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LUCTONIANS came out on the wrong side of an enthralling top-of-the-table clash down in Cornwall, as table toppers Camborne ran out 29-22 winners in National League 2 West clash.
With the breeze and slope in their favour first half the Lucs got off to a good start and Jack Park kicked a penalty on seven minutes.
Almost instantaneously the hosts hit back, with a Ben Priddey double on 10 and 17 minutes, both in identical fashion, from five-metre driving lineouts in the left-hand corner.
Full back Kyle Moyle added the extras for the first effort, to give the hosts a 12-3 lead after the first quarter.
Things almost got worse for Lucs, but a forward pass ruled out a third score for the Cornish men, as the visitors seemed a little rattled in the opening exchanges.
But Lucs applied themselves better as the half wore on and got their defensive system working.
Both sides had one more opportunity as the half came to a close, and whilst Camborne dropped an offload when deep in visitors’ territory at the end of the half, Lucs would make their visit pay, as skipper Ben Link was driven over from a maul, meaning the sides went in at half time with the score at 12-8.
Playing up the slope in the second period, the visitors knew a solid start was essential, so dropping the kick-off to give Camborne possession 20 metres out was not in the script, and when just two phases later, former Fijian international Josh Matavesi burst through weak defence and offloaded to man of the match Jordan Nicholls for a score under the sticks, converted by Moyle, Lucs were staring at a tough gig at 19-8.
However, the visitors then had a real purple patch but last-ditch defence prevented the scorers being troubled.
At the opposite end the ball was moved excellently from one wing to the other for Harry Larkins to score the bonus-point try in the corner, with Moyle converting once more and with 63 minutes gone, all looked done at 29-8.
However, Lucs deservedly hit back as talismanic Owien Harriott-Davis crashed over following sustained pressure.
Debutant Morris Clementson knocked over the extras for 29-15 with just over 10 minutes to play.
With positive injections from the bench, the Herefordshire men were now dominant, and Lucs gained field position before Link drove over once more, and with Clementson adding the extras on 78 minutes it was back to a one-score game at 29-22.
But that would be as good as it got for Lucs, as the hosts saw out the final phases in style.
As tight as it is at the top, the loss for Lucs drops them from second to fifth, whilst Camborne maintain their promotion push at the summit.
Off the back of a testing period of fixtures, Luctonians will hope to take advantage of three of their next four games being at Mortimer Park, starting with Midlands rivals Bournville this weekend.
