London Welsh
Coventry v London Welsh - Match Preview
By Mark W-J
November 4 2009
After 22 years and 474 league games, London Welsh enter uncharted waters this weekend with their first ever Friday night fixture, away at Coventry. While visiting supporters are generally unhappy with the move, the local fans – no doubt including many who play on a Saturday afternoon - seem to have taken to the idea, with average attendances at the Butts Park Arena broadly similar to last year.
Our only previous experience of a competitive Friday night game was 11 years ago, when the draw for the short-lived Cheltenham & Gloucester Cup threw-up a local derby with our then Premiership neighbours, Richmond. The first leg was played under lights at the Athletic Ground, the hosts winning 26-10, while the second-leg, scheduled for the Sunday afternoon, was postponed due to frost and eventually cancelled when the teams were unable to arrange a mutually agreeable date. Quiz question – who were the only winners of the C&G Cup?
That was also the season when we renewed our acquaintance with Coventry after a gap of 10 years. They spent the first season of league rugby in the top flight, but were relegated after just one season alongside Sale, and in our first league meeting they won 21-14 at ODP. The very first game between the sides had taken place 80 years previously at The Butts, and throughout the amateur era the clubs were keen and regular rivals.
It was apparently an open secret that back in 1971 the RFU yearned for a London Welsh v Coventry final in the inaugural Cup competition, given that both sides played an exciting running game and consequently would attract a big crowd to Twickenham. The two teams were both packed with internationals and Lions, and in ‘Dai’ Duckham, John Dawes’ partner in the centre, Cov had that rare breed – an Englishman adopted by the Welsh fans as one of their own.
While it took us 15 attempts to reach the final, Cov won back-to-back titles in 1973 and 1974, over Bristol (27-15) and London Scottish (26-6) respectively. Our big day out at HQ came at Coventry’s expense following a 10-10 ‘victory’ on try count at Coundon Road in the semi-final; the real irony was that the home side had knocked-out the favourites, Leicester, by an identical means and scoreline a fortnight earlier. Interestingly both sides had reached the final in their centenary year, Cov being formed 11 years before Welsh, in 1874.
While we were relegated in 1989, Cov maintained a steady ranking in the second tier with consecutive finishes of 5th, 4th, 4th and 6th. At the end of the 1992-93 season they were demoted as part of the restructure of the leagues but bounced back as champions at the first time of asking with 14 wins from 18 fixtures. A miserable return of just two wins saw them drop back down to Division Three, but they won a second title in three years to gain promotion along with Rugby Lions, Rotherham and Richmond.
They finished the 1996-97 season in third place, behind Richmond and Newcastle, but were defeated in a promotion/ relegation play-off over two legs against London Irish. However, the financial strain of competing with the well-backed promoted clubs took its toll, and in 1998 the club was placed into receivership: former player Keith Fairbrother took over the club and became Chairman. A period of stability followed, with five mid-table finishes, before a final day winner-takes-all meeting with Wakefield at College Grove on 24th April 2004. Cov went into the game three points adrift of their hosts who, having won four of their opening five fixtures had claimed just two win and a draw in their last 24 matches. Coventry’s 15-11 win saw Wakefield relegated on points-difference and – before the new season kicked-off – disbanded.
For the start of the 2004-05 season, Coventry left Coundon Road for the new Butts Park Arena. Fairbrother was bought-out by Andrew Green two years later, although he retained the lease to parts of the ground. Numerous well-documented problems followed both on and off the field, and the club’s participation in last season’s National One campaign was only secured after a bond had been placed with the RFU – following an extensive campaign by a local journalist - to cover any further financial shortfalls.
This is Cov’s 14th consecutive season at this level, and their 20th in 23 seasons of league rugby. We regained our place two years behind them, and Friday’s game will mark the 24th league meeting of the clubs. Welsh have won 13 and lost 10 to-date, which means that we’ve recorded more wins over Cov than over any other team. Last season, however, was not one to remember – Myles Dorrian (now with Bedford) kicked a drop-goal from the final play of the game at ODP to secure a 23-21 win, their first at ODP in four years, while we picked up two bonus points in a 36-30 defeat at the BPA in April.
The side is now coached by former Worcester and Birmingham/ Solihull coach Phil Maynard, and they currently sit in 8th place in The Championship with three wins and six defeats. Two victories have come from their five home fixtures, although the single win on the road was achieved at Doncaster. Their top points scorer is Ben Russell with 37, although in recent games the kicking duties have been assumed by Worcester loanee Joey Carlisle, and leading try scorer is flanker Jamie Miller with five.
Answer – the C&G Cup was won by Gloucester in both 1997-98 and 1998-99.
Dorian Williams and Tom Brown pack down against Coventry last season
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