If I could turn back time
If I could find a way
I'd take back those words that have hurt you
And you'd stay
I don't know why I did the things I did
I don't know why I said the things I said
Pride's like a knife, it can cut deep inside
Words are like weapons, they wound sometimes
I didn't really mean to hurt you
If I Could Turn Back Time - Cher
Ealing Trailfinders 19 Coventry Rugby 22
I stayed at home and followed the game on Twitter (I'm trying to self-isolate as I'm off on my holibobs on Wednesday).
How I rue that decision now.
Still, I might see things differently when I'm enjoying some southern hemisphere sun in a week's time.
There again...
The best Cov performance, results-wise anyway, for many a long year?
Beating Leicester in the knockout Cup, Newcastle with Rob Andrew et al of course, any Moseley game - there have been a few that stand out, but not many.
Definitely up there with Wakefield in 2004 as the best away result for me though. The Wakefield one just beats it I think, given its significance to both clubs.
I was chatting to Sam that evening and we also came up with the Darlington Mowden game that virtually decided our promotion into the Championship in 2016 (I think James Stokes scored 3 or 4 that day) but we were both there then so that made it more personal. Had we been at Ealing we might well have included that one, too..
The band of loyal Cov supporters who travelled down to Vallis Way will remember the game for years to come. They went knowing Cov had never won there and on the back of a 5-50 drubbing in October against an Ealing side that were relentless that afternoon. They had the look of a champions-elect side then, scoring 8 tries and, despite all Cov's efforts , it was a very one-sided affair.
And that was Ealing away from home and just three months ago.
What a turn around for the blue 'n whites.
Cov's away form hasn't been great in recent years but the Cov supporters are always there in numbers, come rain or shine. Bedford might have the bigger attendances, but when it comes to away support no club outside the Premiership can match Cov.
The Cov faithful went down by car, by coach and even by train. 150-200 of them by all accounts in a crowd of just 987.
Less than a thousand there to see first v third in a crucial game in the promotion chase. We were getting more than that when we were facing a relegation battle in National One back in the late 00's. Remarkable really.
The Cov crowd who turned up on Saturday deserved that win.
Good on'em, I say.
I'm sure the players appreciated their support.
But they also went to Ealing knowing that Ealing had started to look a little vulnerable, even in victory. Caldy had done the unthinkable and beaten them at Paton Field and there had been some reasonably tight wins. But they hadn't lost at home for almost a year. The was a sniff of a surprise win, but no more than that.
It was a big ask.
A huge test then for a Cov team that had put in some promising performances on the road and clearly were playing for each other, the coaches and the badge.
I can't comment on the game as I wasn't there, suffice to say that that it sound one hell of a game. At 14-3 down, I wasn't hopeful. You don't come back from that, not against Ealing away from home.
But turn it around they did and by all accounts were the better side for a lot of the game.
And it's worth adding that Cov were without 5 regular starters.
Crazy really. Still having to pinch myself.
Match report (Ealing):
Match report (Coventry)
And credit to Ben Ward for accepting defeat gracefully in his post-match comments on Twitter.
Just as an aside, and before I forget, one of the good things to come out of the game (and there are many if you're a Cov supporter for sure) is that the referee hardly got a mention. And on this occasion, it was Sara Cox who was officiating. Despite there being a red and two yellows I've not seen or heard any criticism of her.
How refreshing is that? And in a game that hasn't always been known for it's liberal take on equality.
I don't mind admitting I was way off the mark back in August when predicting Cov would struggle to finish above 8th. The loss of several key players, a new{ish) Head Coach, an influx of young and relatively inexperienced players at this level and a Chairman who admitted he was holding back some funds this season in order to have monies available for when Cov are in a better position to mount a more realistic challenge for Championship honours - all these suggested that it wasn't going to be the easiest of seasons for Cov.
I wasn't alone in assuming it was going to be a fairly tough year for the club; it would be more about a chance to regroup and continue building a squad for the future. In fact, no one I spoke to mentioned a top half finish, let alone the real possibility as it now stands of a top three finish. Maybe even a top 2.
If only I could turn back time and eat those words. All I can do now is offer a bit of humble pie and show some humility. I got it very wrong.
At this stage it's probably worth pointing out my middle name is Thomas, a family name rather than the result of any religious affinity on the part of my parents, but I do share the same scepticism as the Apostle.
Things seem half empty for the most part these days...
Pre-season, it looked like it was going to be all Ealing, with Jersey, Pirates and Doncaster vying for the next two positions.
Even when Cov started to show a bit of form early on, I was still unwilling to give Cov the credit they deserved back then. I put it down to the fact that other clubs had done something similar to us, holding back this season because Ealing had made it clear that they were going all out for promotion again and there was no point spending good money on players this season when it was more sense to wait until the 23/24 season. Ealing would be out of the way and there would hopefully be a more even playing field (accepting that the RFU could move the goalposts at any point to ensure promotion into the Premiership is made more difficult, if not impossible).
In my head, Cov's pre Christmas successes were as much down to the relative antipathy of the other 10 clubs in strengthening their own squads as it was to Coventry's massive improvement in such a very short time.
But the manner as much as the result of the home win against Pirates, who admittedly have struggled this season, and then the draw against Jersey ( and leaving aside the poor result away at Hartpury) suggested that actually what is happening at Cov is something very special right now.
Alex Rae has shown that what Cov had been lacking for the last couple of seasons was a Head Coach, rather than a Director of Rugby, the role that his predecessor Rowland Winter preferred. Along with James Scaysbrook and the highly rated Ed Robinson, Cov's coaching team looks as strong as it has for many a long year.
And the most pleasing thing about Cov's season so far is the belief that there is more still to come. We all talk about the youthful nature of the squad, of its relative inexperience - but if you're good enough you're old enough and so they've proved.
But Ealing - well, they're a completely different set up. They said they're not going to be denied Premiership rugby again this time round should they win the league and pre-season they recruited strongly, bringing in 18 new players, nearly all from the Premiership or equivalent leagues , and releasing 12. Unlike the rest of the Championship clubs, they recruited with only one thing in mind - promotion into the Premiership this season. As for the rest of the league - for them it was always going to be a case of treading water for 12 months and then taking another look.
Maybe that's oversimplifying things somewhat, but it's pretty close to the reality.
Cov are very much the real deal right now. Momentum is with them which should mean that we have an advantage over the rest of the division when we move into the summer break and start to prepare for next season, provided our form doesn't dip in the meantime of course.
It's very early days, but next season is beginning to look very interesting indeed if you're a Cov supporter.
Update 30/01/23:
Great to see three Coventry players selected for the Championship Clubs' Podcast 'Team of the Week'.
Great recognition for them and for the club, too. Not a great audience in terms of size, but certainly an important one.
And who'd have thought that 7 of the 8 forwards chosen were from Coventry, Caldy and Ampthill - not me, that's for sure.
What a season this is turning out to be!
I'd rather written off Cov's prospectss this season back in September, as did so many others.
How wrong were we?
If only I could turn back time I'd take back all those words that have hurt you...
Comentarios