Coventry RFC 37 Loughborough Students 12
By John Wilkinson, Coventry Telegraph.
January 3 2016
Coventry's power in the set piece set them up an emphatic victory at the Butts Park Arena as they ended a run of three National League One defeats in some style.
Loughborough's scrum spent the afternoon going backwards, giving Cov the platform to play some enterprising rugby despite the sticky underfoot conditions and record a valuable bonus-point victory.
Cov's discipline was also greatly improved in response to the urgings of head of rugby, Scott Morgan, as they conceded just one penalty in the entire 80 minutes.
Cov had the better of the opening exchanges without finding a way through, and they paid the price when they were turned over on their own 22 with Students working a 13th-minute try for Wil Edwards which went unconverted.
The lead was short lived as Cov hit back immediately with a well-worked try for Peter Weightman which Cliffie Hodgson converted, and with the home forwards well on top in the set piece and repeatedly driving the opposition scrum backwards, a second try followed on 28 minutes for Alex Woodburn from a training-ground move at the front of a line-out.
Cov continued to press, and thy were rewarded for turning down a simple three points in favour of a kick to touch on the stroke of half-time with the line-out leading to a Devlin Hope try which Hodgson converted on the whistle for a 19-5 lead.
Hodgson kicked a penalty two minutes after the restart, and Jacques Le Roux secured Cov's bonus point from close range two minutes later with an unconverted try.
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Nigel
When we're at home he also sends one to the Rugby Paper straight away as well.
- the scrum was entirely dominant, as it had been when we played at their ground
- we took two scrums against the head
- I don't think we missed the targeted player in any line out (unlike the shambles at Ampthill)
- our discipline was enormously improved (no yellow cards, only one penalty, etc)
- a number of players gave stand-out performances (JLR as always and inevitably, Alex Woodburn, Sam Pailor, Devlin Hope, Cliffie Hodgson - well, his parents were there so he was showing off, Peter Weightman, etc).
- I would still have a concern about Dom Lespierre because he doesn't contribute a great deal. OK, so he doesn't get the ball too often but he frequently cuts a fairly anonymous figure
- to be fair, LS don't offer the strongest opposition, although they were significantly improved since we played them earlier in the season, but our improvement will be shown up for real when we play the likes of Richmond, Fylde, Hartpury College, etc.
Rather strange, perhaps a tactic used to keep away from the Cov forwards. Whatever it was, it did not work.
There was a lot to be pleased about in the Cov performance - other posters have highlighted many stand-out displays, particularly amongst the forwards and Cliffie.
Yes, discipline was much improved, and I hope it was not only because the forwards were never really under pressure - going offside, into the ruck or maul from the side, infringing in the scrum, is always more likely when under pressure.
I think it is also a bit dis-respectful to imply the students were not much of an opposition - despite being in the lower third of the table, they have beaten RP and picked up 5 losing bonus points, and have lost by narrower margins to teams near the top.
The early students score looked like the wake-up call Cov needed - there was a huddle under the posts while the kick was taken (we would love to know what was said !) and Cov seemed to tighten-up their defence and play harder following it. Let's hope they can carry that forward to the next few matches which will be much harder.