Shock horror as England's young guns given a first half spanking by Championship Cov - a club that's part of league not fit for purpose, allegedly...

I realize the way your eyes deceived me

With tender looks that I mistook for love

So take away the flowers that you gave me

And send the kind that you remind me of

Paper roses

Paper roses

Oh, how real those roses seem to be

But they're only imitation

Like your imitation love for me

Paper Roses - Marie Osmond

Bill Sweeney was present for part of the game against England U20 yesterady at the BPA

When Ryan Hutler scored his side's sixth try to take the score to 42-0, it all looked pretty bleak for an England U20 side that up to that point had struggled to compete with Cov's all-out attacking game.

The youngsters had worked hard but for little or no reward as the home side dominated. All the indications were that it could well end something akin to a cricket score if Cov continued to dictate the pace of the game over the remainder of the 80 minutes.

But as Cov rang the changes that ensured the game was far more competitive in the second half, so we saw some of the talent that waits in the wings for an opportunity to join the current crop of England 'stars' who continue to underachieve with such regular monotony.

And the talent is there for sure, most notably expressed in the shape of dynamic replacement full back Connor Byrne who arguably scored the best try seen at the BPA all season, including those by Pat Pellegrini and James Martin both of which still continue to receive plenty of viewings via social media even now.

Even by the end of the first half, Cov had eased off in the set piece. In the scrums, Cov were just too powerful, indeed in the final scrum of the first half, Cov were penalised for pushing early, allowing England's pack to opt for the scrum themselves from the free kick awarded by an increasingly sympathetic referee. It's a decision they wouldn't have dared to take had Cov not turned the power down a notch or three.

No one likes to see a side completely outplayed, but in this case I would have made an exception. Watching on from the stand was England Rugby CEO Bill Sweeney, the man who has caused so much damage to the Championship during his tenure. Little would have given me greater pleasure, as far as rugby is concerned, than to see his proteges completely outplayed for the whole 80 minutes.

Sure, it would have been tough for the England players but it would have sent out a clear message to Sweeney - for years you've underrated the quality of rugby in this league, now watch and learn.

This is the man who questioned whether the RFU should be even funding the Championship to the paltry levels it currently is. Remember this classic?

What are you investing in? You’d rather take that money and invest it in other things,’ he said. ‘We’ve shown if you pour money into the existing structure of the Championship, it just doesn’t deliver.

That’s not being disrespectful.

Sorry Bill, it really is.

Just look at Championship clubs' performances in the Premiership Cup pre-season and then again at Coventry's dominance in that first half yesterday. It's easy to say that these were just a group of extremely talented youngsters against a team made up of seasoned professionals and the first half beating was always inevitable. To do so, though, would be to fail totally to understand anything about Coventry Rugby and its current approach to building towards its long-term goal of Premiership Rugby.

In the Coventry squad yesterday were Nairua (22), Nkwocha (21), Anstey (22), Ball (22), Ogden (20), Mitchell (22), Wand (22), Wilson (20), Mannion (19), Opoku (20), Stone (18) and Chester Owen (20).

That's 12 of the squad who were just 22 or under. So hardly the greatest mis-match ever.

And all 12 more than held their own against the prodigious talent that is England U20s and did so without all the additional support and facilities that Mark Mapletoft's players will have been enjoying both at their individual Premiership clubs and at the various England training camps as they've progressed though the respective age groups. It was a case of the haves and the have-nots and for once it was the have-nots who excelled.

Yet according to Sweeney, the only appropriate pathway for a talented young rugby player is through one of the Premiership Academies. The Championship just isn't the right environment to be bringing up the next generation of England internationals apparently. Yet alongside such exemplary professionals as Chudley, Kvesic, Tyas, Nicol, Nayalo and the like, and working with some of the best coaches outside of the top tier, Cov's youngsters have thrived and the club has been able to bring in players from its own Academy to carve out successful careers within rugby's second tier.

Imagine what Coventry Rugby could achieve if it was given access to a wider pool of young players, many of whom currently get lost in the Premiership structure?

And Sweeney maintains he's not being disrespectful?

I'm sorry, but that's utter boll@cks.

For 40 minutes, Cov showcased just what this club, and the Championship as a whole, has to offer the wider game. But everyone knows that however loud those in the Championship shout, the RFU continues to refuse to listen which is precisely why I would have gladly seen Coventry go on and complete England's, and Sweeney's, humiliation yesterday.

The England side would have quickly bounced back such is the resilience of youngsters. Maybe Sweeney less so.

Sweeney left well before the end of the game, in fact well before the scoreline achieved some sort of respectability even, at least from an England point of view. He exited to a very mixed reception and disappointingly failed to acknowledge the crowd - he could so easily have applauded the main stand as he left to show some appreciation of both the performance and the occasion. A small gesture that would have cost nothing but meant a great deal.

But humility isn't one of Sweeney's obvious strengths.

Instead, he left the ground clutching a Cov anniversary shirt, presented to him by the club, a shirt which he presumably threw into the back seat of his car there to remain until his next trip to a charity shop to drop of all the similar shirts he receives on his visits to other lowly clubs such as ours.

I say charity shops, but given his history of being anything but charitable and the huge financial concerns surrounding the RFU, a bulk posting on Ebay might be nearer the mark.

The irony in Richard Barnes', Cov's resident PA, voice as he thanked Sweeney for his attendance can't have gone unnoticed by the not-so-great man. Even he can't be that thick skinned.

As the Coventry crowd started to say its fond farewells to those leaving the club, Chudley and Wand in particular, so England U20 began to get a foothold in the game and in fairness they upped the tempo considerably, winning the second half 38-19, scoring 6 tries themselves in the process. But by then the game had already been lost and for the Cov faithful, the second half was as much about celebrating what has been a pretty decent season on the playing side for Cov as it was about the game itself.

Yesterday's game was evidence, were it ever needed, of just how far the club has come in the last few years. Not so long ago I can still vividly remember travelling over to Dublin to watch Cov take on Leinster's U20s and witnessing what was a very one-sided game in which Cov conceded 60 plus points. In fact, two seasons on the bounce we lost heavily to their academy sides.

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On the day, Cov took the view that the England U20 fixture was very much part of the 150th anniversary celebrations - an odd call given the build-up to the game in which posts on the club's social media forums made no reference to this.

A 'spectacular event' yes, but nothing more (see example left).

Equally bemusing is the fact that in his Chairman's Notes in the digital programme, Jon Sharp, failed to refer to the 150th Anniversary of club at all, let alone suggest the game was part of the celebrations.

Somewhat of an odd omission given this was the final game of the season.

Ok, I guess you could argue the anniversary is spread over a 12-month period, but given this is the last game of the 23/24 season...

In the same programme, Alex Rae referred to the game as being 'an opportunity to show that there are different routes to get to a destination' but again made no mention of the club's anniversary or of the game being a part of the club's celebrations.

And in the only comments I've seen from England U20 Head Coach, Mark Mapletoft, he referred to the challenges rather than the occasion:

'The team and I are really excited to have this fixture confirmed...Above all else, Coventry is a team on the up and that is strongly reflected in their league form this season. We wanted to test our squad against the strongest opposition possible before we get into another important block in the season. Alex (Rae) and his staff have done a fantastic job this year, and we look forward to meeting this spring for what promises to be a really exciting game.' 

However, Cov chose to wear the anniversary shirt and I gave up counting the number of times the announcer mentioned the game was part of the club's celebrations, so perhaps it was. But if that is the case and it was a genuinely a big part of the overall commemorations, then why the complete lack of a build-up and, more importantly, why didn't the club pull out all the stops to create an atmosphere to match such a seemingly important event?

Until the players came out for the start of the game, around the ground there was nothing to indicate this was a significant game in the club's history.

Absolutely nothing.

The cameras were there obviously, but that was to enable England to live feed the game on YouTube. The club hadn't even managed to procure a coffee van for those who prefer not to drink at a game, so the only hot drink options were of the powdered instant variety. I'd brought a couple of guests along who were less than enamoured.

There are those for whom the specific gravity of a locally brewed ale is of importance.

Me, I'm a maragogipe v catuai bean kind of guy.

4100 plus were in attendance, despite the swathes of emptied seats that were so evident through the YouTube feed. 4000 plus and no coffee bar...seriously?

And where were the amenities/facilities for the younger children there?

In the past there have been bouncy castles and other inflatables, or half time activities to win prizes, and that's just for a bog-standard league game.

But nothing for the visit of England U20s to mark the 150th anniversary of the club.

That said, there was a belated return of Nellie, the club mascot, so I guess that more than made up for it.

And what about some memorabilia from past eras on display, or footage of some of the more significant games, including the two cup wins in the 70s and THAT game against Newcastle in the 90s, on the big screen in the build-up to kick off?

Or a parade of ex-players in front of the main stand at half time?

It was all a bit make do and mend really.

To be honest, for me it just felt like a game arranged to replace the Jersey fixture that was lost back in September when the club was forced to go into liquidation. 8 months of planning for yesterday and all we got was Nellie and the opportunity to see Cov wear the shirts again. With 1500 season ticket holders, the club in effect must have had advanced sales of upwards of £20000 (at a conservative average of £13.33 a ticket with reductions) and whilst not legally bound to provide anything for that, morally perhaps they were - and England 20s was a creative, entertaining option. Credit where credit's due for that at least.

But surely it deserved just a bit more razzamatazz?

And with the option of purchasing a decent cup of coffee.

Fortunately, as they have so often done this season, the players delivered on the pitch which helped make up for the shortfalls elsewhere. And in fairness, Cov did put on a decent show immediately after the game for those players leaving the club this season - but that would have happened anyway and is as much down to the coaches as it is to anyone.

The whole 'anniversary celebrations' thing has been a bit on a non-event really thus far despite the initial excitement caused by the club's initial announcements well before Christmas. In the club's defence, I'm sure there are many supporters who felt yesterday was a wonderful way to mark the club's 150th and it's just a question of me being a party-pooper, but I prefer to say it as I see it and yesterday, I was desperately in need of a pair of rose-coloured spectacles.

Which leads me nicely back to Paper Roses by Marie Osmond; the song works perfectly for this post.

On a superficial level, the English rose a pretty fragile thing in those first 40 odd minutes, paper thin a times.

But underneath the surface and when applied to Bill Sweeney, well the lyrics take on an entirely different meaning:

Oh, how real those roses seem to be

But they're only imitation

Like your imitation love for me

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