Blackheath 12 Coventry RFC 36 by John Wilkinson

WIN number eleven for a Coventry side whose confidence and belief is soaring with every game in a run that is taking them ever-nearer to the summit of National League One.

After taking the lead inside the opening minute, Cov had to play the long game this time as Blackheath recovered strongly from their early setback and took advantage of some unforced errors to go in front.

But despite losing skipper Cliffie Hodgson with a turned ankle after 16 minutes, Cov steadily took a grip on the game and, 14-12 up at the break, they controlled the second half until their patience was rewarded with three tries in the final quarter to take them clear.

Key factors were Cov’s performance in the scrum, where Blackheath were steadily taken apart with loose head Andy Brown’s dominance forcing them to make a change at half-time, and some incisive midfield running, in particular from centre Rob Knox who is becoming a more potent attacking force with every game.

But even when they were behind, Cov exuded the air of a team who knew they were going to win – having the confidence to pass up three easy points when 12-7 down to kick a penalty into the corner – and after making a few tweaks to their game at half-time, the outcome became increasingly inevitable.

Cov could not have asked for a better start, Knox taking a short pass from Matt Jones behind a line-out to cut through by the posts with Hodgson converting the try.

With plenty of pace on their game, Blackheath went close twice before handling errors by Cov led to tries for Sam Eydman and Markus Burcham, the first converted by Alex Gallagher, with Hodgson limping off in between the two scores.

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