The Update (16/12/21)

SOMETIMES things take a little time to gel.

Last Saturday's sojourn to the rock off the northwestern coast of France certainly seemed to mirror that statement, as did the previous week's home tie with old foe Bedford, although not quite so pronounced in the case of the latter clash.

The keyboard warriors were certainly off the leash after the mainland match-up, with, it seems, their in-depth knowledge of how the game progressed, and a certain cheesed-offedness at the result particularly in the case of those that chose to stay a couple of counties south-east of Coventry.

I can't say I blame them for not wishing to travel that day, given the very, er, northern weather conditions – but I do sometimes wonder how the same folk come to their conclusions. Based on their own Twitter feed perhaps? Mind you; even that seemed to indicate that one of the Cov players' enforced periods of bench-warming was suspect, so fair play to the Twittist.

Otherwise, odd, I feel.

However, it's always good to beat Bedford, and to do it when it somehow feels like the team has one collective arm tied behind its back is even more gratifying. That it came down to a single point in the end following a late try from the visitors, is almost part of a pattern between the two sides these days. Close, even one point finishes, are almost the norm.

Exciting, I guess, but give me a couple of scores clear lead going into stoppage time, any day.

Jersey, though; what can one say? To be floundering, five tries to the bad, and only one long-range penalty on the plus side at half time, is almost enough to make one lose a little interest in the game. Almost? No, in my case I freely admit that I had completely given up on getting anything whatsoever out of this one. So, how did I feel when I found out just after the whistle that the final score had drawn Cov into Bonus Point territory?

A bit of a chump. That's how I felt.

Why oh why does this rag-bag of a mish-mash of a cobbled-together team of experienced (let's not say 'old') and young, inexperienced Academy-grade lads suddenly decide to start playing rugby forty-odd minutes after the opposition does?

Answers on a postcard – and Rowland Winter would probably like to know too.

Speaking of Academy-type stuff, it's great to see the Coventry Moulton Academy going so well in the games that they are able to play, i.e. those that the opposition don't withdraw from. Currently they are on seven matches played, with all seven won, garnering 379 points while only conceding 22.

Impressive stats.

And even more importantly all pointing to a bright future for the college and the club, with products of the programme already featuring prominently in the Coventry First XV on a regular basis.

There's more here https://twitter.com/CoventryMoulton

It was also very interesting to hear that the Butts Park Arena developments are still on track – as far as 'on-track' goes given the unavoidable delays brought about by that pesky virus. As Paul Ingleston has already very helpfully precis-ed most of the good stuff from the Supporters' Forum earlier this month, I don't propose to go into any detail here (it's on this thread HERE if you haven't already seen it).

Suffice to say that the forecast seems to be of 'spades' in the ground' on at least one phase of the development next year, with more to follow closely behind.

Quite exciting. But all probably dependent on no more huge headwinds of course...

I'll finish on a sombre note by adding that it was a huge shock to myself, and probably to many others, to learn that Geoff Kennedy had passed away last weekend. Geoff was a lovely man who I have had the pleasure of quite a few chats with over the years, and I will miss seeing him around the ground on matchdays. More importantly, there is a team of unsung volunteers who will miss his presence far more on a far more regular basis around the ground, so it's to Eric's Band of Brothers, and to Geoff's many friends, and mostly to his family that I offer my sincere condolences.

Rest easy Geoff. x