CHARLIE'S BACK FROM BRACKNELL

CHARLIE McGOWAN is back at Worthing Rugby Club. The first-choice 6ft 6in lock forward the previous two seasons, he did pre-season with London Welsh but joined Bracknell in National League 2. However, he has quit to rejoin Worthing and boost their second row in the wake of a defeat on Saturday which cost them their three-week London 1 leadership.

McGowan is thus in line to reunite with his elder brother Ben with whom he has not locked behind the Worthing front row since 2001.

Charlie told Richard Amey: "I played for Bracknell for about eight weeks. There were lots of trips to places in the north and I wasn't really enjoying it so much. Bracknell weren't doing so well in the league, the boys at Worthing were going on at me to come back, I wanted to, and chairman Allan Imrie rang me up to talk about it."

Charlie played for Worthing 2nd XV on Saturday and will be on the bench this Saturday for the visit of uprising Old Albanians (2.15pm).

At Canterbury, Worthing were without 131-point Ben Coulson for the first time this season, although he is back after injury to face the outfit from St Albans.

Coulson has kicked 106 points but his deputy Dun-can Taylor made only his third penalty attempt before fellow New Zealander, Jamie Stewart-McDonald, took over the job and made one.

Worthing led 6-0 at the interval but conceded a try to a lineout driving maul while jumper Ben McGowan was in the sinbin for persistent offside. A winning penalty followed when Worthing failed to release 23 metres out in front of their posts with five minutes to go.

Coach Mick Orton: "We were a threat all afternoon but we didn't finish. We missed at least four scoring chances in the first half playing down the slope. Canterbury didn't get into our half at all but we took wrong options, handled badly or passed forward. Although our rugby was good, the players know they've let themselves down.

"Albanians will be a good all-round team but while we're playing, we now need Richmond to beat London Scottish in their first clash."

WORTHING: Taylor; Kimmer, Butler, Stewart-McDonald, Stephens; Dudley, Imrie; Storer, Alcott, Bennett, Venter, B.McGowan, Kirchell, Levett, O'Gorman. Bench: Phillips (Kirchell 50), Outen (Butler, hamstring 55), Nicagilevu.

WORTHING v Albanians: Coulson for Kimmer, Quirk for Butler, Nicagilevu for Bennett, Dove for Venter, Phillips for Kirchell. Bench: Bennett, C.McGowan, Outen.