My life, your entertainment
You watch it while I live it (live it)
I walk they follow (ay)
I talk they holla (ay)
Just here for your amusement
My life, your entertainment
You watch it while I live it (live it)
Usher - My Life Your Entertainment
Following on from the previous post (https://www.covblog.org/post/coventry-rugby-s-attendances-from-2004-onwards), I've linked Cov's average attendances from 2009 to the club's end of season finish up to Jan 01 2023 and also included the points/average points Cov scored per game for each of those seasons (data from the RFU Championship website). See below.
A couple of things jump out for me. Under Alex Rae, this season Cov's average points per game is up by an impressive 37%. Supporters' somewhat pessimistic (retrospectively) predictions back in August that the coming season would be one of mid-table consolidation haven't materialised, this despite the loss of several of the most experienced players in the squad, a significant reduction in the playing budget and the relative youth and inexperience of those players brought in pre-season. I wasn't expecting anything more than a finish in the bottom 3 or 4, although I never felt Coventry was a candidate for relegation either.
That the club is riding so high at this point in the season is partly a testament to the quality of the players that Rae has brought in and partly down to having the infrastructure in place to allow them, many with little or no experience of Championship rugby, to perform at a level beyond many supporters' expectations. The potential for these players in a couple or so seasons to really develop into a squad capable of completing with the very best of sides in this league is obvious.
Two or three really experienced players, perhaps current Premiership players coming towards the end of their professional careers and looking for one last hurrah or to develop some coaching experience along the way, could be brought in to add a bit of leadership on the pitch. Another Ryan Burrows or two would add a little steel certainly but keep this young squad together and they'll only get better.
It's true, of course, that several other clubs have had to reduce their squads for similar reasons but we seemed to have fared far better and with over half the season completed, third in the league and with a healthy 9 point gap between us and fourth placed Bedford Blues is better than most of us could have possibly hoped for.
When Coventry issued its terse 21 word statement back in April confirming the departure of Rowland Winter, many supporters were left feeling confused and disappointed. The man who'd turned Coventry from a side seemingly entrenched in the third tier of English rugby into one with a roadmap that included planning a genuine attempt on promotion into the Premiership within the next three of four seasons or so had been removed.
With no explanation whatsoever.
We deserved better and unless he'd butchered a couple of ball boys and buried them under the car park, so did he.
Whatever his failing, and I guess it must have been pretty serious one to have resulted in him exiting the club under such a cloud, many supporters still felt loyal to him.
The real reasons behind Winter's dismissal, summary or otherwise, will probably never be made public, but I never felt it was to do with performances on the pitch. Most of us have heard the rumours and none of them seem to be linked to concerns over the way the club was progressing results wise. Indeed, as far as I can recall, Winter had just been offered an extension to his contract, so up to the point where he clearly blotted his copybook beyond anything that could be Tippexed out, he was still very much in the Board's long term plans. All of which makes it even more mysterious.
Controversial I know, but I do think it was all handled rather poorly by Cov at the time, even accepting there were probably legal reasons why they couldn't give any details. Even a statement released early on to say just that might have gone some way to alleviating some of the frustrations.
Okay, it's just my own opinion and I'm sure the Board would defend its stance vehemently were it able to, but it did feel as if they didn't really understand the mood of the supporters at the time. Fortunately for them, results improved dramatically on the field in Winter's absence, as apparently did the mood of the dressing room, We supporters are a fickle bunch and many were happy just to turn up on a Saturday and watch Cov start to play with a tempo and belief that we'd not seen for some time.
Alex Rae's appointment worked out perfectly for them. Had it not done so, there would have been some very awkward questions to answer. The gamble paid off, but they were very lucky in some respects. An external appointment might have complicated matters further.
For many, Rowland Winter is in the past and Rae's success fully justifies the change in leadership. But it still rankles with me - or at least the manner of Winter's departure does. Whilst I respect the Board for what they have achieved these past few years, I'm not sure I'm totally smitten by them. I can only name one of them other than the Chairman and I can't even put a face to him. For someone who is a pretty die-hard Cov supporter, that's not great although perhaps that says more about me than it does the Board.
That's not to take anything away from Alex Rae. The change in Coventry on the pitch has been a revelation. The free flowing rugby that Winter had brought to the club back in the early days of his tenure, a style that made watching Cov in its last two seasons in National One such a pleasure, wasn't something that he'd been able to replicate in the Championship as the table below shows. At times in his last couple of seasons we were indebted to a strong pack, with the backs given little opportunity to shine, and arguably without the players in midfield to dominate the opposition.
It's alright winning ugly, I've no qualms about that at all, just so longs as you're winning.
That might be an overly simplistic view of how things were but certainly we failed to recapture the excitement of life in National One. Yes, the Championship offered plenty of challenges but generally the rugby hadn't been as entertaining for me, with some exceptions of course.
A different league. With stronger opposition.
That's why this season has been so exciting. Rae has put his trust in youth, showing that if you're good enough, then you're old enough. And that really is a refreshing approach to rugby at this level.
Perhaps Rae's biggest achievement so far is to have shown that it is perfectly possible to play entertaining rugby and be successful at this level. We're well on target to beat our highest points tally since promotion in 2018/19 and there's every chance that we could also finish higher than the 4th place we achieved under Winter in 2019/20.
Points really do make prizes - entertainment must be at heart of what Coventry does on the pitch if it is to attract the kind of attendances that will justify further expansion and possibly Premiership rugby.
Alex Rae has turned things round significantly and on that basis he fully deserves his opportunity. He's got the players playing for him and the crowd behind him - perhaps he's not quite so charismatic as RW but he has shown he is the man for, and of, the moment.
He's done a brilliant job so far and we were really lucky to have had such a natural replacement for Winter waiting in the wings.
As were the Board.
(I totally accept this won't be a view shared by many so do leave a comment if enraged, but without any expletives, please).
Legend:
White: Head Coach - Alex Rae
Gold - Director of Rugby - Rowland Winter (Until Feb(?) 2022)
Red - Head Coach - Scott Morgan
Grey - Head Coach - Phil Maynard
Season | Points Scored | Av points per game | Position | Average Attendance | Top Try Scorer |
2022/23 | 352 | 32 | 3rd of 12 | 2313 | Will Talbot-Davies - 7 |
2021/22 | 468 | 23.4 | 8th of 11 | 2313 | Josh Barton - 7 |
2020/21 | 252 | 25.2 | 5th of 12 | Unavailable | Will Butt - 5 |
2019/20 | 399 | 26.6 | 4th of 12 | 2455 | Max Trimble - 6 |
2018/19 | 497 | 22.59 | 8th of 12 | 2307 | Scott Tolmie - 8 |
2017/18 | 1213 | 40.43 | 1st of 16 | 1868 | James Stokes - 21 |
2016/17 | 974 | 32.47 | 4th of 16 | 1263 | Tom Howe - 10 |
2015/16 | 710 | 23.67 | 9th 0f 16 | 1152 | Matt Price - 11 |
2014/15 | 1011 | 33.7 | 3rd of 16 | 1506 | Dan Rundle - 16 |
2013/14 | 878 | 29.27 | 4th of 16 | 1201 | Will Hurrell - 17 |
2012/13 | 716 | 24.69 | 9th of 16 | 857 | Cliff Hodgson - 9 |
2011/12 | 644 | 21.47 | 13th of 16 | 1052 | Heath Stevens - 8 |
2010/11 | 744 | 25.8 | 8th of 16 | 834 | Thomas Harris -19 |
2009/10 | 428 | 15.29 | 4th of 4 Stage 2 Pool C Relegated | 1218 | Aaron Carpenter - 5 |
Under Rae, if we continue to run in the points, then maybe somewhere down the line the ultimate prize is yet attainable:
Just here for your amusement
My life, your entertainment
You watch it while I live it (live it)
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