in-form National League 2 East leaders Esher

Coach Matt Corker had a clear message for Canterbury Rugby Club’s squad after they came close to a sensational win: Be proud - just not happy.

National League 2 East frontrunners Esher remarkably haven’t lost since October, but they had to do it the hard way at Merton Lane last weekend as they came from behind to edge a 36-34 victory.

Corker reflected: “My overwhelming emotion was how proud of the lads I was.

“I will be honest, I always expect us to win because I think we’re a really capable group.

“When we’re at our best, we’re a real handful for anyone.

“This was possibly the first time against the top five we showed our best. We wanted to score first and our first try was just sensational. I’m not taking anything away from our defensive performance, either.

“My overriding message to the players was: Be proud - but don’t be happy. The fact we didn’t get over the line was disappointing, that came down to a few missed chances and just giving the ball up one too many times.

Report: Canterbury 34-36 Esher

“There’s lots of positives but I don’t want the players to be too happy when we did lose. We could have won.

“For me, it sets the standard. Irrelevant of who we play, it’s important that we stick to those standards. That will get us results.”

It was a ninth straight league success for Esher, but Corker said: “I’m proud of how hard we made it for them. They celebrated like it was a big win.

“But we want to win every week. There’s no team in this league I believe we should lose to - even a team like Esher.

“It’s a shame. I would like to have played them again this season to see if we could get the result.”

The scores for injury-hit Canterbury - who were missing five regulars - came through tries by long-serving Tom Best