THERE was late drama as Thurrock suffered a heartbreaking 16-14 defeat against Chobham in London One South.

The T’s had been ahead until the dying seconds of the game when the visitors kicked a penalty to secure a narrow triumph.

And that left Thurrock’s director of rugby Dean White feeling frustrated at the final whistle.

“It was heartbreaking for the players, coaches and supporters to lose with the last kick of the game to a penalty,” said White.

“It’s always the worst way to finish a game but this team is strong and will bounce back.

“You sometimes need a bit of luck and we didn’t have that on Saturday.

“Bob Crooks and the team are doing everything they can to put things right and we are not far off from going on a good run of form.”

Jake Barrand’s penalty put Thurrock 14-13 ahead as the clock neared overtime.

But Thurrock made a mess of the restart, coming from an offside position with the visitors converting the penalty with 30 seconds remaining.

Earlier in the game, Thurrock had conceded a try very early on through a catch and drive in the corner, which was well converted.

But a try from Nathan Farrell closed the gap and two successful Barrand penalties earned Thurrock an 11-10 half time lead, after the visitors added a penalty with the last kick of the half.

Chobham regained the lead with 10 minutes remaining at 13-11, before the exchange of penalties gave the visitors a 16-14 victory.

Thurrock have now suffered three defeats in their opening four games of the season and sit 10th in the table.

They will now be bidding to bounce back at London Cornish this weekend.