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On a glorious spring afternoon
that was absolutely perfect for a feast of fast flowing Rugby, Coventry
and Lions conspired to serve up meagre fayre in an error strewn match that
neither side can take much encouragement from.
At least Coventry seemed to learn from their dismal first half
performance to expose a weak Lions’ defence that was breached all too
easily after the break.
Due to injuries and Tim
Collier’s continuing suspension, Lions were forced to move Tim Stannard
from number 8 into the second row, with Tristan Prosser-Shaw taking his
place, and Ben Lewitt returning to the back row after his efforts for
England Students. Tom
Woolrich started at prop after Phil Greenbury failed a fitness test, and
Marek Kwisiuk was preferred to start at hooker. In the backs, Eddie Saunders started on the wing in place of
Pete Roberts. Much as we love
Eddie, this seems a strange decision bearing in mind the storming
performances that Pete has consistently turned in over the past weeks
since being moved to the wing.
Lions’ pack looked decidedly
small compared to Coventry’s big locks and the giant Zin Zan Brooke at
number 8. As one Lions supporter put it…..”Lions don’t have a
real number 8 playing and Coventry’s looks like two”.
Coventry started as though the
ball was a hot potato. Twice
they knocked on in simple scenarios, before Cov were penalised at the ruck
when following a chip through. Cliff
Richard’s 40 metres penalty was pushed wide.
The next five minutes were
taken up with both sides aimlessly kicking the ball to each other, with
neither side seeming capable of finding a decent touch.
Another error at a 22 metres
drop out by Vunipola saw Stuart Potter drive in from the scrum and Lions
were awarded another penalty. This
time Cliff Richards made no mistake with the 25 metres kick.
( 0 – 3 ).
The farce continued when Lions
were penalised for driving over in the ruck, and somehow Martyn Davies
managed to screw his kick from midfield so that the line-out took place
behind where the ball was kicked.
| Following yet
another Coventry knock on, a high Lions’ kick was fumbled on Cov’s
22 metres line, and although the ball looked to have been recovered
from an offside position, Lions were only awarded a scrum for the
knock on.
No matter though as Phil Reed promptly broke blind from the base of
the scrum and sprinted through the gap for the opening try.
Cliff Richards missed the easy conversion.
( 0 – 8 ).
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Phil Reed races over |
Coventry were finding it
difficult to do anything right, and got the usual “encouragement” from
their “supporters” in the shed. Martyn
Davies tried an alternative approach with a high kick.
As he followed up, he seemed to run straight into Lions’ prop Tom
Woolrich and was awarded a penalty. Davies
was hurt in the collision (Tom is only small, but beautifully
proportioned), and had to leave the field after lengthy treatment……a
familiar sight to Lions’ supporters.
He was replaced by number 17, who shall remain nameless, mainly
because none of the Coventry supporters had a clue who he was, even with
the help of a program!! Believe
it or not, Cov’s PA system is worse than Lions so no help there either.
Cov kicked to the corner and
took the line-out with ease. Good
Lions’ tackling repulsed the drive as Cov again managed to lose the ball
and Dicky Davies cleared under pressure.
Zin Zan Brooke used the short side to make room for the wing to
break clear, but when progress was stopped and the ball was spun wide,
more poor handling allowed Lions to clear.
There looked to be at least 2
knock ons (or is it knocks on??) in Cov’s next move, but the referee
must have got as fed up as the rest of us and let play continue.
When Lions were penalised for offside in front of their posts,
number 17 stepped up to convert. (
3 – 8 ).
Koloi was next to show his
paces as he burst through and kicked ahead.
Eddie Saunders was on hand to fall on the ball, and Koloi was
penalised for not allowing him to get to his feet as he effected the
tackle. Again Lions breathed
a sigh of relief as they cleared.
Yet another knock on by Cov
allowed Phil Reed to break clear, and when the supporting Eddie Saunders
was stopped, Cov were penalised at the ruck.
Cliff Richards stepped up to stroke the ball home from 40 metres.
( 3 – 11 ).
Poor tackling by Lions in
midfield saw Kurt Johnson away, but Jacques Steyn caught the winger in the
corner with a fine cover tackle. When
the ball was worked back, Zin Zan Brooke tried an up and under that Dicky
Davies dropped in front of his posts.
Lions were penalised at the resultant scrum, and number 17
converted the simple kick. (
6 – 11 ).
Again poor tackling by Lions
gave Johnson some space, but the wing looks to have lost some of his speed
as again he was overhauled. Cov
moved the ball infield, and again Lions were penalised in front of their
posts, this time for offside. Up
stepped number 17 to add the 3 points.
( 9 – 11 ).
Cov were now starting to exert
some pressure, and good handling, aided and abetted by more poor Lions’
tackling, allowed centre Martin to cross by the posts.
Number 17 added the simple conversion, and Cov were in front.
( 16 – 11 ).
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| Cov were at last starting to
string some passes together, and Zin Zan Brooke showed his class as he
took the tackle and calmly slipped the ball one-handed behind his tackler
to the support. Kurt Johnson
managed to knock on twice in quick succession to spoil promising Cov
moves. |
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Zinzan shows his impressive skills |
| From the latter of
these, Phil Reed moved the ball wide on his own line.
When it reached Eddie Saunders, the veteran showed that he still
has outstanding ability and speed as he outstripped the defence, but
number 17 was solid in the tackle, forcing Eddie into touch as the referee
blew for half time.
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Half time
Coventry
16
Lions
11
A dreadful first half where
Coventry seemed to knock on or lose the ball more times than they managed
to hold on to it. However,
they still managed to go in at half time leading by 5 points!!
Cov were soon on the attack
from the restart and Lions were penalised yet again.
This time number 17 put his kick wide.
Cov were now looking more
dangerous, and a kick through bounced favourably for Vunipola to head the
ball a couple of times before managing to catch it.
When he was tackled, Cov smartly moved the ball right where a huge
overlap beckoned, but Zin Zan Brooke’s pass missed Johnson by a mile and
flew straight into touch.
The signs were looking ominous
for Lions, and when Cov again moved the ball wide, play was brought back
for a skirmish in the clubhouse corner.
After a lengthy debate with the touch judge, the referee showed
yellow cards to Lions’ Chris Jones and Cov’s Griffiths, whilst
awarding the penalty to Lions.
Another kick through by Cov had
Dicky Davies scrambling to clear in the corner, but unfortunately he
knocked on in the process. Zin
Zan Brooke’s initial charge from the base of the scrum was held, but
wing McLean was on hand to take the pass and he was driven over.
Number 17 added an excellent touchline conversion to put Cov very
firmly in the driving seat. (
23 – 11 ).
Lions were finding it difficult
to secure any sort of possession in the line-out against Cov’s big men. When they did secure possession, a long pass should have had
Dicky Davies through as he hit the line at pace…….I haven’t been
able to say that before in recent weeks!!
However, he was unable to take the ball cleanly, and Kurt Johnson
gathered the loose ball and set off for the line.
Ben Lewitt caught him with a superb tackle from behind, but Johnson
threw the ball in the air for the support to take and cross with ease. Number 17 missed the simple conversion. ( 28 – 11 ).
Glen Carson replaced Bennett
Smith in the Lions’ front row as Zin Zan Brooke tried to get things
moving from the base of the scrum, but little Phil Reed was on him like a
limpet. The big man can’t
go very far very fast these days, especially when carrying Reedo!!
Lions afternoon was summed up when Will Pilkington failed to take a
high kick when under no pressure at all.
Cov conspired again to lose the ball, but they took the scrum
against the head, and abysmal tackling by Lions allowed Tigger Dawson to
squirm clear and race 25 metres under the posts.
Number 17 added the conversion.
( 35 – 11 ).
Cliff Richards left the field
with what looked like a recurrence of his neck injury.
Pete Roberts came on as replacement, and took over at fullback,
with Dicky Davies moving to fly half.
Lions at last started to show
some purpose, although by now Cov were home and dry.
When Cov were penalised in front of their posts, Lions opted for
the scrum!! Lions’
supporters feared the worst after the scrum had previously been wheeled or
disrupted several times, but the ball was duly secured.
Lions probed right and then left, but made little impression
against good Cov tackling.
Matt Tassel now replaced
Jacques Steyn in the centre, and Richard Mee took over from Tom Woolrich
at prop. Lions were now enjoying some possession, but looked very
pedestrian in everything they tried.
The inevitable penalties against Lions allowed Cov to move quickly
back upfield, and they were soon pressing on Lions’ line. Determined tackling kept several forward drives at bay, but
when the ball was released, Vunipola evaded his tackler to dive over by
the posts. Another easy
conversion for number 17. (
42 – 11 ).
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At last Lions gave their
supporters something to shout about as Stuart Potter sliced through in the
centre. “T” couldn’t
hold onto the inside pass, but managed to juggle the ball long enough to
be able to knock it back into the hands of the supporting Eddie Saunders
who raced under the posts. Dicky
Davies tagged on the conversion. (
42 – 18 ).
More good hands by Lions had
Pete Roberts galloping through. When
he was hauled down the ball was moved infield where a well timed short
pass from Dicky Davies had Matt Tassell bursting through under the posts.
Again, Dicky Davies added the conversion. ( 42 – 25 ).
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Eddie Saunders about to
scoreagainst his old club |
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| Tassell under the posts |
Another try for Lions would
secure a much needed bonus point, but they allowed Cov to steal the ball
from the kick off, and although the last pass looked well forward, Kurt
Johnson was given enough room to crash over in the clubhouse corner.
Number 17 missed the touchline conversion as the referee brought
Lions misery to a halt as he blew for full time.
Final result:
Coventry
47
Lions
25
It was a good job that Cov had
a dreadful first half or Lions would have been on the end of a real
drubbing. Despite scoring three tries, Lions are still not firing on
all cylinders. Again the
attacks looked slow and ponderous, and now the normally sound defence
looked very suspect. It is
true that Lions have been hit hard by injuries, but there does not seem to
be any game plan in operation and everything is done at pedestrian pace. Last week I listed the team’s shortcomings, and sadly for
most of this game there was no marked improvement.
It does not appear that
dispensing with the services of coach Adrian Thompson has had any positive
effect at all. In fact the
two performances since his departure have been amongst the season’s
worst, and the wisdom of the move at a critical stage of the season has to
be questioned. The Shed faithful are trying hard to keep a positive
outlook and to continue to support the players, but it is becoming
increasingly harder as players continue to underachieve.
Lions need to do something and
do it fast if they are to survive in Division One.
The teams below us are all starting to pick up points, and with
Worcester at home next week and then Otley away, points are going to be
difficult to come by. It
could all rest on the last game of the season against Bracknell at Webb
Ellis Road. If the coaches do
not get a grip on things, then Lions are facing the very real prospect of
relegation…….the consequences of which are too dire to contemplate.
Worcester is an ideal opportunity to show us what can be done. |
