Back 'ome at Last

IT'S BEEN an awfully long time for those of us that weren't lucky enough to go to the Sarries match

but, finally, the Butts Park Arena welcomed (apart from some light red-tinged restrictions) fans back with open arms.

And what a welcome it was.

Cov, or the version of Cov that took to the field for the first half, opened the taps fully, showing very few signs of rustiness, and simply blew old rivals Nottingham away with a free-scoring display that had returning Blue 'n' White fans purring.

Were we expecting it? Not really from what I could gauge pre-match. We didn't know what effect the influx of new players including McNulty and several Tiger Cubs would have on the traditionally resilient Nottingham side.

Perhaps we still don't, but by half time we were left in absolutely no doubt that Cov had not been adversely affected by the summer's comings and goings.

Yes, the boys in pink who completed the first stanza were probably much closer to the preferred starting selection that those who turned out in blue for the second half (second short match?), but overall the effect was little short of electrifying.

Six tries - two improved by outstanding halfback prospect Evan Mitchell - rained in over forty minutes, with the visitors scarcely crossing the halfway line, and the aforementioned ex-Cov man invited to cool his heels for ten minutes during proceedings.

Part two may have been a very slight anticlimax, although Nottingham folk would have welcomed their two consolation tries in the turnstile corner, but you sensed that even the somewhat less experienced side that had taken the field after forty minutes might just have been being slightly kind to their opponents.

Certainly, some of the younger squad members, and Academy squad members come to that, revelled in the opportunity to strut their stuff in the perfect prevailing weather conditions, with the Betteridge brothers in particular catching the eye. I apologise if they are not brothers, and hold my hand up to the sin of assumption here.

Whatever, one try from one of the Betteridges (again, apologies, I know not which just at the moment) was truly top-drawer, and complimented another contender from the returning Tom Emery.

Ten tries in total then. Five converted. And a total of sixty points from a game that I, for one, was just hopeful of some kind of win.

I'll take that all day long.

Pics: Nick Meredith