We'll be back in the high life again
All the doors I closed one time will open up again
We'll be back in the high life again
All the eyes that watched us once will smile and take us in
And we'll drink and dance with one hand free
And have the world so easily and oh we'll be a sight to see
Back in the high life again
High life
High life
Back in the high life again
Back In The High Life Again - Steve Winwood
According to Google, in any contest between an elephant and a tiger, the elephant is always going to be the likely winner.
Despite the tiger's speed and agility, along with its sharp claws and large teeth, ultimately the elephant's sheer weight would provide such a significant advantage that any competition would be pointless.
Sure, the tiger might have all the fancy moves and sharp claws, but the elephant is basically a walking tank with tusks...or Tusker in Cov's case.
Which, as it happens, pretty much summed up the game yesterday...the elephant of Coventry proved far too strong for the tigers from Leicester.
Despite Leicester having an abundance of resources and access to some of the most talented youngsters currently in the game as well as several seasoned first teamers, they were ultimately outplayed by a Coventry team that showcased superior power and resilience, and a fair amount of skill to boot.
Coventry displayed creativity in their attacking play and determination in defence, delivering their strongest performance of the season against their Premiership hosts, in front of a crowd of 15,200 spectators, by far the largest of the day in the Premiership Cup.
The home fans, many of whom were left stunned at half-time, had just witnessed their team's dramatic collapse during an 8-minute period in the first half in which they conceded four tries that left their side with a mountain to climb.
One that in the end proved far too high to scale.
It must be at least 40 years since Coventry last played in front of a crowd of over 15,000 spectators, surely? On this occasion, instead of being intimidated by the atmosphere, the Coventry players appeared to revel in it, while the lack of experience among the Leicester players was far more noticeable. In that first half, Cov's dominance was such that Leicester restarts went straight out and kicks to the corner were overcooked - errors that were a sure sign that the Tigers had by then been declawed and had well and truly lost their roar.
Able to regroup at half time, Leicester managed to salvage something from the game with a far better performance in the second half, but Coventry's defence held firm for the most part and Nayalo's individual try late on (the result of another drive from the rejuvenated Tyas) sealed what was a really impressive all-round display not just from him but from all 23 players involved in the match day squad.
Welford Road, or Mattioli Woods as it now known, is an impressive place to play rugby. The facilities there are a world apart from any of the Championship grounds, with stands on all four sides and a capacity of almost 26000.
Even just under two thirds full, the ground generated plenty of atmosphere and there was certainly a buzz in and around the stadium leading up to kick off. What was really apparent though was that the Coventry supporters were so much more vocal than those from Leicester and for long periods in the game most of the noise came from the two or three pockets of Coventry fans dotted around the stadium.
I'm not very good at guestimating these sorts of things, but there were perhaps 350 to 400 travelling supporters there in total, if that, but god did they make themselves heard. We sat with one group in the first half at the end Cov were attacking but moved to the middle of the stand at half time to get a better view of the whole pitch second half. Amongst the group of Leicester supporters we sat with, the respect for the Cov fans was palpable, as it was for the team too. Conversely, they were impatient with their own side for much of that first half and only found their voice in the third quarter when their side started to play with a little more passion. There really wasn't a great deal of support for the team where we were when things weren't going according to plan.
Although the stadium is impressive, it does come with a downside as the food and drinks are much pricier compared to Championship grounds. Sue and I had brought our own packed lunches to the stadium and were concerned that stewards would confiscate them during the bag search before entry; to our surprise and great relief, this did not happen.
In fact, the stewards were genuinely surprised when we mentioned that any food that supporters attempt to take into the ground at Cov is removed. At Leicester cans and glass bottles, for obvious reasons, are taken off those entering the stadium but nothing else food-wise - they're actually looking for cameras with interchangeable lenses and anything that could be used as a potential weapon.
So far, the only ground I've been to that bars spectators from bringing in their own food is Coventry.
Josh, though, wanted to try the local 'street food' outside the ground, opting for the chicken yesterday - it was arguably the healthiest of the food choices available and to be fair, looked appetising, but at £12.50 it was expensive for what it was and at nearly £40 had the three of us eaten at the ground, the food bill would have been almost prohibitive.
So, taking into account the cost (a small bottle of water (330 ml) was an additional £3), Josh awarded Tigers a solid 7.5/10, so as of this weekend, the current standings are;
Caldy - 9
Cambridge - 8.5
Leicester - 7.5
Coventry - 7
Nottingham - 6
London Scottish - 5
Caldy already look like they got this one sown up, but having visited Hartpury several times in recent seasons, they could yet be a surprise contender!
This being the annual Remembrance Day fixture, Leicester's fans, players and representatives from the local community, alongside members of the Armed Services, came together to pay their respects to those who had given up their lives in the service of their country. It was a moving few minutes leading up to kick off, well received by the crowd and poignant for Cov fans in particular with Tiki laying one of the wreaths as a serving member of the Parachute Regiment.
Leicester's ability to provide a one-off shirt with a poppy emblazoned on the front solely for the Remembrance game clearly highlights the difference in financial situations between the two clubs.
I hope it included a donation to the Poppy Appeal, too.
That's fantasy league stuff for us....
Credit to Tigers though, there was more pomp and ceremony than we're used to seeing at the BPA on such occasions but it was done with great dignity and the Last Post was well observed by a crowd who clearly appreciated the thought behind it.
In the Coventry warm-up preceding the parade/minute's silence, there were a couple of things to note. Most evident was the presence of Steve Boden, Cov's recently appointed scrum coach. As I understand it, he works with the players during the week but spends his Saturdays elsewhere, so it was a surprise to see him at Welford Road - a sure sign of the significance of the occasion for the club and perhaps of the recent concerns in some quarters that the scrum and/breakdown aren't yet functioning to their fullest potential.
He's clearly a very important part of the Coventry set up this season and is spoken very highly off amongst those I've chatted to - he will have been pleased with what he saw yesterday but I'm sure he'll also have seen areas that can be improved further.
Jake Henry was out on the pitch before the game, but the fact that he's still wearing a leg brace doesn't bode well for a quick return. Having signed a two-year deal with Edinburgh before the start of the season, he's come to us on a season-long loan, but it doesn't look like we're going to see much of him before the New Year at the very least. A shame this as I was really excited at the prospect of seeing him fight for one of the wing spots with the likes of Robson, Hutler and Martin.
And it wasn't great news yesterday for another Cov back either, with Steff Davies again proving himself to be the unluckiest of Cov players with a leg injury that saw him leave the pitch after just 15 minutes - maybe a reoccurrence of the injury from last week perhaps? He was at least able to take to the field on crutches after the game, so the fact that he can weight bear already is a good sign that perhaps it's not quite as serious as it first looked. Here's hoping.
A lot has already been written about the game itself elsewhere, so rather than write yet another 'report', here are a few general comments:
Many Cov supporters, myself included, were concerned that with the injury to Liam Richman last weekend, Cov would be struggling to fill the 10 spot, so the news that Tommy Mathews was a) fit and b) included in the starting line-up, was a big relief.
And he had a really impressive first competitive outing in a Cov shirt. He's not got such a booming kick as Richman, but his place kicking was assured and although he doesn't have quite the same distance, he was safe when kicking to touch and he looks defensively solid. For me, the big difference is he appears a little more creative, although this is just on the basis of one game, so hardly fair really. Like Richman, he uses the cross kick well and he did try and break the line when the opportunity allowed. He certainly was fazed by the crowd or the occasion and on this showing, he looks like he'll fit into Cov's preferred style of play with ease.
Cov appear to have brought in two very capable replacements for Pellegrini...
Cov's defence was exceptional yesterday, as it has been throughout the season. The forwards, in particular, put in a tremendous effort with their tackling during the game, often with two players taking out the ball carrier. For me, one of the crucial passages of play was the last 10 minutes or so of the first half when Tigers were camped on our line...had they gone into half time with a second try, things would have been a lot harder for us in the second half, but the defence held firm despite several penalties and the increasing threat of a yellow card. It was really impressive to watch and won the admiration of many Leicester fans around us.
Tiki won the MofM award, but there were several other contenders. For me, Hinkley edged it with some huge hits that often prevented Tigers from making good ground. He has a real physicality about him and his pairing in the back row with Kvesic has strengthened the back row even more this season. With Ball there too, it has to be the best 6,7,8 in the Championship, doesn't it?
This wasn't a 15 man performance - the win was very much the result of all 23 players coming together and doing their respective jobs on the pitch - take off Barton and on comes Lane, Nkwocha is replaced by Tyas and if anything he adds even more options, Opoku (for the second week running) replaces Davies and scores, Ma'asi takes over from Poole with no noticeable difference...and so it goes on. Rae appears to be spreading the load very sensibly in key areas which hopefully, as the season draws on, will stand us in good stead whilst other sides around us are over using key individuals.
The celebrations at the end of the game both on and off the pitch were great to see. This was one of those games that will live long in the memory and the sight of Cov fans greeting the players pitch side after the whistle was something special. The Supporters' Club should take plenty of credit here, providing two coaches again with a minimum of fuss (and presumably a lot of effort behind the scenes) and I wouldn't mind betting that before the end of the season there'll be a third coach going to at least one of the remaining away games, such is the enthusiasm amongst Cov supporters at the moment.
I always try to marry up the lyrics of the chosen song with the general theme of the particular post and in this instance, Steve Winwood's 'Well be back in the high life again' seems particularly apposite. On the back of this performance and those against Gloucester, Quins Saracens and even Ealing last season, you have to believe that one day in the not too distance future, we really will be back in the high life again...
We'll be back in the high life again
All the doors I closed one time will open up again
We'll be back in the high life again
All the eyes that watched us once will smile and take us in
And we'll drink and dance with one hand free
And have the world so easily and oh we'll be a sight to see
Born in Handsworth, as was I...
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