Coventry Rugby 14 Hartpury 13 - Cov pushed all the way to earn the points with last gasp converted try

The waterfalls trinkling like bells to my ear

The earth rolls out before me through smiles and tears

A country lost, a soul discovered

The ruin that I once was will soon recover

And I know a howlin' wind runs through here

Blowin' every day

Yeah a howlin' wind runs through here

Takes my breath away

Howlin' Wind - Graham Parker

If Amazon Prime decided to create a series about Coventry's promotion-chasing season, this weekend's game against Hartpury would be highlighted in an episode entitled 'Won with the Wind.'

The episode would end with an interview with Ryan Hutler, who, coincidentally, is distantly related to a long-lost dyslexic cousin of none other than Rhett Butler himself.

When questioned about the stop/start nature of the game and in particular Cov's habit of falling foul of the referee and whether there's time to put things right before the trip to Pirates, Ryan simply shrugs his shoulders and remarks, 'Frankly dear, I don't give a damn...after all, tomorrow's just another day'. .

As I said, 'Won with the Wind'.

Okay, I'm making light of what was a really tough game for Cov and for sure the coaches will be concerned about the number of penalties conceded, especially in the set piece and they'll be looking to make any minor adjustments in the week ahead should they be needed, but in the end, it was a question of 'job done, let's move on'.

Whilst supporters have focused a lot of their discussion on the various Cov socials on some of the referee's decisions, by contrast in both Alex Rae's and Jordon Poole's post-match comments, and indeed Paul Smith's reports both in The Rugby Paper and on the official website, there was nothing to suggest any disquiet on the part of the players and/or coaches.

And rightly so. Seldom is there a game in which decisions aren't challenged or scrutinised and these days those in positions of leadership are far too aware of the kickback should they air their grievances in public. Supporters might have voiced their displeasure at the way Sarah Cox appeared to be suggesting Cov were at fault for the problems encountered repeatedly at the scrums, but the players had enough discipline to keep their frustrations to themselves and keep focused. In previous seasons we might have been moved back 10m on several occasions as players failed to keep control of their emotions but yesterday, other than Poole and James Tyas politely asking questions, it was all very restrained.

And it was that ability not to allow Hartpury's gamesmanship to undermine their own efforts that ultimately enabled Cov to take the spoils.

Hartpury came with a game plan to counter Cov's scrum, a scrum that has begun to look much more solid with the return of Toby Trinder. They ensured the scrum was always moving around, never really steady, and as their 9 delayed the put-in, the scrums were seldom aligned. The Sara Cox clearly wasn't prepared to favour Cov as the scrums weren't square, even though we appeared to muller their pack on two or three occasions, and scrums were reset even though we seemed to be going forward. So, what should have been a big advantage to us was, in fact, negated, making it all so much harder for us than it should have been.

The constant resetting of scrums and slowing of the game looked to have worked very much in Hartpury's favour. They led for 45 minutes and after several minutes of Coventry camping on the visitor's line and with the clock reading 79 minutes, it looked for all the world that this just wasn't going to be Cov's day.

Despite being reduced to 14 players due to an injury after all the replacements were used and facing a very strong and unpredictable wind, Cov once more found the emotional and physical resilience needed for Tiueti to power through and provide Liam Richman with a relatively easy kick for the additional two points that put Cov ahead in the dying embers of a game that had never burned that bright anyway.

Cov deserved the win, if only because they showed far more mental toughness and general rugby nous than Hartpury. Having wasted so much time running the clock down, the visitors were left with no time to respond to Cov's score and within seconds of the restart, the referee's whistle had blown for full time.

In the second half, Cov had to contend with the strong wind that was blowing from top right to bottom left if you were seated in the main stand. Both Richman and Mathews prioritized finding safe touches over attempting longer distances and potentially failing to secure the lineout.

Hartpury, on the other hand, were more wasteful. The most notable instance occurred around the 75-minute mark when they had a great chance to clear their lines and relieve increasing pressure they were under, but instead they ended up kicking the ball dead from their own 22 as the kicker seemed to take no account for the near gale that was blowing at his back. That error allowed Cov to strengthen their hold in those final few minutes, ultimately leading to Tiueti's match-winning try.

Of course, the Cov supporters in the main stand were extremely sympathetic at that point...

It was Redemption Day for the third time this season. Having made amends for losses to both Caldy and Ampthill away from home last season, yesterday's win at the BPA in some small measure atoned for the defeat Hartpury inflicted on us 12 months ago. All three defeats were unexpected in that they were against sides lower than us in the table and at a time when we were comprehensively winning most games, even against some top four sides.

This season, we might not be racking up the points to quite the extent we were then but this was another game that we would have lost last year - for all the big names we had amongst the backs, we failed to show the same resilience and mental strength back then. Yesterday was the perfect example of just how much more experience we are showing in really tight situations this season.

Not only did we need to score a try to win the game in the last couple of minutes, we needed to ensure that the resulting conversion was as close to the posts as possible given how much a factor the wind was. The players didn't panic, they didn't try and force the issue at all, they just made sure they retained possession to either pressure Hartpury into making the mistake or to create the opening themselves.

As the clock ticked down, some supporters in front of us had begun to leave their seats, convinced the game was already lost. I mention this not to point out their fickleness (though they were), but to show just how late Cov left it. By then Cov were controlling the game, but in fairness to Hartpury, they had defended extremely well and to many of us in the stand, admirable as Cov's efforts were, it did appear to some that the players were chasing a lost cause.

One of the big pluses to come out of it all was that Cov took control of the game without some of the older, wiser heads on the pitch. Barton (49) Kvesic (58), Trinder, Johnson and Poole (65), Mathews (65) and Hinkley (55) were all replaced by players with arguably less top-level experience, yet the coaches were happy to again throw some of the squad players into what was a really tight game in the full belief that they would do just as good a job in those circumstances. Not one of them disappointed. Such opportunities are invaluable in building trust and the squad will be that much stronger for the experience.

Lane and Richman looked really solid at half-back and with Tyas playing his first 80 minutes of the season, the forwards started to rumble with intent. With JT appearing to be nearing full match fitness, his presence appears to make a big difference and it wasn't a huge surprise when he was voted the Sponsors' Man of the Match.

Yet again, Cov picked up a couple of injuries - Anstey looking the most worrying really. I think Hitchcock went off for an HIA and didn't return, but hopefully it was more as a precaution and he'll be fit for the trip to Penzance next weekend. Whilst the squad is big enough to cover some enforced absences, it looks like Ma'asi, Nairau and now Anstey might be out for a while - many more and it starts to look a bit bare in some positions.

Just over 2700 people attended the game, which is a decent turnout considering the weather. However, in the week that Cov announced its bid for Premiership status, this number was still over 400 fewer than the same fixture last season. The main stand lacked some of its usual atmosphere, and the pre-match build-up was noticeably quieter. Walking past the main hospitality 'tent' a few times, there also seemed to be far fewer people enjoying the pre-match dinner.

Given that we're in the middle of the festive build-up, this might be somewhat disappointing for Cov, considering the numbers seen at previous home games this season. However, it appears that pre-game sales of tickets for the Ealing game are looking very favourable so perhaps this will make up for any shortfall in pre-match catering yesterday.

Yesterday's game won't live long in the memory, at least not for any reasons other than the weather and a refereeing performance from Sarah Cox that perhaps wasn't the finest we've seen from her over the last few seasons, at least not if you're a Cov fan anyway. But the win was enough to ensure Cov remain at the top of the table and with Ealing beating Bedford too, the gap between us and third place widens a little to a much healthier-sounding 9 points.

The next couple of weekends are potentially season-defining but we go into the games against Pirates and Ealing full of confidence and with the belief that both are eminently winnable. This team continues to deliver, even in the toughest of situations and who's to say that we aren't witnessing

 a soul discovered...

The ruin that (I) once was will soon recover.

Up the Cov.

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