Doncaster 39 Cov 45 - Rae of hope shines bright as Cov dig deep to earn deserved win
- 1874tsmith
- Mar 26, 2023
- 7 min read
Man you should have seen us
On the way to Venus
Walking on the Milky Way
It was quite a day hey hey...
Walking on the big stuff
Acting like we're real tough
Baby we were on our way
So what do you say hey hey.
Walking On The Milky Way - OMD
Where to begin?
It was the strangest of games, ebbing and flowing as it did and always in doubt until the final whistle.
Not a game for the purists. Scripts, carefully prepared on the training grounds of both teams during the week had been well and truly binned by half time.
In the end, Coventry's game management saw them over the finish line, with the team showing immense composure under real pressure in the closing 5 or 6 minutes when Doncaster were camped on our 5m line and we were conceding penalty after penalty (6 in total, I think) and in the process suffering a yellow card when Jake Bridges was sent to the sin bin following another Coventry infringement at the set piece.
Not so long ago, away from home, Cov teams would have wilted under such a sustained barrage. Having been a fairly regular traveler over the years, I've witnessed for myself Cov stutter and stumble in similar situations on more than one occasion.
Not this squad, though, not under this set of coaches.
Whilst as a collective, they might be relatively young and inexperienced, they are certainly not lacking in nous and with players like Chudley, Tyas, Peters and Nayalo in there too, there are leaders to look to when it all gets a bit fraught. And fraught it was, for those watching if not for the players themselves.
In the closing minutes, whilst Cov kept their composure and did all they could to legally run the clock down, Donny seemed completely one dimensional, totally reliant on retaking scrum after scrum, eating up valuable time as they did so.
Their time it has to be said.
It was likely that at best they would perhaps force a yellow card and maybe a penalty try when they had to score twice if they were to take the lead. They needed to do something different. They either couldn't, or just chose not to. From the stands, it looked like poor decision making.
The few Doncaster supporters who were there, (just 865 in attendance and there were a good few Cov supporters included in that - vocal ones too!) could see what was happening But, fortunately, not so they coaches or the players on the pitch.
Donny's game management generally was questionable all game. Their decision to box kick as often as they did seldom paid dividends for Cov as the chasers rarely put our receivers under pressure, allowing us to either run it back (resulting in a couple Cov tries) or return the kick with interest. At no point did Donny really move away from that strategy.
On occasions, they did move the ball wide, but Coventry are a far better side defensively this season than we have been for a long time. We always knew there was pace to burn amongst the backs, particularly at 13, 14 and 15, but what we weren't so sure about was the ability of the backs to hold their line. As the season has gone on and although still relatively inexperienced at this level, the backs have been resolute in defence.
We saw this yesterday. Other than their first try after the break, Donny weren't able to make good use of the ball, despite the dominance of their forwards in the scrums. Again, from the stands, it looked as if the plan was to get the ball out to Maliq Holden on the wing as quickly as possible and let him use his pace to cause us problems. However, it was all too predictable and the Coventry backs did a great job in ensuring he rarely got the ball in space. He's definitely quick, very quick, but on its own it's just not enough in the Championship.
For me, the game really hinged on Tyas' first try of the game, Coventry's second. 18-7 down, Cov had worked their way down into the Donny 22 and after going through several phases, JT saw the gap and went through unopposed, only for their no 7, Sam Hudson, to come in late with a cheap shot to the head, well after the ball had been dotted down. It was late, cynical and potentially worthy of a red card - I'll be interested to see the highlights. (Update, now seen them and stand by that)
I don't think I'm overplaying it. Certainly James Scaysbrook deemed it unacceptable and made his point fairly strongly to what looked to be the 4th Official pitch side. Look out for a citing...
Cov took immediate advantage of the extra man, scoring twice in rapid succession. However, what probably galvanised Cov into such a strong response was the manner of the offence, rather than the benefit of the player advantage. One for all and all that. In no time Cov had gone from 18-7 down to 24-18 up. As confidence boosts go, well it doesn't get much better...
And at times we did play some sublime rugby...we ran at the opposition at pace and some of the offloads were as slick as anything I've seen all season from any side in this league. The consistency's not there yet, but the potential most certainly is.
And when Cov found themselves 32-24 down in the second half, well they knew they could pull that back having done so already in the first half. If I were the Donny Head Coach, I'd be having a few words with Sam Hudson come Monday morning....
Having mentioned the Coventry scrum went backwards for much of the afternoon, irrespective of whose put in it was, I should mention that in all other respects the forwards did a sterling job. The lineout was as solid as you could wish for; I can't recall Cov losing the ball on their own throw. They also competed well at the breakdown despite the size and physicality of the home side's forwards. And they really were huge!
Massive. Some of the collisions were immense but Coventry stood their ground and caused Donny a fair few problems themselves. There was no lack of effort out there and the Cov 8 left everything on the pitch. There must be some aching bodies today - which is a bit of a worry given they have less time to recover for the match against Hartpury on Friday rather than Saturday of next week.
The injuries to Coventry's front row are well documented and it is no surprise really that it's an area we've struggled in recently; second half against Pirates and yesterday to name but two occasions. It says much for the squad, and for the players who have come in to cover for the injuries, that we are still so competitive. The back row, particularly Bainbridge and Nayalo, has been given a lot of credit for its barnstorming displays of late, but for me Peters and Tyas deserve huge credit.
Both are ex backrowers themselves, converts to the second row in effect, yet they have been two of Coventry's most consistent performers. The backs often grab the headlines, with the likes of Pellegrini and Rigg scoring for pleasure on occasions, but Coventry's engine room has often supplied the ball to allow their creativity and pace to flourish. For me, my Player of the Season vote would probably go to one or other of Tyas and Peters...not always as noticeable as some, but they have been fantastic for us this season. Tyas remains here next season. Peters, too, hopefully.
Yesterday's game does highlight the fact that the pack do need beefing up a bit. It sounds like Bainbridge is moving on (nb I thought Tom Ball had one of his best games in a Cov shirt yesterday) and with the front row lacking a bit of depth, we could also do with a couple of Boulton-esque props as well. But there's a solid core of players there - we just need a bit more firepower up front if we are to move on to the next level, perhaps?
It really was a strange game yesterday, but it was exhilarating to watch. Had I been a Donny supporter, I would have been extremely frustrated by the result, as well as the team's performance. They had their chances but poor decision making against a Cov side that showed real grit and determination, with a good deal of skill and ability thrown in, meant that, for me at least, they really didn't deserve the win - despite Steve Boden's whinge in The Rugby paper today.
As a Cov fan, though, the journey back was all the better for the win. For us to be competitive, to be a genuine top three or four side, we had to improve on our away record in recent seasons and we've done just that. It's still very early on in terms of Alex Rae's rebuild of this squad, but it's as if they've already mastered the 'yips' that so often beset Cov sides in situations similar to those they found themselves in yesterday. Perhaps it's partly down to the confidence that comes with winning, the naivety of youth and the wisdom that comes with experience. Add, too, the strengths of Alex Rae and his coaches who have given the players the opportunity to express themselves both individually and as a team.
We conceded 16 penalties (according to TRP) to Donny's 9 yesterday. Under normal circumstances a side shouldn't expect to come out on top given that sort of penalty count, but this was anything but a normal game.
It's kind of best summed up for me by Alex Rae himself. After Chudley initially, and then Bainbridge, had just run back another wayward Doncaster kick for a second try in as many minutes, with little sign of any defence from the opposition, the Coventry head honcho turned round from his vantage point in the stand and said, to no one in particular, 'Who'd be a coach, eh?'.
Fortunately, AR for starters.
This is a group of players who lack the big names or experience of squads under previous regimes, yet they are performing at a level well beyond anything we've seen since Eves' time. And that must in part, and a pretty big part at that, be down to the Head Coach. Ok, 'Rae of hope' is a bit twee as far as headlines go, but in my defence hope is exactly what he has brought to the Cov faithful.
I've not made mention of the warmth shown by the Doncaster fans who were gracious in defeat and welcoming in their manner. That is remiss of me. It's a lovely place to visit, even if we haven't always enjoyed the results up at Castle Park in the past.
To say it was a lively coach on the way back would be an understatement - the mood a mix of pride, happiness and relief.
Another win on our travels against a side that has always proved notoriously hard to beat away from home.
It was a strange day, all told...
Man you should have seen us
On the way to Venus
Walking on the Milky Way
It was quite a day hey hey...
Not sure about the choice of Bon Jovi and Van Halen to sing to on the way back. This is very much more my thing...
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