LUCTONIANS Head Coach Ryan Watkins praised the character of his side as they clinched a last gasp 33-28 victory at Nuneaton.

Connor Deignan drove over for the Lucs during the last play of the match as they came back from seven points behind to clinch victory.

"It was very tight in the end and we made hard work of it," said Watkins.

"The boys character was outstanding on a tough afternoon. Nuneaton are a decent side and they have had a lot of beat results like beating Newport (Salop).

"To come back the way we did shows really big character."

Despite going behind through an early try Watkins' side made their power count as Owen Harriott-Davis touched down from a line-out drive.

Nuneaton regained the lead through a second try before Luctonians hit their stride.

Guy Kirkby found a gap to draw the visitors level before Josh Watkins followed him over to give his side a 21-14 half-time lead.

Two second half tries for the home team with no response looked to have swung the tie in their favour.

However, Drew Cheshire levelled the tie once more by finishing off a cross-field move before Deignan's late winner.

"It was going to be close but we knew we had quite a lot of time as when they took the lead there was 16 minutes left," added Watkins.

"We looked dangerous but I knew we had to play a bit more and I was really chuffed with how they responded.

"The final try came from us running the ball from deep which we knew we had to do. We got a penalty and kicked to the corner which allowed our forwards to do their job.

"There was also positives defensively from Saturday as it was a good performance except for a couple of lapses which we can address in those areas."

Lucs return to Mortimer Park this weekend when they host Sandbach, while hoping that their title rivals drop points.

Despite beating the visitors 55-23 in September's return fixture Watkins knows that another tough match awaits.

"We don't want to underestimate them," added Watkins.

"They are mid-table and we had a great performance away at their place. We have got to keep on our toes and earn the result by keeping our eye on the game."