Coventry are nothing if not tenacious which was summed up when in the 79min, with Cov holding onto a 2 point draw, decided to run it from inside their own 22. Mike Walls, MOM, quickly shipped the ball onto Donovan Sanders, whose dash up the touchline left the Exeter defence spread-eagled. The final inside pass to Ben Toft allowed him to score under the posts unchallenged.

Late changes saw Atkinson on the bench with Venter in as lock, Clayton as No 7, and Miller as No 6.

BPA was swathed in sunshine with Cov the advantage of a strong swirling wind. The game started off as a fast pace with both sides running the ball, but on 2min Cov were penalised in front of posts for Steenson to convert. Coventry 0 Exeter 3.

Coventry took the game to Exeter with quick tap and go's, and on 8min following an excellent Whitehead break Exeter were penalised for Russell to kick,levelling the scores.

Cov pressed forward but promising situations came to nothing as the home side increasingly fell foul of Mr Kitt, especially at the breakdown. In the space of 3 mins Exeter took control, with the powerful Fatialofa running through tackles to feed Mckenzie on the wing for 2 unconverted tries in the 12/15 min. Score Coventry 3 Exeter 13.

Cov still kept up their high speed game and on 23min following pressure Dixon surged through poor tackling for a try converted by Russell. Score now Coventry 10 Exeter 13.

The warnings signs were now there for Exeter. Herrington broke down the touchline only to be brought back for a penalty. The penalty was run and good work by the forwards including Clayton led to Laurie McGlone forcing his way over on 33min, try again converted by Russell. Score Coventry 17 Exeter 13.

On 28min another Steenson penalty brought score back to Coventry 17 Exeter 16. Approaching halftime Steenson was allowed to zigzag through non existent tackling to score under the posts, for him to convert his own try. Score Coventry 17 Exeter 23. Deep into injury time it took a last ditch Johnson tackle to deny Exeter another try leaving h/t score Coventry 17 Exeter 23.

Against the wind Cov made a promising start to the 2nd half. It was now Exeter's time to upset Mr Kitt,a series of high tackles and collapsed scrums gave Cov the ascendancy. As pressure grew on the Exeter line. Desperate defence led to Dan Tuohy being yellow carded on 12min. Mcglone was held up near the line but on 15min Russell converted a penalty to make score Coventry 20 Exeter 23.

As Coventry became more confident a misplaced midfield pass by Walls was picked up allowing Stephen Ward to race in unopposed. Conversion was missed score Coventry 20 Exeter 28.

With Hayes on for the injured Russell, Cov continued to run it at Exeter. A Winter break, carried on by Sanders almost led to a McGlone try. On 20 mins A Walls drop goal brought Cov back into it at Coventry 23 Exeter 28. The home side could now smell blood, an excellent Hayes kick and break put pressure on the Exeter line, resulting in a Coventry scrum. The ball was quickly recycled on 30 mins for Hayes to jink his way over in the corner, bringing the score level at 28 each.

The game continued to ebb and flow , with both sides looking for the winner. Exeter with no real answer to Coventry's tap and go where finally undone in the 79 min as Toft scored the final try, duly converted by Hayes to make score Coventry 35 Exeter 28.

Amidst scenes of crowd delirium Coventry held out and indeed went searching for a final score. In the end Exeter ran out of ideas .The bonus point win before an increasingly enthusuastic crowd who gave the team a deserved standing ovation.

Dave Addleton fittingly dedicated the win to Jim Broderick, whose sad death was announced just before the start.

Coventry team
15 Olly Winter, 14 Kurt Johnson, 13 George Dixon, 12 Donovan Sanders, 11 Ben Toft, 10 Ben Russell, 9 Mike Walls, 1 Rob Dugard, 2 Chris Whitehead, 3 Rudi Brits, 4 Sam Herrington, 5 Henno Venter, 6 Jamie Miller, 7 Darren Clayton, 8 Laurie McGlone.

Replacements
Stewart Pearl,Kevin Davis, Olly Atkinson, Dave Addleton, Howard Graham, Tommy Hayes, Ronnie Mclean.

Scorers Coventry tries Dixon, McGlone, Hayes, Toft.
con Russell(2),Hayes
pen Russell(2)
DG Walls

Exeter tries Mckenzie(2),Steenson,Ward.
con Steenson

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