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22

Coventry

.27

Link to Coventry's web site

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Lions put up a spirited performance against the old enemy, but the equally old failings of not turning pressure into points, missed opportunities, and a high penalty count, meant that Coventry took the spoils. 

Yet another injury, this time to Stuart Potter, saw Nopera Stewart move into the centre to partner James Ogilvie-Bull, with Fa’atoto Moananu reverting from wing to full back, and evergreen Eddie Saunders filling the wing berth. 

Lions were first with points on the board as a Richard Davies “bomb” caused havoc in the Coventry defence.  As Lions’ forwards drove in to regain possession, Richard calmly slotted a drop goal from 22 metres.  He did not strike the ball cleanly, and many of the Coventry supporters in the Shed felt that the ball had completely missed the target.  However, the referee was right on hand to award the goal, and the match video shows the ball going cleanly between the posts and over the bar.

Lions 1st drop goal		Clearly going over the bar

Lions easily held the first Coventry attack, and a driving maul by the Lions’ pack took Coventry back 20 metres to half way before progress was stopped illegally.  Richard Davies drilled the penalty to the corner, and a clean line-out take allowed the centres to set up the position for Richard to drop back and calmly slot another drop goal from 30 metres. 

Coventry then showed their forward power by forcing a free kick against the Lions’ front row at the first scrum.  The forwards drove in from the tap, and when Lions were penalised, Alan Mitchell posted Coventry’s first points from 35 metres. 

In the next Coventry attack, a poor kick by Martin gave Phil Reed the space to counter-attack, but the referee brought play back to penalise Lions for offside.  At this point a general bout of fisticuffs ensued, and referee Wayne “Babyface” Barns gave both Captains a stern talking to.  Coventry took the penalty to the corner, and a clean line-out take saw the forwards moving ominously towards the Lions’ line.  The momentum seemed to have been stopped, but a second surge saw Mark Tinnock claim the try.  Alan Mitchell added the conversion. 

Lions quickly struck back as another poor kick from Martin was well taken by Eddie Saunders, who launched a speculative kick into the Coventry half as he was confronted by the advancing Coventry tacklers.  There seemed to be no danger as Koloi looked to have the kick covered as it bobbled about over the try line, but he inexplicably fumbled the ball to allow the speeding  to fall on the ball for an easy try.  Richard Davies missed the relatively simple conversion to leave Lions just a point ahead. 

Julian Horrobin lead the next Coventry charge, but when he was turned in the tackle, Lions secured possession and Tom Walsh launched a high kick.  This was dealt with safely by Alan Mitchell, but Eddie Saunders was on hand to make the tackle and force the penalty.  This time Richard Davies made no mistake with his kick from 35 metres to extend Lions’ lead. 

It was end to end stuff in this first 20 minutes, and when Lions were penalised for going over the top, up stepped Alan Mitchell to strike a beautiful penalty from 40 metres to bring Coventry back to within a point of Lions. 

Another penalty to Coventry saw Tim Collier shown a yellow card for driving through on scrum half Toby Handley when the ball was still in the ruck.  Unless he had been warned before, this was rough justice on Tim whose reputation seems to go before him.  This time Coventry elected to kick to touch, but a poor tap down at the line-out saw scrum half Toby Handley buried by the Lions’ pack and a penalty was conceded to allow Richard Davies to clear the Lions’ line. 

A lovely take at the line-out by Chris Jones gave Lions’ the opportunity to make further inroads into Coventry territory, but a charged down kick saw the pressure back on Lions.  A blind-side break by Toby Handley almost lead to a Coventry score as his inside pass was well taken by the supporting player, but a superb ankle tackle denied a certain try.  As Lions regrouped, Coventry were penalised to allow Richard Davies to again relieve the pressure. 

Coventry now tried to stretch the Lions’ defence as they moved the ball wide, but Fa’atoto Moananu bundled Brendan Daniel up in the tackle.  When Coventry knocked on, Lions’ retrieved the ball and a long kick downfield had Coventry scrambling the ball into touch.  Unfortunately the Lions’ line-out was scrappy, and a knock on allowed Coventry to clear from the ensuing scrum. 

Another sniping run down the blind side by Toby Handley had Lions on the back foot, and his clever grubber kick had Lions defending again on their 22 metres line.  Again the Lions’ line-out failed to operate effectively as a long throw sailed over the back of the line. Lions were penalised as they scrambling to retrieve the situation, and up stepped Alan Mitchell to stroke the easy kick home to put Coventry back in front.

Tim Collier returned to the fray, but he was unable to stop an excellent Coventry move down the right.  The initial half-break from half way was carried on by good support play, and when the ball reached Brendan Daniel in space, he stepped inside Fa’atoto Moananu to dive over triumphantly for the try.  Alan Mitchell pushed the difficult conversion just wide. 

Lions needed a score before half time to get themselves back into contention, and it so very nearly came.  Lions’ forwards drove in hard, and when Coventry were penalised, Richard Davies drilled the kick to the corner.  The first part of the plan worked perfectly as Chris Jones rose at the line-out to secure possession, but resolute Coventry defence saw Lions concede the put in at the scrum.  However, Lions turned the scrum sufficiently to steal the put in.  Steve Smith tidied up a loose ball at the base of the scrum to make the initial inroads towards the Coventry line, and as the Lions’ forwards drove in a score looked inevitable until Coventry illegally stopped the drive.  Our old friend Trevor Revan was the guilty party and he received a yellow card for his sins.  With half time imminent, Lions opted to kick the penalty, but unfortunately Richard Davies missed another simple opportunity as the half time whistle blew.

Half time 

Lions      14                Coventry              21

Lions needed an early score in the second half, but it was 14 man Coventry who looked the more enterprising.  A chip over the top of the Lions’ defence almost had Brendan Daniel away again, but he knocked on trying to gather the kick.  When Lions were penalised at the resulting scrum, Alan Mitchell stepped up for the kick, but his 35 metres effort drifted just wide. 

Back came Lions, and a kick and chase by Eddie Saunders was well covered by Alan Mitchell.  Eddie was again to the fore following up a raking kick by Richard Davies, but again Alan Mitchell was equal to the task.  As Lions kept up the pressure, another poor Lions’ line-out conceded possession, but the ball was recovered with an excellent turnover in midfield.  However, Lions passing was laboured as they moved the ball wide, and strong Coventry tackling forced the knock on.  

Another chip over the Lions’ defence almost had Coventry away again, but a forward pass brought them back.  Tom Walsh made a superb break from the base of the scrum to cover 50 metres.  As the cover moved in, his desperate pass out to the wing just evaded the clutching hands of Eddie Saunders, and the opportunity was lost as the ball rolled into touch. 

When Coventry knocked on at the line-out, Lions took the opportunity to replace props Richard Mee and Paul Shadbolt with Bennett Smith and Tom Woolrich.  Bennet Smith was soon in the action, taking a beautifully timed pass from Nopera Stewart to make 20 metres before being overhauled.  Lions moved the ball wide, but James Ogilvie-Bull was held up short.  As the Lions’ forwards arrived in force, Coventry were penalised and Richard Davies tapped the ball into touch.  The line-out take was good, and again a score looked inevitable, but again Coventry illegally prevented a score.  Again a yellow card was shown, this time to Mike Mika.  Again Richard Davies tapped the ball to touch, but Lions wasted another glorious opportunity with a crooked throw at the line-out.  Lions must have fancied their chances in the scrum with Coventry a man light, but they were penalised and Coventry were able to breath a sigh of relief as they cleared to half way. 

Lions were now being penalised at regular intervals by a referee who seemed to have lost the plot.  Poor Coventry passing in the backs saw the ball spilled, and Eddie Saunders was on it in a flash to race clear of the defence with the line at his mercy.  To the dismay of the Lions’ faithful in the Shed, the referee brought play back for a scrum to Coventry for an unknown offence.  Rumour has it that it was for a knock on, but the referee’s signal was as equally confusing as his decision. 

Lions were not to be denied, and a long kick to touch by Richard Davies saw Coventry take a quick throw.  Lions’ forwards arrived in force, and when Coventry were penalised, Richard Davies tapped the kick to touch.  This time the take was good and the drive well executed, giving Coventry no chance to illegally stop a third drive. Tristan Prosser-Shaw claimed the try, but Richard Davies’s difficult conversion attempt from close to touch was well wide. 

However, Lions were now only 2 points adrift and were building up a head of steam.  Unfortunately they sprung a leak as they were again penalised to allow Alan Mitchell to extend Coventry’s lead from 35 metres. 

Back came Lions, and when a Coventry scrum seemed to rotate almost 360 degrees, the referee allowed play to continue and Coventry were able to gain some respite…….but not for long.  Steve Smith made one of his charging runs, but when the ball was moved wide, a poor chip over the defence gave possession back to Coventry, when keeping the ball in hand would surely have been a better option. 

A Coventry scrum saw the next “unusual” decision from referee Wayne Barns.  A Coventry scrum was disrupted by Lions, and when number 8 Julian Horrobin fired an overhead pass to Martin, the fly half was unable to take the ball cleanly and it was knocked on.  Lions took possession and drove the ball into the maul, but when it was not grounded, the referee awarded the scrum to Coventry. 

Lions were now desperately looking for a score, but all they succeeded in doing was yielding a string of penalties.  Mr. Barnes was not so much playing the role of Santa Clause for Coventry, more like Penalty Clause!!  Coventry worked their way downfield from a series of penalties, and Alan Mitchell then converted a kick from 25 metres to give Coventry some breathing space with an 8 point advantage.  

Lions made one final effort to salvage something from the game, and with Coventry being penalised in the shadow of their posts, Richard Davies converted the kick to gain Lions a bonus point as the referee immediately blew full time. 

Final result: 

Lions      22                Coventry              27 

Again, a much improved performance from Lions, and the game was there for the taking.  Although the referee made some strange decisions in the second half, it was Lions own failings that really lost the game.  

It was very much an “if only” game for the Shed faithful…….if only Richard Davies had converted more of his kicks……if only Eddie had taken the pass from Chris Jones and scored under the posts……if only we had scored from either of the 2 forward drives that Coventry illegally stopped with tries looking inevitable……..if only we hadn’t given away so many penalties allowing Coventry to gain relief. 

Despite the result, the team and the Shed faithful can take heart from the performance.  If the improvements continue as players return from injury and we can start to establish a settled side that the coaches can work with, the results will surely come.  We are uncomfortably close to the drop zone at the moment, but equally we are in very close contact with several teams above us, so a couple of wins should see us moving towards mid-table. 

The trip to Worcester will be the next testing ground.  A good performance there should put us in good spirits for the visit of Otley to Webb Ellis Road, when a win will put us on the road to recovery.

Chris Jones

Lions team

at Thursday night

Last season, when Rugby and Coventry were in different divisions, friendly fixtures both home and away had been agreed upon but both were lost to rearranged league games. It is unusual for a season to go by without at least one set-to between these old rivals so next Saturday’s league encounter will be welcomed by the supporters of both sides.  

After the early league games it looked as though Rugby and Coventry might be closely matched but the Lions’ form has fallen away in the last three games and Coventry have now put clear water between themselves and their neighbours. There are a number of ex-Lions in Coventry’s ranks, one of whom, Martyn Davies, played two season’s for Rugby and could be playing against his old club for the first time. With there having been no opportunity for him to do this last season there is unlikely to be anyone in Rugby’s current team with whom he played, such is the fast-moving traffic in players these days.  

For the record Coventry, with four wins, two draws and three games lost currently hold sixth place in National Division 1, above Bedford and below Birmingham by virtue of points difference. Their best game this season has to be their defeat of Worcester at Sixways where they also denied the home side a bonus point. 

The Lions performance at Old Deer Park was an improvement on the game at Henley but there is still some way to go. The forwards’ loose play was better with some useful turnovers but the pack must prevent itself from being wheeled in dangerous positions. In addition, the backs do not seem to be as well organised as they were during the early games against Bedford, Wakefield and Moseley and some half chances on Saturday went begging.  

Coventry is not just any old league fixture, it is a part of128 years of struggle for superiority by those Rugbeians (native or otherwise) wearing the Red Lion badge.