Analyst Carrick Blake is still having an influence on how Canterbury Rugby Club operate - even after leaving the club.

Matt Corker’s city side went down 40-24 at National League 2 East-leading rivals Tonbridge Juddians, who have won all seven of their league matches this season, last weekend.

Blake has since moved away from Canterbury, where he had been studying as he spent two-and-a-half years with the rugby club, and now is Welsh side Pontypool’s head analyst.

But head coach Corker said: “He has left us with some very good habits.

“The lads send me clips, positives and negatives, and we work on things from there.

“Away from training, that’s been really useful because we have got a fairly young group - with a couple of older boys.

“To sit down alongside my coaching staff with 20 boys, that’s pretty impossible. But this allows us to be able to work on things.

Report: Tonbridge Juddians 40-24 Canterbury

“Carrick’s a fantastic young man. We were very lucky to have him.

“He’s well-renowned in his own right in online circles. Carrick really helped us.”

Canterbury started well at The Slade and went into a 12-7 advantage, only for the frontrunners to find their stride.

“Fair play to Tonbridge,” reflected Corker. “They’re playing some very good rugby.

“We were very happy with our first half. We were very strong and, possibly, left a couple of tries out there.

“We came out in the second half and our penalty count went up and, against good teams, mistakes get punished. Halfway through the second half, we had a chance to get back into it through a driving maul and a line-out.

“Against Westcombe Park, when the pressure was on, we executed. But there were still some good performances on Saturday.

“When you’re giving away penalties and turnover, the pressure comes back on you. You either fight through it or concede.

“But we scored late on and that was important, making sure we didn’t leave empty-handed.”

Winger Garry Jones earned the city side a losing bonus point with a try after front-rower Ollie Frostick, centre/winger/full-back Aiden Moss and back-rower Eoin O’Donoghue went over.

Corker said: “Four losses with a losing bonus point, that’s the same as one win.

“If you stay in touch and fight hard to come away with something, maybe that one point itself doesn’t make a huge difference, but it’s more about what it means if you add that point to more one-point tallies from a couple of poor days.

“One of our targets is to make sure we come away with something from every game.

“Over a whole campaign, that can make all the difference.”

Canterbury host fellow early high-fliers Barnes on Saturday before a well-earned rest week.

“We have one more game and then it’s the end of our eight-game block,” noted Corker. “If you count pre-season games, that’s an 11-game block.

“Barnes have got the better of us a lot during the last two seasons. I will be looking for the players to really step up this week, especially at home where we’re still unbeaten this season. That’s something we’re very proud of.

“It’s important for us to continue momentum - both at home and in the league table.

“Going into a week off, you want to be flying high on the back of a win. Barnes will not make it easy for us, they have finished very well in the last three or four seasons.

“But I know they have had a couple of poor results recently, as well.

"Both teams will be looking to finish on that high.”