Caldy RFC 15 Coventry Rugby 17 - mental toughness sees Coventry over the line

Rome was not built in a day

Opposition will come your way

But the hotter the battle you see

Is the sweeter the victory now

You can get it if you really want

You can get it if you really want

You can get it if you really want

But you must try, try and try, try and try

You'll succeed at last

You Can Get It If You Really Want It - Jimmy Cliff

Cov got the win yesterday because they really wanted it.

Really, really wanted it.

And it showed.

When Caldy took the lead 12-7 on 56 minutes, memories of Cov's last visit to the Wirral came flooding back.

In February, leading 5-12 with just moments before the break, Cov let in a try from a similar position and from then on it was all Caldy as their forwards dominated the second half, seizing control of a game Cov should have had won by the end of the second quarter.

This team, though, is very different to the one that played up there just 8 months ago, showing a degree of mental strength and resilience that was missing at times last season, most notably at Caldy, Ampthill and at home to Hartpury. By coming back twice in the latter stages of the game yesterday, Cov secured what I honestly believe is their best result of the season so far.

Despite dropping a point, earning four from a game we were losing with just two minutes left showcases the significant progress this squad has made over a such short period.

We saw some real character out there yesterday or what some Cov supporters like to refer to as 'CovDog', although I do feel it's a trait that we come up against in other teams more than we exhibit ourselves at this level, to be fair.

Caldy are a perfect example of this, a team that just won't give up and appear fearless against a club bigger both in reputation and budget. That is true 'dog' to me, but there you go. CovDog is only really something that we should expect to see when we play the likes of Ealing perhaps, or against the Prem sides in the Cup competition. I know that goes against the grain somewhat, but CovDog isn't something I'd associate with games against most teams in the Championship.

It's a term more applicable when the odds aren't in our favour, when we're the underdog, or at least should be, and these days we are seldom that.

Whether it was pure 'character' or just the 'dog' unleashed (for those who prefer it), Cov showed a composure and assuredness in adversity that we haven't seen for some time.

Yes, we've won a lot of games under Alex Rae, his win/loss ration must be the best of any Cov Head Coach/DoR in recent times, but seldom have we had to come from behind in the dying moments of a game as we did yesterday (though we had a season in the Championship under Rowland Winter when Will Maisey kicked us to two or three last gasp wins as I recall).

And it's not just that, it's the manner in which we did it...

I have to say that with just a couple of minutes to go and with Caldy in possession and looking more than capable of running the clock down, I had that horrid sinking feeling - another game that we should have won but weren't going to because we hadn't managed the game well enough.

But I should have had more faith.

Kvesic did what he has been doing ever since arriving at the BPA, he won clean ball at the breakdown. Cov had the composure to run the ball back and, after Opoku had made important yards down the left, a scrambling Caldy defence conceded the penalty that enabled Liam Richman to convert for the three points, giving us the win and keeping us in pole position going into the first group of Cup games.

It was the perfect end to a somewhat imperfect performance, but one that was still good enough to beat a Caldy side that pushed Cov all the way and deserved more than just a bonus point from the game.

'Cov shouldn't be struggling against teams like Caldy, semi-professional clubs that don't have the level of resources we enjoy'...

...I heard that said on Saturday and have read it elsewhere since but it's a view that I don't share. Time and time again already this season, the Championship has sprung results that show any team is capable of beating any other and that being a fully professional side in this league is no guarantee of success. Pirates and Doncaster, both fully professional sides, find themselves in 11th and 9th places respectively and Cambridge, Chinnor and Caldy, three relatively unfancied clubs, have all caused top-of-the table Cov real problems.

And the perceived pessimism doesn't stop there: 'Yes, we're top of the table but look at the games we've played, all against teams that aren't going to feature in the top four this season'. Yet Bedford, whom we beat with some ease, lie in third with just the one defeat and all five of the teams we faced so far have caused what would have been seen as upsets elsewhere at the start of the season. We've earned the right to be where we are and if the club isn't yet firing on all cylinders, well God help the rest of the clubs when it does...

It's no surprise that even the most fancied of clubs in our league struggle when they go to Caldy (and it's worth remembering that Ealing lost there last season, too). It's a formidable ground to visit - open to the elements with no stand at all but just one bank on the clubhouse side for supporters to either sit (on benches) or stand.

Caldy supporters are vociferous and always behind their team and when they are in full voice, producing a solid wall of noise; it's definitely an intimidating atmosphere.

Cov players are often to be heard singing the praises of the 16th man at the BPA and I'm sure it's no different at Paton Field and when Caldy look like toppling the league leaders once again, well it just gets even louder. 1300 plus were there yesterday, not a big crowd by Cov standards, but packed together in a relatively small area, the opposition will be all too aware of its presence.

Cov with the put, in seconds before the final whistle...

When the weather's as good as it was yesterday, warm for the time of year and with no wind, it's a lovely ground to watch your rugby although less so when it's blowing an icy gale and there's very little shelter available.

Those who have seasons tickets there are going to be some of the hardiest of rugby folk, matched only by the good people of Ampthill, perhaps?

For some reason when we arrived, no one asked to see our tickets. Now we'd purchased ours in advance, as I imagine most of those traveling on the supporters' coach had, but for a club that can't be cash rich, it was strange we were just allowed to walk in from the car park unchallenged. There must have been supporters who got into the game without paying - there didn't appear to be an official gate through which you had to enter or any checks at all. The club might just have well installed a big 'honesty box' for those supporters with a conscience. It came across as a semi-professional club still living in something of an amateur era...sounds a bit harsh I know, but that's how it felt at the time.

Despite what were fairly basic facilities, there was plenty of choice in terms of the food available and going on the unofficial 'Josh' rankings, Caldy move into top spot for Championship catering, just ahead of Cambridge.

So, as of this weekend, the current standings are;

1. Caldy

2. Cambridge

3. Coventry

4. London Scottish

Whilst Cambridge's pizza option was enough to take it into the lead in Round 3, Caldy matched that with a pizza of its own (with plenty of veggie options) as well as nachos - an imaginative choice that 'forced' 9as if) Josh into trying both.

At £13 for the two, prices were very reasonable, the more so as that was him fed for the day....

Unlike many grounds, most of the food outlets stayed open after the game which encouraged supporters to stay on a little longer, something that makes sense if they hope to cash in on some post-match hospitality.

The journey up to the Wirral wasn't the quickest, with heavy traffic on the M6 causing delays on a couple of occasions. A journey of just over three hours meant we didn't have as long as is usual pre-match to enjoy the Caldy hospitality, but queuing was minimal and everyone was very friendly and accommodating.

The Supporters Club do a really good job of looking after those traveling on the official Supporters' Club coach(es), so if there's anyone reading this who is umming and ahhing about going to some away games this season, I'd thoroughly recommend giving the SC-organised coaches a go. It's certainly a lot cheaper than by public transport and far more relaxed than driving to most away games - well, worth a consideration if you've not used it before.

---

Cov started the game briskly and should have scored on at least two occasions, but some poor handling let us down and our ball retention just wasn't good enough. We had a couple of decent breaks and our backs looked dangerous with ball in hand but too often errors brought attacks to an abrupt end. Caldy's pack looked more than capable of holding their own, with Cov's front row under pressure in the set piece and their line-out seeming very effective. Caldy had some serious height in their forwards, especially at 4,5 and 8 and until James Tyas came on immediately at the restart after half time, we didn't really challenge on their throw to any extent. His appearance did seem to make a real difference...

Nairau and Warren appeared to struggle a little and the big Fijian was taken off a minute before the break, with Cov penalised at a defensive scrum on our 5 immediately afterwards. It was an odd decision and I can only imagine Nairau had picked up an injury and there was concern about the ensuing scrum, otherwise it wasn't a great vote of confidence in the youngster?

Caldy were deft at slowing the game down and ensuring that Cov just could get any sort of momentum going. Players seemed to go down with 'injuries' at almost every break in play and there was constant questioning of decisions all game long - they certainly seemed to 'talk' to the referee far more than most teams and at times it appeared he seemed to listen. That, and the growing intensity of the crowd made for a rousing second half - by no means a game for the purists but one that was emotionally charged and for supporters from both sides, a gripping watch.

For me, it was a game with exemplified why we are missing pat Pellegrini at the moment but also why Liam Richman is the ideal replacement for him.

In a game of such fine margins, Pellegrini is the kind of player who might have been able to unlock that one moment of magic, those quick feet or short switch passes creating the gap to set the likes of Hutler or Martin free. But left with a final kick to win the game for Cov, without question, Richman is the man for job.

'Line'em up' Liam is just the coolest of operators and he's head and shoulders the better bet for that role. Everyone misses Pat and his boots were always going to be tough to fill, but I think the Cov faithful are already smitten with his replacement.

As for the win and Cov's impressive start to this season, well it's just that. Impressive. For those who argue Cov has yet to dominate teams in the way it did at times last season, well if we're top of the pile playing what some may see as something below par, well that's all the more impressive, surely? Yes, there's lots to work on and we'll have to play better as the winter approaches and grass pitches get heavier and the opposition even tougher BUT we'll improve too, and according to some, we've got more areas to improve than other sides which means we have the advantage there...

(And a couple of other factors worth considering:

• Rae obviously has complete faith in the bench, with everyone being used under what appears to be a very structured plan. The changes have been effective for the most part and despite players like Dan Green and David Opoku being relatively inexperienced at this level, there's no loss of momentum; the opposite if anything. There don't appear to be any weaknesses in this current squad with everyone being given game time - it seems to be a real strength this season;

  
  

• Despite Ealing 'nilling' Ampthill yesterday, Cov have a considerably better defensive record than any other team in the league. James Scaysbrook seems to be working wonders again and Cov are certainly a difficult team to score points against, even if they might not be scoring as freely as last season).

Time to accentuate the positives, methinks.

Such a shame Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters have already made an appearance in the blog, if they hadn't then I'm afraid Jimmy would have had to miss out.

Up the Cov!

---