A mammoth test lies ahead of Canterbury Rugby Club as they prepare for the visit of red-hot National League 2 East leaders Esher.

Seventh-placed Canterbury, who started the new year with a 33-14 defeat at Bury St Edmunds last weekend, will aim to mark their first match at Merton Lane in 2024 with a memorable victory.

But to do so this Saturday will be an incredibly big ask for Matt Corker’s men, with Esher only having lost twice in the league all season - not since October 7. They have won eight on the spin since in the league and come into the clash against Canterbury after a free weekend.

Canterbury head coach Corker, who saw his side edged out 29-21 at Esher in September, said: “I feel we have come a long way since we last played Esher at their place.

“In big matches, small margins can play a big role. It’s important to put our stamp on the game.

“Being at home as well, that will provide a really exciting challenge.”

Corker’s Canterbury side also lost their last home game in 2023 - suffering a 43-33 defeat to Henley.

He said: “It’s the first home game of the year.

“Last time, we lost at home to Henley, who are also doing very well this year. We want to give our home supporters something to cheer about.”

Canterbury, who lost tighthead Will McColl to an early injury, had chances against Bury St Edmunds. But they only had tries by hooker Nathan Morris and prop Elliot Lusher, converted by fly-half Frank Reynolds, to show for their work.

“It was a disappointing day for us,” conceded Corker. “I think we really wanted to show what we can do against the best in the league.

“The defining factor wasn’t taking our chances. We will talk about not moving the ball well enough this week. If we take one thing that we have got to improve on from it, it’s probably that.

“We could have gone in at half-time 19-12 behind if we had taken some of the possession and converted it. We needed to score first in the second half - and we didn’t.

“For the first time this season, the line-out was one of the areas we struggled in.

“We had some line-outs in really promising positions but we didn’t capitalise on them enough, really.

“Against a very good Bury team, if we had turned possession into more points, it could have been very different.

“We play them again at home in April, and I look forward to seeing if we can give a better account of ourselves.”

It was always going to be a tough start to the year for Canterbury, who had finished 2023 in fine form, and are looking to rediscover that form again.

Corker said: “The best thing about that batch of games was we had a really good understanding as to what it takes to be at our best.

“But just because we won games, that doesn’t mean you can afford to not perform next time.”