London Scottish 19 v Coventry Rugby 45: harvest moons, season openers and life in the fast Lane

He was a hard-headed man

He was brutally handsome, and she was terminally pretty...

In the heart of the cold, cold city

(Life in the fast lane) surely make you lose your mind

(Life in the fast lane) yeah

(Life in the fast lane) surely make you lose your mind

(Life in the fast lane) yeah

Life In The Fast Lane - Eagles

The moon, as it was on Friday evening over London

During the opening match of the 2024/25 Championship season at the RAG on Friday, spectators had the opportunity to witness a rare event - a super harvest moon. The moon appeared first with a reddish hue, then transformed into a vivid orange colour as it slowly moved eastward.

According to superstition, this phenomenon, commonly referred to as a 'blood moon', is often viewed as a sign of danger or foreboding. There are those who even interpret it as a warning of an impending apocalypse.

If there is any truth to this, then Scottish fans may have reason to fear the worst following the weekend's outcome, comprehensively losing 19-45 to a Coventry side that looked determined to set down a marker for the season ahead.

A potentially tricky opener to the 2024/25 campaign proved to be far more straightforward than many of us had predicted. It was a pleasing performance which suggests that there is far more to come from this group of players once they've got a few more games under their belts.

I've never been a great believer in Friday night rugby; travelling is often a nightmare especially when playing clubs in and around the capital. It's no way to prepare for rugby at this level.

Delays on the motorway this weekend meant that we only arrived 20 minutes before kick-off and a 2-hour journey took three. It's a big ask of travelling fans and for those semi-professional clubs in the Championship for whom there are players required to work on a Friday morning, there is the added pressure of having to take the coach down in the middle of the Friday afternoon rush hour.

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I had originally booked to go on the Supporters' Coach but Josh's mum, (my daughter), found herself with a free evening so asked to come along, offering to drive in the process. What could have been a frustrating journey by coach actually proved an ideal opportunity for a much appreciated catch-up.

For me, games are always that much more enjoyable accompanied by family. No Josh next week, but in steps Sam. I am very lucky in this respect and for all my moanings about the club over the years, I remain eternally grateful that it has played such an important part in my relationship with my family - initially, my grandfather and parents, then my wife, my children and now my grandchildren.

On tour in Jersey

Boxing Day v Nottingham

Away at Ealing

People might scoff, but Cov Rugby's always been there, even during the toughest times in our own lives. Long may that continue.

When Cov calls itself a 'family' club, and rightly so, I'm not sure it's always aware of just how deep that goes.

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Cov, whether by choice or necessity, opted to rely far more on their forwards than perhaps we've seen for much of Alex Rae's tenure; perhaps unsurprisingly given so many of the forwards have played together for a good few seasons now.

Despite Coventry's attempts to play expansive rugby, their victory was largely due to their dominance up front. Cov struggled to replicate the free-flowing style of play that had been successful in previous seasons, with far fewer line-breaks amongst the backs, its trademark in recent seasons.

It's early days, of course, and with no Hitchcock in the squad, this was the first time that Barton, Richman, Tiueti, Morris, and Davies had lined up together. When they do click, there would appear to be plenty of pace and power there, supported out wide by the proven duo of Hutler and Martin. Tries will flow for sure.

Although Martin saw little of the ball resulting directly from Cov play, he seemed to be under most of the Scottish kicks and was always looking to run them back or return them with interest. He has a really strong boot on him which has become far more apparent over the past 12 months and with Cov chasing their own kicks more effectively these days, it's becoming a very potent weapon in the Cov armoury.

Although Cov's three-quarters might not have been quite as prominent in attack as they might have hoped, I thought defensively they were really impressive, as was the team generally. For periods of the game, Scottish enjoyed a fair amount of possession, especially in the second quarter, but Cov's defensive line was up very quickly and very few tackles were missed. Cov was able to put pressure on Scottish at the breakdown, and they struggled to cope with our back row at the breakdown and conceded several penalties as a result.

The home side opted to play 7 Harlequins loanees/drs, and it showed. There was plenty of height and bulk among their forwards, but Coventry's experience proved to be crucial as they managed to secure a significant amount of possession from the Scottish throw and put increasing pressure on the opposing team's scrum.

Cov is currently able to field two strong front rows, and if all the players remain fit, then they'll cause some damage this season. Trinder Ma'asi and Nairau did much of the hard work for the first 55 minutes or so (Nairau looked to have suffered a knock in the first half and didn't come back after the restart), allowing Johnson, Warren, and Spandler (on loan from Bath, I think?) to then really put the squeeze on. There's plenty of experience now up front, with both Salt and Poole still to return.

Cov opted to use all 8 replacements, presumably to give all the players a run out early on this season. It did mean, somewhat inevitably, that the game became a little disjointed and was partly the reason why Scottish were able to grab a couple of consolation tries in the final few minutes, taking a little gloss off the final score.

There are also plenty of options in the back row, and it's almost a case of perming any three from 6. Rae went with Ball, Kvesic, and Nayalo on Saturday, players whom he knows well and is confident will get the job done. Waiting to come on were Okeke and Hinkley, two with experience of playing Premiership or equivalent - and in the wings, the unlucky Chester Owen who didn't even make it onto the bench, such is the strength of this current squad. Keeping everyone happy and giving everyone the game time they need is surely going to be one of the harder tasks the coaches will face this season?

(Nb…forgot to comment in the original draft that Kvesic was awarded MofM. Fully deserved, but I’m struggling to recall any home side giving it to an opposition player before, whatever the result. Very unusual and testament I guess to just how good Kvesic was on Friday).

At half-back, the combination of Barton and Richman was solid if not altogether inspiring at this early stage of the season. Again, Friday's game was the first time they'd played together in a competitive game, so we shouldn't have banked on too many fireworks. Few had expected to see Richman's name on the team sheet, with much of the pre-game talk about Mannion - hopefully it threw Scottish too...

Richman seems to be a valuable addition - tall and rangy, he appears to possess a strong tactical understanding, making wise decisions when kicking for territory and showing willingness to distribute the ball wide when necessary. Although it's only based on the one game, he appears to have a phenomenal kick on him, with some of his touch-finders covering distances I've rarely seen at this level. Additionally, he successfully converted all 7 kicks, most of which were relatively straightforward, but not all; he certainly has a very calm air about him.

We didn't see him run with the ball really, and he doesn't look as if he's going to be a talisman in the way Pellegrini was - I don't think we'll see the same dinks over the top or the magic feet that create the space for that lightning acceleration. However, it was an assured start, and hopefully in front of a large and excitable home ground on Saturday, we'll see another controlled display from the Aussie.

Josh Barton was bustling and busy; always looking to provide quick ball. He has a very quick pass and looks to probe the fringes if he can. Although Will Chudley will be missed, the addition of Barton to the squad ensures there's still quality and experience behind the scrum.

I'm a big fan of Will Lane and I was delighted that he made such a big impression in the 25 minutes he was on the pitch on Friday. He joined Cov in time for the start of the 22/23 season but has only had 11 starts since then and has probably been warming the bench as much as anyone over that period. When called upon, he's invariably played his part and to have had two 9s of the quality of Chudley and Barton in front of him must be frustrating for a player who seems good enough to hold down a regular place in the Championship in a bottom 6 club at the very least.

I'm pleased (and surprised) he's stayed on, even if it does mean Fin Ogden, another good prospect, must wait his turn. On Friday Lane had a hand in three Cov tries, scoring one with a blistering turn of pace that left everyone trailing in his wake.

It really was a case of life in the fast Lane.

All in all, this was a very encouraging performance, although there's clearly plenty to work on. Games against Scottish, especially away from home, have often been close, so to score 45 points and in the process cross the line 6 times against a side that has made a habit of claiming big scalps at the RAG is no mean feat.

Bedford, even at the BPA, will provide a sterner test but the players must be going into this week's training full of optimism. There's always a lot of rivalry between the two sides and with possibly 7 players with Cov links in the Bedford 23 (Titherington, Maisey, Tuilagi, James, Woolford, Smith, and Jack) it's another opportunity to welcome back some familiar faces and remind them of what they're missing.

And it should be a bumper crowd - the first home game of the season on the back of a strong performance in the opening game and against a side that always attracts high attendances. However, attendances this weekend don't appear overly encouraging:

London Scottish 852

Nottingham 936

Doncaster 1110

Bedford 2012

Cambridge 1497

Ealing 850

Bedford's attendance was 1000 below last season's average and Doncaster's was 700 down (this despite the hype resulting from the marquee signings they revealed over the summer). It's far too early to say whether this is going to be the trend over the course of this season, but with clubs relying on gate money so heavily in these times of increasing financial insecurity, it must be a concern.

Certainly, there are still a lot of spaces available in the main stand on Saturday at the BPA and the club is still advertising tables in the pre-match hospitality suites, tables that were sold out weeks in advance last season, if I recall correctly.

Hopefully, we'll buck the trend and there'll be 3000 plus Cov supporters roaring their team on come 3.00 pm on Saturday.

Up the Cov.

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