Coventry Rugby 28 Chinnor 14: Cov 'poor', Chinnor 'the better team' and Cov a 'shadow of what they can be', but just how good is this current squad?

There's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be an uphill battle

Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb

The chances I'm taking

Sometimes might knock me down, but

No, I'm not breaking

I may not know it

But these are the moments that

I'm gonna remember most, yeah

Just gotta keep going

The Climb - Miley Cyrus

So, here's the thing...

Compared to the high standards already well established by Alex Rae and his coaching staff during his tenure as Head Coach at Coventry Rugby, performances in the recent games have fallen some way short.

The outcomes haven't been the issue, but the execution of play has...

Four wins out of four and sitting three points ahead of everyone's favourite for the title, Ealing Trailfinders, it might seem a little overcritical to start suggesting that perhaps the manner of Cov's victories has been a little disappointing.

However, when you check out Rae's post-game comments where he's saying 'I thought we played really badly...I thought Chinnor were the better team today and I can't believe they've left with nothing...I'm moody as hell,' (The Rugby Paper - Paul Smith's report), they vindicate the belief amongst many fans, myself included, that this performance (and indeed others so far this season) are some way off the potential this squad has.,

According to Alex Rae, the Cov that we watched yesterday are just a 'shadow of what they can be'.

Which begs the question, just how good is this squad.

As good as last season's?

Better, even?

More on this later.

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Yesterday's game was probably just as frustrating to watch as it was to play, maybe even more so because having witnessed a below par Cov down at Ellgia Fields last Saturday, the hope was that at home this weekend we'd see something of an improvement in what was a pretty uninspiring performance.

Sadly, that just wasn't the case.

Yes, I could couch the performance against Chinnor in terms of it being disappointing, both lacking fluency and spoiled by a penalty count that at times appeared to favour the opposition, but to do so wouldn't really doesn't convey the extent to which Coventry struggled to get a hold on the game for long periods of play.

Nor would it give credit to a Chinnor side that dominated the game territorially and had far more opportunities to put points on the board than we did. Yes, Cov took their chances well, but outside of the four tries, we didn't really create many other opportunities to add to the total.

It's hardly a real concern at the moment, but the fact that there wasn't a response from the previous week down at Cambridge is a disappointment. We've yet to see this Coventry squad produce the kind of performance of which we know it's capable and it's a bit dispiriting if only because of the four teams we've played, only Bedford is likely to finish in the top half of the table - although Chinnor will be there or thereabouts on the evidence of what we saw yesterday.

At some point in the next two or three games, Cov are going to have to click in a way they haven't as yet. Following the Cup games against Leicester and Northampton, the away trip to Pirates and home game against Ealing (both in December) will require far better performances than we saw yesterday if Cov they are going to continue to be a genuine contender for the top spot in May.

And it will come, I'm sure. That we haven't yet seen this group of players perform to their potential is hardly surprising given they've only played six games as a squad (including pre-season).

For supporters, it's a case of playing ugly and still winning. That said though, getting a bonus point and scoring over 5 tries every game might make it seem like everything is going to plan, but there were some parts of our game yesterday that remain a concern, especially when we have yet to face the top teams in the league, not to mention the Tigers or Saints.

Most are going to be more than happy topping the table at this point, even if what they're watching isn't the free-flowing rugby that they've become so used to. No need to win pretty; did deep and take the points is good enough no matter the quality of the opposition.

After all, a win's a win.

For the coaches, though, that clearly isn't the case...and nor should it be. That there wasn't a response yesterday following Cov's rather turgid performance against Cambridge obviously annoyed Rae. And one or two of the players looked far from happy when they came off to make way for those on the bench, most notably Kvesic and Martin. Both set themselves the highest of standards and to be part of team that really didn't do itself justice was obviously galling.

On a positive note, in recent seasons performances similar to those against Cambridge and Chinnor might well have seen Cov get little or nothing from the games, but even with the new recruits there is now enough experience in this current squad to get us over the line. 12 of the starting 15 hadn't played for Cov prior to this current campaign.

When facing Ampthill and Caldy, or even Hartpury at home last season, we lacked the collective experience to secure victories in those tight matches. While it's all speculation, I doubt we would have defeated Chinnor had they been in the Championship last season and we'd performed as poorly. That we did this season, with a different squad, has to be both acknowledged and respected.

Chinnor played their part in making it such a tight game, too. On the basis of their solid start so far and the little I've seen of them, they're already potentially looking to be the strongest of the promoted sides since Cov in 2018.

Yes, this was another below par performance but Chinnor will rightly say that they were in part responsible for that. But we really didn't help ourselves with a high penalty account, problems again at the breakdown, a scrum that never really dominated and far too many missed tackles that allowed Chinnor to gain momentum and enjoy long periods of territorial dominance.

Chinnor probably butchered one or two try scoring opportunities, taking the wrong option on the final pass and were it not for a couple of last-ditch tackles, including one notable one from Charlie Robson when the score was 21-7 and Chinnor were looking likely to narrow the gap further, the game could have been a lot, lot closer.

Robson was voted the Sponsors' MotM after scoring twice and looking a threat whenever he had ball in hand. However, he was guilty of a wild hack at the ball in his own 22 that almost gifted Chinnor a score and although he had a reasonably comfortable afternoon under the high ball, Josh and I both opted for Tom Hitchcock. He adds another level of threat in attack and he put in a strong shift defensively. He paired up with Tiueti in midfield. The former Notts centre has yet to find the form that made him such a dangerous player last season and, for me, once Oli Morris if fit he and Hitchcock might be the strongest of the possible pairings.

Once again, Liam Richman was very solid and secure. He adds a level of composure that Pat P, for all his wizardry, didn't offer to quite the same degree. They'll be games this season and beyond that might well be decided on his kicking, something that at the moment he can be relied upon but which wasn't always the case with Pellegrini. He's not as exciting to watch, but given the start Cov have made this season, he's probably the better person of the two to have at 10 - that's not something I'd be writing just 4 games into the season!

With Chinnor enjoying so much territorial advantage and being the beneficiary of a number of penalties in and around our 22, had they opted to take the points rather than try to break down what was a resilient Cov defence (and boy, did it have to be), they might well have come away from the game with at least a point.

(I think I'm correct in saying it was the Chinnor fly half, Connor Slevin, who missed the final kick of the game against us last season down at London Scottish (he was on loan from Harlequins back then) which handed us the 5 points...?).

Cov are on a climb and, as Miley Cyrus observes, it's as much about that upward progression as it as about what's waiting for us at the summit. Inevitably, there are going to be a few stumbles and stutters on the way and yesterday was a case in point. However, we very much remain on an upwards trajectory, albeit a fairly gentle one. That we're still winning games when we're struggling to reach the highs which the coaches believe this squad is capable of achieving speaks volumes for what lies ahead.

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One of the lovely things about getting to the ground early and getting in a few laps before the game is that you often get the chance to stop and chat to other supporters. It's an opportunity to share thoughts and catch up on some of the news/gossip that you might have missed during the week.

Yesterday, whilst enjoying a stroll round the pitch, we stopped for a chat with John Coles during the course of which he asked whether we thought this season's squad was as good or better than that of last year.

My immediate response was no I didn't think it is. I reasoned that however, good the recruitment has been this year, and it does look strong tbf, replacing the likes of Chudley, Pellegrini, Wand, Rigg, Nichol, Ryan and Wilson playing to the level they were when they left in one window would have been near impossible under Cov's current financial limitations.

I have to say I was very much in the minority, with supporters far more in the know than I am and witness to far more of what goes on outside of just a match day, adamant that this is the best squad for years, potentially as far back as that under Eves in the mid-90s.

I've thought about this a fair better since and actually feel a bit disloyal for having not said yes but even now I still stand with my original comment.

Potentially, could this group of players be as strong - perhaps?

But it would take a couple of seasons at least and as good as Barton and Richman are, are they a pairing of the calibre of Chudley and Pellegrini, for instance?

Several people joined in the conversation and it was really interesting to listen to other peoples' views. Given the strength of feeling in some quarters, and the clear excitement this squad is generating, I've decided to hold back on any decision after the Ealing and Pirates games in December. Stronger opposition and longer to gel.

Whilst it will be interesting to see how they get on against Tigers and Saints, it's probably not until we see them against the top Championship sides that a fair comparison can be made. I'm sure there will be those reading this post who'll be banging their fists on the table in a fit of pique believing it's unfair to make comparisons at all, and they maybe have a point.

But it's what supporters in all other sports do and rugby's no different.

And long may it remain so.

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