By Unofficial Coventry Rugby
December 31 2009

The following article first appeared on this site on the 17th February 2005, it was scribed by Iain Sharpe, a Coventry supporter. The article covers the end of the Coundon Road era and the anticipation of a bright future at the new stadium at Butts Park Arena. I now find the article rather intriguing. At the time I was a firm believer that the BPA would deliver us the much needed resources

so that we would quickly return to our rightful place in the top echelons of English rugby.  I was obviously totally, utterly, completely wrong!  But I live in hope.  Will the rumoured move to the Ricoh rekindle my mislaid expectations?  Time will tell... Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy Iain's article, I did.

Coventry's famous Coundon Road ground has seen its last First XV rugby. Whether or not Cov avoid relegation, they will be playing next season in a new and modern stadium, capable of meeting the requirements for the premiership. All it will need is a team to match. 

Coundon Road was always much mocked by away supporters: from the muddy and grass-free pitch to the rust showers that spectators suffered each time the ball landed on the Cowshed roof and the lack of proper toilets.

To many, Coundon Road seems like a throwback to another era. The new ground will no doubt offer much improved facilities. But I will miss Coundon Road and regret its disappearance.  

All, or at least most, of the criticisms were well made. Even when I went there for the first time 26 years ago - to watch David Duckham's last home game for the club against Bedford - the ground seemed slightly antiquated. It wasn't just the Cowshed rust. It was the terrace at the railway end that seemed to consist of nothing more than earth and railways sleepers; the floodlights that never all worked at once. The distinctive but odd curved roof of the main stand.

The fact that when the Rugby Special cameras visited, special scaffolding had to be erected thus taking away the best views for spectators. It all looked a bit scruffy and untidy. Yet to me there was always something special about the ground. Perhaps because I have always lived away from Coventry, even though I was born and have family there. A visit to watch Cov play was a treat, something I only got to do once or twice a season. I liked Coundon Road because it was a ‘proper' ground, built up on three sides. It was unlike the leading club grounds in London, which I sometimes went to, which were set in large areas of parkland with a solitary stand. It was the only ground I had visited with proper under-cover terracing. You could get a decent vantage point, stand up to watch and be protected from the rain - something pretty common at football stadiums, but rare at rugby grounds. 

The location of Coundon Road along a busy main street seemed to say something about the nature of rugby culture in Coventry: gritty, urban and working class far removed from the public school ethos of rugby in the south east. In rugby terms, this was a big ground for a club that attracted big crowds. As a child I was told that it had held as many as 15,000 for important games, including a visit of the All Blacks in the 1960s. 

I always felt, too, that the wonderful atmosphere at a full Coundon Road was partly the result of the ramshackle nature of the ground. The proliferation of small huts for grounds men or the supporters' club, together with various extensions to the clubhouse, meant that there were loads of nooks and crannies for supporters to squeeze into to get a better view. There was also a sense of being close to the action.

One reason why modern all-seater stadiums lack atmosphere is because spectators are all in neat rows as if for the opera. At Coundon Road, and no doubt other older grounds, you really felt part of a large crowd. Yet, unlike at football matches, it never felt dangerous. I have stood in the Cowshed for a full-house in a cup match against Leicester, without the atmosphere ever becoming even remotely ugly. 

Coundon Road is perhaps a throwback to rugby's amateur past. It is among the last of its kind: Moseley are no longer at The Reddings; Northampton's Franklin's Gardens has been upgraded out of all recognition. Perhaps Gloucester's Kingsholm is now the only survivor - a ground designed for rough, tough rugby supporters. No doubt things have to change. If clubs like Cov are to increase their number of spectators, then they will have to provide for less hardy souls, who want to watch in a bit more comfort than the Cowshed could ever provide. They will also have to meet all the (in my view excessive and arbitrary) requirements of the Premiership if they want to reach the heights of club rugby.

Many of the reminiscences about Coundon Road have focused on the famous players, the great matches and the quips from the wags and wits in the Cowshed. These, however, can be recreated at the new Butts Stadium. All Cov supporters hope the move will be the start of a playing revival at the club. And doubtless the humour from the fans will still be there. But what can never quite be reproduced is the special atmosphere of the ground that was wrapped up with its out-of-date feel and higgledy-piggledy layout.

Coventry are no doubt right to move and the new stadium will offer much improved facilities for spectators, players and club alike. I am sure it will be better than Coundon Road - but it won't be the same.

Iain Sharpe

The end of Coundon Road, and the Butts Park Arena?

Discussion started by Unofficial Coventry Rugby (IP Logged), 31/12/2009 15:14

Unofficial Coventry Rugby
31/12/2009 15:14

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010:01:11:07:09:15 by Laugh Out Loud.

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bigm/ mark harrison.
04/01/2010 14:58

the atmosphere at coventry rugby matches died with the passing of coundon rd and spectators sitting down, both contributing to the demise of the club along with the product on the pitch.

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Roger Fox
04/01/2010 15:23

Couldn't agree more bigm. Coundon Rd. had an atmosphere engendered by the great games played there and from the memories of the outstanding Coventry Kids who graced the ground. Old and ramshackle maybe, but it had character.

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bigm/ mark harrison.
04/01/2010 15:27

all the butts has ,is concrete and memories of a by gone era in coventry sports

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Roger Fox
04/01/2010 15:33

Yes, but there were some great events there in the past. The Turpins and Reg Harris to mention a few.

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Kimbo
04/01/2010 17:21

Randy vs Reg.

Now that would have been a spectacle

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covkid53
04/01/2010 20:07

Shame really, but the BPA would have been so different if the promises made had been kept.

A completed stadium in the Premiership....can you imagine the noise with 8 to 10,000 cheering COV on ?

Its never been about Stadia....its the team and the supporters in the end.

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Cliff Bennett
05/01/2010 13:03

Kimbo, you know you really are displaying all the doubtful attributes of someone who has too much time on his hands.
Some of your postings are questionable, to say the least.
My advice. I think you should get a grip.
Did you get my email, by the way?

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Kimbo
05/01/2010 14:54

Yes I did. Full of excuses as usual.


Just off to get a grip on a mug of tea.

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