Canterbury’s dismal record on their trips to Cornwall continued with a 38-15 defeat at Redruth on Saturday, their fourth straight loss in National 2 South and fifth in six games this season.

The first half-hour was promising for the city club as they dominated possession and territory and looked like they had put their early season struggles behind them.

However they were unable to breach some staunch Cornish defence and much of their good work was undone by conceding penalties in promising areas.

Redruth made them pay with some ruthless finishing, with tries from backs Sam Parsons and Murray Westren, both converted by Ashley Hosking, after good work to create space.

A penalty from Guy Hilton put the city club on the board but the hosts delivered a hammer blow just before the break when a hurried clearance kick after a lineout was punished by the hosts with No8 Kyle Marriott touching down to give them a 19-3 lead at the break.

The score boosted Redruth’s confidence after the break while dispirited Canterbury were soon further behind.

Wing Matthew Bowden collected a long pass on the overlap after an early scrum, and though the city club introduced fresh legs off the bench, Marriott’s second score, followed by Tom Notman’s second conversion, made the game safe.

Canterbury did battle-on, with Aiden Moss touching down after a probe from Dan Smart, though hooker Ben Priddey added a sixth Cornish try from a scrum.

George Micans made a late break before sending Charlie Kingsman over for a try which Ollie Best converted, but it was a mere consolation for the city club, who slipped to second-bottom.