by Alex Hoad

Canterbury head coach Andy Pratt says his side go into a tough run against three of the top five sides in National 2 South with confidence.

The city club lie eighth ahead of Saturday’s trip to Shelford but despite losing the reverse fixture 30-12 at Merton Lane in October, Pratt said: “We have had a weekend of rest and have a couple of players back this weekend.

"We’re looking forward to getting back to it but it’s going to be tough. They are hard opponents who seem to get better every year.”

After fifth-placed Shelford, Canterbury will host third-placed Henley and second-placed Redruth but Pratt added: “We had the same run in the autumn and learned a lot from it.

"Since then we went away to Hartpury College and won and can take a lot of confidence from that.”

Skipper Peter Kelly (pictured) has recovered from a back injury while Wim Baars returns from a trip overseas.