Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted, in one moment
Would you capture it, or just let it slip?
Yo! His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There's vomit on his sweater already: Mom's spaghetti
He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready
To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting
What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud
He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out
He's choking, how?
Lose Yourself - Eminem
After a three week absence from Cov and a series of excellent results, and more importantly performances too, expectations were high as Josh and I drove into the BPA for yesterday's game against Nottingham.
Wins against Saracens and Hartpury and a very creditable draw down at The Stoop all pointed towards a strong Coventry showing against Nottingham at home, a side that had lost its three previous games in this year's inaugural Premiership Cup.
But the gods of rugby are nothing if not fickle and by the end of the 80 minutes Nottingham had caused Cov enough problems to deserve the draw and make progress into the knockout stages of the Cup all but impossible for the home side.
Despite a dominant opening 20 minutes or so in which Cov looked like that might rack up a big score, Nottingham clawed their way back into the game, taking full advantage of some uncharacteristic uncertainty within the Coventry defensive line, whether it be loose passes, missed tackles or failure to deal with the high ball.
With ball in hand, especially on the counter attack, Nottingham were increasingly a threat, particularly from their full back and centres. At times we struggled to deal with their ability to turn defence into attack in the blink of an eye.
Offensively, the Archers were pacey and clinical and on a couple of occasions Coventry were left, for want of a better phrase, well and truly shafted.
As Nottingham's confidence grew, so Coventry seemed to become more hesitant - unable to create chances despite seeing a good deal of ball in the red zone. To me, they looked a little one-dimensional, often relying on Rigg or Titherington to try and bulldoze their way over the line off the shoulder of Chudley. Nottingham were wise to the danger they represented and all too often Cov were unable to break though a resolute and well-organised Nottingham defence.
It's not that Coventry were poor - they scored five tries and at times played some enterprising and very entertaining rugby. It's just that it wasn't the sort of performance that we've come to expect from Cov of late and I'm sure when reviewing the game on Monday, the players and coaches will see the game very much as two points lost rather than 3 secured.
I'm not a great fan of a 4 o'clock kick off.
An hour later and routines change; everything seems to be in limbo.
I found myself just killing time before setting out yesterday. It's neither an afternoon nor an evening game and it might have just been my imagination, but the atmosphere didn't strike me as intense or passionate as it often is at the BPA, even when the game was in the balance during those closing minutes of the game. A crowd of 2100 plus was decent enough, but with so many spectators choosing to stand on the far side of the ground, there were swathes of empty seats in the main stand and it all felt very 'pre-seasonish', despite this being a competitive cup game.
Fair play to the chap on the PA who tried his best to get the crowd more involved.
The other slightly disappointing thing for me was just how quickly some supporters became frustrated, even angered, by Cov's performance yesterday. Spoiled of late by some of the most entertaining and/or impassioned performances seen at the BPA in recent years, mid way though the second half there had already been several cries of 'Rubbish' from disgruntled fans in the main stand who seemed to have quickly forgotten the huge progress the team made in the last 12 months or so.
I'm not sure that was deserved, but it is a reminder of just how quickly things can change. Cov might have fantastic support compared to most sides in our league but sometimes we can forget just how lucky we are.
I guess fans of Jersey Reds would second that.
Since I was last at the BPA, an official 'players' tunnel' has appeared. In the past, the entrance onto the pitch from the changing rooms has been either roped or gated off, but there are now temporary wooden boards either side of the passageway leading to/from the changing rooms/bar and toilet areas. It looks much better and on both sides of the far board (which I thought I'd snapped but hadn't, much to my embarrassment) runs a timeline of the key points in Coventry's history since its inception in 1874.
there's also a mount advertisers' board adjacent to it for post-match interviews! All very professional...
Nicely done, that!
The other thing that I noticed, although this might be an illusion, is that the colour of the pitch's artificial surface looks to be lightening as it's used more and more. The rich, rather lush, green of a year or two ago has gone. I think it was first played on back in Sept 2018 (against Bedford I think?), so it must be roughly half way through its life expectancy, so-to-speak.
Covid will have meant it didn't get quite the expected use for a year or so, but it's 5 years old already. Although there's no signs of wear as such, to my eye it's definitely beginning to have a 'well-used', rather faded, look about it...
I know the club have spent a lot of money ensuring the pitch is regularly maintained so there must be a hope, or even expectation, that it can be used for longer than was originally planned. I imagine that monies are being put aside each season to pay for an eventual relaying of the surface in a few years time - otherwise it's the sort of expense that could bring a club to its knees, financially speaking.
I can remember back in 2018 being sceptical about the new pitch for all sorts of reasons, but it has clearly proved a winner for the club, both on and off the pitch. It's enabled both Alex Rae, and Rowland Winter before him, to adopt the kind of attacking, free flowing game that just wasn't always possible on the previous grass/mud pitches pre-2018.
It has also meant that the club's coffers have been fed an extra, and much needed, source of revenue.
There are plenty of reviews of the game to be found elsewhere, so perhaps just a few observations might be in order here.
I thought ex-Cov man Sam Hollingsworth had a strong game for Nottingham. I was surprised when we let him go as he looked a promising player when he was in the Academy and whenever he's played against us (for Moseley and Nottingham), he's always acquitted himself well. Maybe it was his decision, rather than Cov's - either way, the lad seems to be doing okay. (Kai Owen, who had a few games on loan with us was in their front row).
Tobi Wilson looks capable of unlocking defences when he has a bit of space, but he struggled a little with the high ball yesterday. He and Louis James are both very promising players, so much so that the loss of Louis Brown to Newcastle isn't perhaps quite the blow it seemed it might be when rumours of his departure first appeared. They can both play out wide as well which means there's a degree of versatility there which is invaluable in today's game.
Injuries might be a problem going into next Saturday's game against Gloucester. Hopefully, none of them are too serious, although one of the props looked to have a problem with an ankle (Salt?), Opoku limped off in the second half (a crowd favourite if ever there was one) and as the final whistle blew there was some concern for a Cov player in the far corner of the railway end, although I didn't stay to see who it was. Rigg also looked to be hobbling a little. Hopefully, updates from the club will be forthcoming in the days to come.
The pack was solid at the set pieces, both scrums and lineouts. Although missing the mercurial Tyas, we still held our own with Anstey and Nkwocha looking like a pairing for the future. No Ma'aasi either, but Will Biggs is another player who looks quite at home at this level. He's perhaps a little older (26) than some of the other 'fringe' members of the current squad, but having come from Bedford, via Hartpury and Moseley, he clearly has some pedigree. Poole, Maa'si and Biggs give Alex Rae plenty of options in that area and ensure there's cover even if there is an injury or two along the way.
Matt Kvesic made an immediate impact when he came on for the start of the second half. He crossed directly from a tap he took 10m out, a position he had no right to score from given Nottingham had had time to line themselves up. He is so strong in those sorts of situations and his determination to lead from the front is surely going to rub off on some of the younger, less experienced members of the squad.
One of the main talking points of the second half, if not of the entire game, was the decision to go for the tap when the score was 33-26 in the closing minutes, rather than opting to kick a penalty right in front of the posts and therefore almost certainly forcing Nottingham to score twice.
For me, Cov were never going to kick at that point - it would have gone against everything we've learned of Cov under Alex Rae since he took over as Head Coach. Perhaps the kick might have been the better option and shows we need to develop rather more of a killer instinct at key moments, but it was certainly no surprise.
Naïve perhaps, but we've scored a few 7 pointers in those situations previously to kill the game, so no gripes from me there.
In a sense, the decision was the right one because we still have a further opportunity to win the game with a penalty wide out to the left with seconds to go.
One of those where you 'pays your money and takes your choice'.
Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted, in one moment
Would you capture it, or just let it slip?
In fairness, on this occasion we did let it slip
Cov certainly felt the pressure in the second half. They didn't choke, but neither did they deal with it as effectively as perhaps they should have done. Unforced errors and a willingness to fly into the tackle at times did cost us. In the end, it's more about what this group of players will take away from the game and how it will impact on them if and when they next find themselves in a similar situation, rather than the result itself.
Although not the greatest game to watch from a Cov supporter's perspective, it was nevertheless an entertaining one.
And so on to Gloucester.
Now, I'm really looking forward to this one.
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