There are big games home and away for Canterbury Rugby Club this Saturday.

While the 1st XV are hosting Henley in National League 2 East the Pilgrims 2nd XV will be hoping to seal promotion from Counties 1 Kent with a win away at Heathfield & Waldron.

First XV head coach Matt Corker is hoping there’s much to celebrate by the end of the day as the senior side aim for a win to maintain their hopes of a top-four finish.

He said: “The Pilgrims have been top of the table for a long time and if we can go away and get a result then the boys would have done the job and that’s something that is really important to us.

“It’s about making sure our whole squad, whether they are playing in the firsts or second team are getting a real challenge and for us to have that pathway where we can continue to develop players.

“We want to be the best team in east Kent and also where players can come and not only have a great rugby experience but also be the best that they can. The second team is key for us and it’s a really exciting situation. Hopefully this weekend the boys can continue their best form.”

The 1sts ended a run of four losses with a 40-38 victory over Bury St Edmunds last Saturday to keep ahead of the chasing pack as they look to maintain fourth place in the table.

A host of teams are close by, including weekend visitors Henley.

Corker said: “The great thing about last weekend’s result is that it really gives us something to launch from for the rest of the season. With four games to go we want to finish strong.

“It’s very important in terms of the league table as teams around us won as well.

“We’ve been fourth for a long time now and to not finish there at the end of the season would be disappointing.

“It is testament to some of the good results we’ve had this season that we’ve managed to lose four and stay fourth but all that credit in the bank has probably been spent over the last few weeks.

“Now we are at the business end of the season to retain our position we need to keep getting points.

“A couple of those teams (below) have really come into form. Old Albanians and Westcombe Park both beat first and second this week and those two teams have lost very few games this year. This is why the stage of the season is so exciting.”

Match Report: Bury St Edmunds 38 Canterbury 40

Canterbury lost 17-16 against Henley when they played them away in November.

Corker said: “Away to them was really disappointing for us. The conditions were tough and we lost with the last play of the game.

“We know what sort of a team they are, they’ve been very strong all year but our focus is to back up our last performance and to learn some of the lessons off the Bury game as well.

“As proud as we are about the performance we know there is more to come from us.”

Getting the win last weekend was all important, to end a run of defeats and was built on a strong first-half performance.

Corker said: “First half was exactly what we wanted and going into the break 31-7 away from home, we were really happy.

“The challenge for us is that the previous two weeks we have had two really good 40 minutes and then we’ve also had two fairly catastrophic 40 minutes as well. Our focus was to put on an 80-minute performance.

“We conceded five tries in that second half, not at all what we would have wanted in that respect, but we managed the game and Frank Reynolds was great off the tee and kept us out of touch.

“The main thing for us with getting back on the horse getting the win and we still scored 40 points away from home against a really attacking team and it was a big occasion for them, there was a lot going on at their cub (who were starting their centenary celebrations).

“The priority was to get the job done and we came up with some big moments in defence as well to make sure we did get the win.”