Move on up
And keep on wishin'
Remember your dream is your only scheme
So keep on pushin'
Take nothing less
Than the supreme best
Do not obey rumours people say
'Cause you can pass the test
Just move on up
To a greater day
With just a little faith...
...You can surely do it
Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up
Last season Pat Pellegrini was plying his trade in the fourth tier of English rugby with Sevenoaks in the London and South East Premier. I doubt whether any Cov supporter had heard of him prior to his arrival at Cov back in June and it was unclear at the time whether he was to be Tony Fenner's genuine replacement or a promising 22 year old who might develop further if given game time over the next couple of seasons.
To be honest, I was a little underwhelmed when it became clear that the choice of first team fly half this season lay between Pellegrini and the inexperienced, but highly regarded, Evan Mitchell.
We were well aware that the lack of funds available for recruitment meant a paring back of the squad, but this seemed a bit of a gamble to say the least. I don't mean any disrespect to either player at all, but at the time it reinforced the magnitude of the financial squeeze endured by Cov over the last couple of seasons.
In the press release announcing Pellegrini's arrival at the BPA, Alex Rae was clearly excited to see what Pellegrini would bring to the club:
his attitude and hunger to test himself at this level has really stood out, and they are the kind of traits we want. He has an exciting game which will really suit how we want to play
No argument there - exciting he most certainly is.
In a back division that belies its age and inexperience, Pellegrini is the playmaker. The lynchpin. He is very much an attacking 10 and is always looking to provide quick ball to those outside him, even more so than ex-Cov favourite and now Bedford fly half, Will Maisey. Will was a match winner with us as PP potentially is now, but Will tended to influence games through the brilliance of his trusty left foot whilst Cov's current no 10 has more of an all-round game for me. Both lack the defensive 'nous' of a Tony Fenner but that might become a more prominent feature of Pellegrini's game with the right coaching.
For me, only Louis Brown has quite the same charismatic aura on the pitch. When Brown gets the ball in space, there's always the anticipation that he'll create something special, a hitch kick and then that acceleration or a pass out of the back of his hand in the tackle to set the wing free. James Stokes created something similar too; such players don't come around too often. Rae seemed to recognise that when he brought Pellegrini in and if Rae believes in entertaining crowds as well as winning matches, then Pat Pellegrini appears to be the perfect 10 both for him and the Coventry faithful.
Already, we've seen Pellegrini unlock defences with his vision and speed of thought numerous times this season with miss passes, chips over the top and cross kicks and when he sees a gap, he can really motor and over 30 metres he is extremely quick.
Oooo...I forgot to mention those dancing feet, too. A quick turn, or a side step and he's gone, making him a really difficult player to bring down at times. He's not particularly tall and is solidly built with a fairly low centre of gravity which enables him to bounce the tackle which is always an asset.
He's still young and, at this level, inexperienced, although he did represent New South Wales U20s, so there's always been the potential there to make it full-time. But, even so, there must have been a risk involved in bringing him to Cov as first choice no 10 given Mitchell has even less experience.
But if speculation leads to accumulation, well Cov could well reap the rewards of their investment.
In many respects they already are.
Whoever it was who drew Cov's attention to a young fly half playing his rugby in the London and South East Premier League, they deserve some fulsome praise. Kudos to them.
Pellegrini's all-time stats (33 games in this country so far, playing for both Sevenoaks and Coventry) are pretty impressive, especially his try to appearance ratio at virtually 3 tries every 4 games (0.73 per game). I'm not sure that any fly half who has represented Cov in recent times has achieved anything approaching that.
What's especially impressive is that despite the step up to Tier 2, playing against fully professional sides, PP has, near enough, been able to maintain that scoring record.
In 2021/22 with Sevenoaks:
and in 2022/23 with Coventry
After his first couple of appearances where we saw fleeting glances of his ability, he has since settled into the role perfectly and should only get better the more games he gets under his belt. The only concern for me is that his dead ball kicking lacks the consistency required at this level. Ball in hand he is fine and whilst he doesn't kick for territory too often, when he does he rarely misses touch. However, there have been times when he has failed to kick what look to be fairly straight forward conversions which in games tighter than they have been thus far, could prove costly. Equally though, he can convert tries from the touchline with apparent ease in the same game.
I'm probably being a bit picky; it's no more than an observation really.
Whether Cov stick with Pellegrini as the first choice kicker remains to be seen; it might be that they opt to bring in a specialist who can play elsewhere in the back division to take a bit of pressure off him or work with him to improve his technique over the coming months. It's not a biggy, especially at the moment, but if we did become embroiled in a closely fought promotion-chasing run in the next couple of seasons, I'm not sure PP is the right man for that role as yet, although on this sort of form he'd be a shoe in for the 10 shirt.
Currently, Pellegrini lies second behind Will Maisey in the table of top points scorers this season in the Championship. Whilst I haven't got the info to hand, I rather imagine that most of Will's points will have come from his trusty left foot whereas of PP's 92 points, 40 have come from tries.
But for me, there is more to Pat Pelligrini than his points scoring. Much more.
He is one of those players who creates an air of excitement every time he has ball in hand. At times he is mercurial, able to create chances from seemingly nowhere and he is often prepared to try things that perhaps other 10s in recent years just wouldn't have attempted, or had the vision to see. He reminds me a little of a Luis Criscuolo, or Elisi Vunipola - hugely talented players who wore the Cov shirt with distinction and delighted crowds with their ability to turn a game on its head in an instant. We've had some quality 10s over the years, Cowman, Davies, Harris, Angell, Lakey, Dorrian, Fenner, Maisey, Criscuolo, V'unipola and so on, but I do think Pellegrini has the potential to be right up there with the very best provided a) Cov nurture his talent and b) the bigger clubs don't come a-calling.
For me, Pellegrini is a genuine playmaker, someone who can influence a game in a way others can't and who makes watching rugby, and Cov in particular, even more enjoyable than it usually is.
It is a rare quality and we should appreciate it whilst we can.
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