Coventry 63 Blackheath 21 by John Wilkinson

As a prime minister once famously said, a week is a long time in politics – and so it would seem to be in National League One rugby.

The only solace head coach Scott Morgan could take from Coventry’s woeful defeat at Wharfedale was that there were seven days in which to put things right before the next game came along.

And put things right they did with a ten-try performance which was totally unrecognisable from the one that went before – dominant in the forwards, who were on the front foot pretty much from the off, and rampant in the backs against a Blackheath defence that was all at sea.

It didn’t start off too well. Cov hadn’t laid a hand on the ball before they were behind, Mike Canty raced in for a try for Blackheath with just 95 seconds gone and David Marshall converting.

But Cov responded by driving the opposition back at the first scrum, winning a penalty, and although they went for a touch kick and a line-out which they then lost, they were quickly back on terms when a superbly judged miss-pass from Matt Jones sent in Barry Davies for a try, which Cliffie Hodgson converted, and they never looked back.

It was almost surreal with hardly a pause for breath before half-time came with 60 points on the scoreboard, but hugely entertaining.

Cov banked their four-try bonus point in 23 minutes, five minutes later Hodgson had completed a personal hat-trick of tries, and then from 32-7 up, Cov took their eye off the game for five minutes and let Blackheath back in by gifting them two converted tries.

But the ship was steadied, and the forwards drove over for Cov’s sixth try of the half to set the scene for what was to follow.

Blackheath had the advantage of the wind after the break, but they rarely threatened and Cov were so much in control that the four additional tries they scored could comfortably have been doubled.

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