Canterbury allowed an 11-point lead to slip as they went down 40-31 at Shelford in National 2 South on Saturday.

The city club made an impressive start and after just three minutes scrum half Dave Marshall scored his fourth try in as many games.

The hosts replied with a penalty try but fit-again skipper Pete Kelly finished a superb driving maul with a second Canterbury score.

However, Shelford edged ahead before the break with a converted try and a penalty but after the break, Canterbury put themselves into a potentially match-winning position as Ricky Mackintosh’s run and kick ahead was chased down by Martyn Beaumont to score and three minutes later, the full-back returned the favour, handing Mackintosh a clear run through.

Tony Browne added the extras but Shelford responded with a catch and drive try, only for Beaumont to power onto a pass from Alex Veale and score, with Browne’s third conversion making it 31-20.

However, the hosts began to pile on the pressure and scored twice to take a 32-31 lead.

Wim Baars then received a sin-binning less than 15 minutes from time, with Shelford kicking the subsequent penalty and despite battling on a man short, a second penalty try took the hosts out of sight.

The city club did secure a try bonus point and stay eighth while Shelford remain fifth.