By AdminBTCov
January 18 2020
SOME may say that Cov are one of the most frustrating sides to follow in the league.
And on the evidence of today's performance they may well be right.
However, a win against a very fired-up, not to mention impressive, London Scottish side may just about have been deserved after what was a very, very poor first-half performance from the home side.
Shaky in the set-piece, particularly galling after the magnificent effort against Nottingham pre-Christmas, and even shakier under the high ball, Cov were on the back foot for much of the half, going behind to a penalty after just three minutes.
Brief respite followed a few minutes later when Max Trimble crossed in the corner after a grubber sat up well for him, but that was about as good as it got for Cov in the first half, with Scottish scoring three tries to lead comfortably at the break.
Half Time Coventry 10-22 London Scottish
An insurmountable hill to scale? Not a bit of it.
After the visitors decided to go for the sticks a few minutes after the restart, and increasing their advantage to a clear 15 points, somebody, somewhere decided to change things around a little, and on came eventual Man of the Match Scott Tolmie and tighthead Gareth Denman. And what a change it proved to be, with the home pack immediately turning the screw and winning the penalty - simultaneously waking up the grumbling, snoozing crowd of 2545.
The first of Tolmie's tries soon followed, and then a superb line break from the recently added Pete White resulted in quick ball from another sub (Tiki Nayalo) for James Voss to crash onto at speed to carry it over for a superb score. Jennings converted both, and suddenly the game had become very interesting indeed at 24-25.
With the always-lively Pete White then outstripping the defence to score, Jennings' conversion attempt cannoned back off the left upright to leave Cov in the lead, but far from in charge at 29-25.
All the great work, though, seemed to have come to naught when a gap opened up for Mark Bright to squeeze over at the flag, breaking Cov hearts as Scottish seemed to have done enough to steal the five points after all. Conversion missed, it was a one-point game, and still just enough time to do something about it.
And how Cov did just that - with that man Tolmie again refusing to be repelled, and smashing the ball down with what turned out to be the very last action of the game, notwithstanding Will Maisey's well-struck conversion which opened the gap for a final score of:
Coventry 36-30 London Scottish
Tries: Tolmie (2), Trimble, Voss, White
Conversions: Jennings (3), Maisey
Penalty: Jennings
Man of the Match: Scott Tolmie
Official Coventry Rugby: Report and Tries
(Pics: Nick Meredith)
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Quote:Camouflage
After the break, Scottish sprinted back onto the pitch. Our lads almost walked on such was the morale in the dressing room. Luke Narraway would have been swearing at every one of them if he was in there. With the mass of individual talent we have, something finally woke them. Scottish were really up for it and eventually we were. Please lads, don't leave it that late against Hartpury.
Quote:WazeroonieQuote:Camouflage
After the break, Scottish sprinted back onto the pitch. Our lads almost walked on such was the morale in the dressing room. Luke Narraway would have been swearing at every one of them if he was in there. With the mass of individual talent we have, something finally woke them. Scottish were really up for it and eventually we were. Please lads, don't leave it that late against Hartpury.
Who cares what Luke Narraway would or would not have said, he left Cov in May 2018- months before Cov played their first match in the Championship. Also, i'm not that sure he was a shouty/sweary (to get a reaction) kind of coach:- would he have been given a role at a Top 14 French club if he was? Doubt it.
Anthony Allen (our current defence coach just so you know) I'm sure would have had a few things to say at half time, he maybe didn't shout or swear which you probably wouldn't have liked:- but I'm led to believe that at times as a group the team leadership and players take ownership of their mistakes and sort things out for themselves also.
Five points is five points, however we did it. Yes the first half was pretty diabolical, but I'd rather win like today than lose like last week.
Quote:HoboAlQuote:WazeroonieQuote:Camouflage
After the break, Scottish sprinted back onto the pitch. Our lads almost walked on such was the morale in the dressing room. Luke Narraway would have been swearing at every one of them if he was in there. With the mass of individual talent we have, something finally woke them. Scottish were really up for it and eventually we were. Please lads, don't leave it that late against Hartpury.
Who cares what Luke Narraway would or would not have said, he left Cov in May 2018- months before Cov played their first match in the Championship. Also, i'm not that sure he was a shouty/sweary (to get a reaction) kind of coach:- would he have been given a role at a Top 14 French club if he was? Doubt it.
Anthony Allen (our current defence coach just so you know) I'm sure would have had a few things to say at half time, he maybe didn't shout or swear which you probably wouldn't have liked:- but I'm led to believe that at times as a group the team leadership and players take ownership of their mistakes and sort things out for themselves also.
Five points is five points, however we did it. Yes the first half was pretty diabolical, but I'd rather win like today than lose like last week.
Warzone I tend to agree.
But having been to Ealing Ampthill and now..
Alright we won but I am not tasting sweet grapes tonigjt. Next week will be really tough at Hartpury. I will be there but not realky looking forward to it. We are in a rut and there is a lot of faults around our basic play.
But only our second season and this is a tough lesgue and every team deserves respect. London Scottish were very good today and I thought 12 and 14 really stood out for them.
Great entertainment for about £14 as a seadon ticket holder.
Quote:I noticed this... there was a lack of intensity, precision and generally not looking up for it. The number of times the ball was dropped in drills was way too high. The switch was flicked when the front row replacements were made however and from then on, it was mostly very good viewingabdabs
watching the pre match warm up you could see things weren't right... Every up and under from Pete White was dropped and we took that feeling onto the pitch. Scottish were so more up for the game from the off