DIRECTOR of rugby Rowland Winter hailed a strong 20-man performance by Coventry after yesterday’s 29-19 home win over third-placed Ampthill & District.
Cov led 17-0 and 22-7 in the first half before repelling a recovery by the visitors in the third quarter and then making sure of maximum points with their fourth try to seal an excellent victory.
“It was a good squad performance,” said Winter. “The first half alone was probably one of our best performances of the season.
“We wobbled a little bit after half-time, but we came back strongly – our bench made a really good impact when they came on, and we controlled the game. It was a true team effort.
“For Ampthill to go away with absolutely nothing, from where they are in the league table, is a big statement for us to give, and really important.
“We’ve worked hard for this – we’re building momentum each week, we’re getting better, we’re fine tuning what we’re doing.
“The boys are a settled squad, they’re united and determined to kick on and build together, and that’s what today has been about.”
Added Winter: “Their pack is a bit older than us and a bit slower, so we had to keep the tempo up.
“Their style of play is quite limited in what they do, so it was about keeping on top of them, making sure we can maintained momentum and kept the tempo up.
“At half-time we just said to keep going, we’d rattled them, and we knew that eventually our fitness and our mobility would tell.
“There are always things to work on. I’m disappointed that they got 19 points, we gifted them two sloppy tries and where we’d done so well at the catch-and-drive all afternoon, the one time we slipped off, they scored.
“But I’m very proud of what the boys have done today.”