Jones pulls strings as Cov turn on the style.

It would be difficult to argue against rugby director Phil Maynard’s assessment that this was Coventry’s most professional performance of the season.

Apart from a ten-minute spell midway through the second half when they lost some of their shape, Cov were in total charge against a side averaging 34 points per home game and on a ground where the other top five sides in the division had all perished.

Cov’s strategy was to nullify Fylde’s attacking threat, and with a dominant pack at the set piece, a solid line-out and a tight midfield, they succeeded perfectly in stifling the home side’s running game just as they had done at the Butts Park Arena in November.

And with Matt Jones pulling the strings at fly-half in his most accomplished display yet in a Cov jersey, the opposition grew more and more frustrated at their lack of progress before conceding two late tries which gave the final scoreline a more realistic slant.

The last, an interception score for Greg Evans who helped himself as Fylde, true to their intentions to the last, attempted to run the ball from their own line.

“It was an outstanding all-round performance up here,” said Maynard.

“We started to give them space for a short period in the second half, but apart from that we were very professional.”

Making a bright start Cov went ahead on nine minutes through a Cliffie Hodgson penalty, but the acting skipper posted a rare miss from a wide angle after Fylde had passed up two kickable chances at the other end and achieved nothing.

Cov were reduced to 14 men when Will Hurrell was sin binned for playing the ball from an offside position in his own 22 and Fylde made the extra man count, breaking through midfield for perhaps the only time in the game for Chris Johnson to kick ahead a score a try which he also converted.

But Cov were back on track four minutes later when Sam Pailor charged down the left flank on the blind side of a scrum for an unconverted try, and the visitors stretched their lead to 15-7 right at the end of the half when Ignas Darkintis finished off a wave of forward pressure from close range, Hodgson converting.

Cov went close on three occasions in a frenetic start to the second half before, with Johnson now in the sin bin, they spun the ball wide from a scrum for Hurrell to claim their third try in the left corner, Hodgson adding an excellent touchline conversion.

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