Ain't no angel gonna greet me
It's just you and I, my friend
And my clothes don't fit me no more
I walked a thousand miles just to slip this skin
Night has fallen, I'm lyin' awake I can feel myself fading away So receive me, brother, with your faithless kiss Or will we leave each other alone like this On the streets of Philadelphia?
Streets of Philadelphia - Bruce Springsteen
We all knew the bubble would burst at some point but I'm not sure too many of us would have predicted the manner of the defeat, nor indeed the opposition.
In the end it was Hartpury that brought to such an inglorious end an unbeaten run of 15 home wins at the BPA.
No game in the Championship is a banker these days, as Ealing also found out to their cost against bottom of the table London Scottish yesterday, but Cov must have fancied their chances at home against Hartpury, especially after such a rampant display against in-form Doncaster in their previous outing at home.
I know I did.
Let's be clear from the onset, Hartpury were excellent value for their win and Coventry arguably got what they deserved. We were blown away by a second half display from Hartpury that oozed confidence and for 20 minutes or so Cov were second best in every phase of play by a distance. Following a brief Cov comeback that saw them take a narrow lead 15 minutes into the second half, Hartpury then ran in four tries in just 12 minutes.
It was just the kind of display that Cov supporters themselves had grown used to under Alex Rae over the last few months.
And it made for very uncomfortable viewing.
No one likes a taste of their own medicine and it was hard to watch Cov fall apart in quite the way they did. A late Will Wand try did nothing to dampen the disappointment and far from leaving the BPA full of festive cheer, most supporters exited the game with more than a few worries about what the next few games held for a Cov side that is clearly struggling from the effects of numerous injuries, especially in the front row. The unavailability of Tiki Nayalo and the need to rotate players added to Cov's difficulties.
The players gave it their all yesterday but it just wasn't enough on the day. The forwards were outplayed in the set piece and struggled at the breakdown in the second half where, by contrast, Hartpury excelled. Despite their best efforts, it was a pretty lacklustre performance by their own high standards.
With all the pre-season excitement after some really positive performances in the Premiership Cup, reality has hit home. Cov has a relatively small squad and with so many injuries in the front row we are down to the bare bones. With the need to rest players too after what has been a tough opening few games, in retrospect yesterday's result probably wasn't quite the surprise it felt at the time, even if the performance was.
I'm not sure what would worry the Board or indeed the coaches more, the size of the defeat and the accompanying performance or the rows of empty seats and hundreds of supporters leaving the ground well before the final whistle.
Yes, it was cold but I've not seen such an early exodus of that kind from the BPA since the Maynard/Morgan era. And it's worrying.
And here's why. Coventry Rugby has rightly had a good deal of media coverage of late concerning its attendances and how it has managed to buck the trend of falling gates in the top two tiers. Cov has averaged over 3000 this season, no mean effort at all.
However, what we saw yesterday could be indicative of the somewhat 'nomadic' nature of a fairly large group of supporters who are now coming to games because of the success the club is currently enjoying but who aren't part of the core group who have supported Cov over a good number of years.
Leaving well before the end of a game is not something you'd normally associate with a Cov crowd, even on a bad day, it's more the way of a typical football crowd. If leaving a game early is something that a supporter does when a side plays poorly, then it's not too much of a jump to second guess that these same supporters who left well before the final whistle yesterday might be less inclined to come to watch Cov in the future if results on the pitch continue to disappoint.
If that were to be the case, judging by the numbers leaving after Hartpury's 4th and 5th tries yesterday, attendances at the BPA could be severely affected by a run of poor results. I'm not being in anyway critical of Cov supporters yesterday before anyone has a pop, all I'm doing is illustrating the positive impact on Cov, and its finances, of a successful side and vice versa.
Chatting at half time, most of the supporters seated around us felt that the atmosphere was a little flat by Cov standards, with even the announcer over the PA failing to get the crowd to respond to his exhortations. More often than not though, it takes something to happen on the pitch to spark the crowd into action rather than the reverse, but once the crowd has come alive, then the players will feed off the atmosphere it creates.
In a first half which saw little in the way of open play, there wasn't much to get the crowd animated - a couple of breaks from Pellegrini got the juices flowing but it certainly wasn't a great watch otherwise.
12-14 at half time soon became 12-21 when Hartpury scored 5 minutes into the second half. It needed something to lift the crowd and it eventually came with the arrival of new signing Vilikesa Nairau. Interest in the young prop had grown all week and when he stepped onto the pitch in the 53rd minute there was, for the first time, a real buzz. As if sensing this, the players suddenly upped the tempo, Nairau had a strong run and Coventry scored 9 points in the space of 3 minutes.
Suddenly, it felt as if normal service had been restored and I think most of us in the main stand felt that the game had turned and Coventry would race ahead in the last 20 minutes to secure their 16th consecutive home win.
Sadly, Hartpury had other ideas and having cleverly tempted Cov into playing an extended game of aerial tennis, they successfully managed to slow down Coventry's attacking game and with it the best chance of Cov winning the contest. The exchange of kicks, as long a one as I can recall, eventually produced a handling error on Cov's 5m line that directly led to the first of those four tries that were to take the game away from Cov.
It was a very simple tactic on the part of Hartpury, one that Coventry was more than happy to allow but in the end it proved our undoing. In hindsight, Cov should have either cleared their lines and gone for touch or run the ball back, but with each return of the kick it became clear that it was going to be a question of who blinked first,
Sadly it was Cov.
Even sadder, it was young David Opoku who had the misfortune of knocking-on and in so doing providing Hartpury with the scrum deep in our own half. And at the moment, a scrum anywhere on the pitch is a potential problem for us. Opoku was making his first start for Cov and up to that point had had a really encouraging game, standing out amongst the backs, causing problems in attack and defending well (and making a try saving tackle in the process). He's got quick feet and rapid acceleration from a near standing start and I'm sure he's going to be a real crowd pleaser. His kicking out of hand probably needs a bit of work but based on what we saw yesterday, he looks a good one for the future which made his failure to take the kick cleanly all the more disappointing both for him and the crowd. He'll be better for the experience though and I'm sure we'll see a lot more of him before the season's out.
That drop though was a turning point and from then on Hartpury upped the tempo and we just couldn't live with it as they enjoyed a purple patch scoring 28 unanswered points before Wand's consolation score.
Hopefully, it will turn out to be a salutary lesson for Cov, one from which they will learn a lot about themselves individually and as a team. Three losses in four games and suddenly the honeymoon period is very much over for Alex Rae and the coaches and what follows over the next couple of months will be just as big a test as any they've faced since Winter's departure.
A couple of below par performances yes, but this is still a very, very good side and AR's job before the visit to Cambridge is as much about restoring confidence and getting players back into key positions as it is about making any sweeping changes.
Even yesterday we saw that when things click Coventry are a formidable side in attack, but at the moment injuries amongst the forwards mean that in the set piece and defensively we are more exposed than we have been previously. The situation will improve but it will take time and patience - something that was lacking amongst a good number of supporters yesterday, sadly. Cov's lineout faltered, especially when James Tyas received a questionable yellow card for pulling down a maul that led to a penalty try and the scrum was once again a concern for much of the game.
In fairness, I've far more faith in Cov getting it right on the pitch than off it.
There's not a lot of positives to be said about the outside hospitality available to supporters yesterday. Another 3000 plus crowd and only one food outlet, and that selling burgers and fries and the like, leaving no option for those who would rather have a slightly healthier choice available.
To add to the situation, the one area serving hot drinks didn't open until after 2.30 pm, just 30 minutes before kick off. A long queue had built up by then and it's fair to say that one or two amongst those waiting for their caffeine fix were getting more than a little frustrated.
It might be that there is still coffee available in the clubhouse. (if there is, there's nothing to indicate this is so) but I've not seen anyone carrying cups outside and it was instant coffee in the past which doesn't cut it with most coffee drinkers these days anyway. Many supporters are in the ground an hour or more before kick off so a lack of hot drinks pitchside is disappointing in the extreme.
The club appear to remain adamant that no food or drink is to be bought into the ground, but given the lack of options surely it should relax this until things change? There was no bag search yesterday, so perhaps they're not going to enforce it quite so rigorously but no one is going to bring food in and risk having to bin it or or be refused entry.
And here's a question. I'm bringing 9 of the family along to the game on Boxing Day. There will be three little ones. In the past, other grandchildren have come to their first Cov game proudly clutching their new sandwich boxes, the contents of which are healthy but sufficiently tasty to bribe them into sitting quietly and eating once the game starts.
Burger and dirty fries just isn't an option, so I'm wondering where on the ground will the club be selling the Petit Filous (raspberry flavour yoghurt for Chloe and strawberry for James and Jess please), the cheese and/or tomato sandwiches with the crusts cut off and sliced into fingers, the sliced apple and small bunches of grapes (green or red, they're easy on that one) and a small packet of buttons or Smarties to finish off with, all washed down with a Fruit Shoot or two (most flavours will suffice)?
Anyone?
If you're not letting adults bring in food, then if it's obviously for kids, please just let common sense prevail. As a country, child obesity is a real issue - actively encouraging them to eat unhealthily (a 'happy hour' at the burger van is a new one on me) whilst preventing them to bring in a healthier alternative doesn't set the best of examples.
And then there are the queues. I'm a fairly even tempered sort of bloke (honestly, I am) but even my patience was being sorely tested as supporters arrived 5, 10, 15 minutes late to take their seats, both at kick off and the restart, with drinks in hand apologetic and citing long queues as the reason. Just as you'd sat back down, up you'd have to get again. A pain at the best of times but when the games not going well it just adds to more frustration and annoyance and for those in the ground who were new to the BPA, it's not the greatest of introductions.
All in all, then, not the best of days on the pitch or off it either. The two chaps who entertained us at half time on the trumpet and trombone did their best to keep the crowd happy but with little success other than a few sympathetic rounds of applause. Not their fault at all, it was probably the wrong audience for them - they were clearly both very competent musicians and they belted out a couple of familiar carols/Christmas songs. It just seemed bit of a random thing in the context of a rugby game really.
The Boxing Day fixture will be a real family day out, a big, big crowd getting behind a Cov side that will want to put yesterday behind them and get back to winning ways in front of their own supporters.
I really hope Cov deliver, both on and off the pitch.
To end on a positive, as we walked back to the station, cold and a little down after what had been a disappointing afternoon, we happened to come across 'A Wall of Kindness' - I guess an initiative run by developers Bowmer and Kirkland for those who are homeless or who wander the streets. If you have an old coat lying around, you simply hang it up on some wooden fencing surrounding a building site running alongside a public pavement. Anyone in need can take it and hopefully keep a little warmer during these freezing Winter days and nights....
And there we were, the three of us, all headed to our warm homes and with little else to worry about other than a rare Cov off day at the BPA.
Kind of put it all into perspective really...
lose proud home record after big defeat
Coventry Telegraph
4 Dec 2023
By PAUL SMITH
PICS: JOHN COLESElliot Chilvers scoring Coventry’s first try, and (below) Will Rigg on his way to the line for Cov’s third try.
COVENTRY’S 15-match unbeaten home run came to an end when Hartpury’s dominant fourth-quarter display sentenced the hosts to a disappointing Championship defeat. Matt Kvesic’s score gave Cov an early advantage and following Will Rigg’s fourth try in three games the hosts led 22-21 at the hour mark only to be blown away by the visitors’ fourtry, 26-point blast. Will Wand crossed in the dying seconds to clinch a try bonus point but it was by then a far-from-memorable day for another bumper Butts Park Arena…
Agree Tim. I used to have a wander around and get a coffee from The Really Awesome Coffee van, nice people and good coffee. Now, with an aversion to long queues, l just take my seat and watch the warm up. Don't see why people can't bring their own food in when there are no decent healthy options, feels like someone has a monopoly, which is not good.
Spot on with your observations Tim. I'm probably less concerned with the loss than the poor match day experience that supporters have to endure of late. I selfishly make sure I buy my round in the Broomfield pre match as I won't miss 20-30 minutes of the match queuing for drinks in the ground. I always eat before the match, however, so can't comment on the catering.
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the announcer - how does he go down in the main stand? He's viewed as an irritation by the people around me on the Broomfield side - I would add that we are generally in the more senior age bracket so are, perhaps easily irritated...
I have so many supporters telling me that they will not even queue up for a beer because they will never get served, regardless of the display on the park.
Had meetings with the club and explained the issue's and even offered solutions, nothing isvtaken on board. Nick Johnson, who may well do a fantastic job, is more focused on attacking the RFU (not saying he is wrong) than focusing on the "supporters " match day experience.
Something has to change.