FOURTEEN-MAN Westcombe Park came close to toppling Cornish All Blacks Launceston but in the end had to settle for a 18-12 defeat and a consolation losing bonus point.
In a close encounter Combe held a slender 12-11 lead going into the last five minutes.
But visitors Launceston held their nerve, using their weight in numbers to drive hooker James Salter over for the winning and decisive score.
The try was converted by Kieron Lewitt to add to his earlier penalty.
Launceston’s other try scorer was centre Lewis Patterson.
Combe were a man down after 10 minutes after Nick Coles seeing red, but took the game to the visitors and opened the scoring with a try by Jon West.
This was soon followed with another for Ben Hough, converted by Luke Giles to ensure Combe went in at the break 12-3 up.
Launceston stormed back in the second half but were still one point behind with five minutes to go.
Combe defended manfully, but their attacking opportunities had dried up and Launceston at last made their advantage tell.
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