By Coventry Rugby 
by Alex Didlick
Fresh off a thrilling home victory against Bedford, Coventry made the trip to Kingsey Road full of confidence and intent. The away side began with real purpose, looking to back up last week’s win with another statement display on the road. But what followed was a classic tale of two halves, with the hosts fighting back powerfully to fully deserve the spoils.
Coventry got the game underway through Tommy Mathews with a kick deep into the Chinnor 22. The hosts looked determined to avoid playing too much rugby in their own half, opting to kick twice in quick succession. Cov started brightly, drawing the first three penalties of the game and keeping Chinnor pinned deep inside their own territory for the opening five minutes. After a series of powerful carries from the forwards, it was captain Morgan Strong who wrestled his way over the line to score the game’s opener.
The strong Cov start continued, and another Chinnor infringement handed Coventry further attacking territory. The opening 15 minutes had been played almost entirely where head coach Alex Rae would have wanted. The persistent pressure soon told again, following a scrum on the 5-metre line. Cov worked the ball out wide, and an overlap was finished off by Ewan Baker for his first score of the season. 14-0.
Moments later came an early contender for try of the season. From the restart, a brilliant catch and break from Strong tore through the Chinnor defence. Tom Ball linked up superbly before releasing David Opoku-Fordjour, who stepped one defender and dived over in the corner to cap a scintillating move. At 19-0, the opening quarter had well and truly been written by Coventry.
Shell-shocked but determined, Chinnor finally mounted their first real attack inside the Cov 22. Yet once again, Coventry’s red-zone defence stood firm. Wave after wave of pressure was repelled until an obstruction penalty allowed Mathews to clear the lines.
To their credit, Chinnor didn’t let up. Backed by a vocal home crowd, they built phases deep in Coventry territory. Just as it looked like Cov would hold out again, scrum-half Luke Carter dummied beautifully, selling three defenders before diving over near the posts.
That sparked life into the home side, and shortly after Coventry were again with their backs to the try line. Another incisive break from Carter was well supported, with Chinnor’s full-back finishing off the move to make it 19-14. From being seemingly nowhere in the contest, Chinnor had clawed their way back in spectacular fashion.
The rest of the half continued in this style, with the rampant home side looking to inflict more pain on Coventry. A late penalty in the 39th minute gave them another chance on the Cov line, but a huge defensive effort saw the visitors go into the break still ahead.
Chinnor carried that momentum into the second half and made the perfect start. Another sharp line break from the lively Carter set up Robin Hardwick, who powered over to give Chinnor their first lead of the match.
With advantage firmly on Chinnor’s side, Coventry Club Captain Jordon Poole was brought on to try to steady the ship, but Chinnor struck again soon after. A clever kick over the top from Grant Hughes was gathered and finished by Connor Slevin for his second of the game. 29-19 to Chinnor.
After conceding four unanswered tries, Coventry were desperate for a period of calm and composure. With 30 minutes still to play, there was no need for panic, but Cov needed a foothold fast.
However, Chinnor’s confidence was sky-high. Another destructive maul in the Coventry 22 caused chaos, and replacement hooker Alun Walker broke away to score, extending the lead to 33-19 – a staggering 33 unanswered points.
From early scrum dominance, it was now Cov hanging on, conceding another penalty just shy of the hour mark. They were fortunate when Chinnor knocked on during the ensuing phases, but the pressure kept coming. In the 61st minute, Jamie Carr bundled over for Chinnor’s sixth try, making it 40-19.
Coventry did respond late on through Suva Ma’asi, who crashed over in the 72nd minute to add some respectability to the scoreline. Yet there was still time for Carter to have the final say, bursting through again and combining with Will Cave to give the substitute his first score of the game.
It was a contest that showed Coventry’s best and worst. A blistering start was followed by a rut that lasted far too long to expect anything from the contest. There will be plenty to take away from this one – the importance of composure under pressure, maintaining intensity for the full 40 minutes of each half, and tightening handling skills in key areas of the pitch. The yellow cards shown to Senitiki Nayalo and Matt Johnson didn’t help Coventry’s cause either, disrupting momentum at crucial moments. With the huge test of Ealing Trailfinders next week awaiting, Cov will look to channel the frustration of this performance into impressing the Butts Park Arena faithful.
Half-time score: Chinnor RFC 14-19 Coventry Rugby
Full-time score: Chinnor RFC 47-26 Coventry Rugby
Try scorers:
Coventry Rugby – Morgan Strong (6’), Ewan Baker (14’), David Opoku-Fordjour (15’), Suva Ma’asi (72’)
Chinnor RFC- Luke Carter (27’), Connor Slevin (36’, 46’) Robin Hardwick (44’), Alun Walker (53’), Jamie Carr (61’), Will Cave (73’)
Coventry Rugby:
Aristot Benz-Salomon, Suva Ma’asi, Matt Johnson, Allan Ferrie, Senitiki Nayalo, Mackenzie Graham, Tom Ball, Morgan Strong, Josh Barton, Tommy Mathews, Ewan Baker, Dafydd Rhys-Tiueti, Oli Morris, David Opoku-Fordjour, Tom Bacon
Finishers:
Jordon Poole, Keston Lines, Eliot Salt, Dan Green, Onisivoro Sukani Nayagi, Tom Miles, Josh Thomas, Api Bavadra
Chinnor RFC
Kai Owen, Chris Moore, Robin Hardwick, Jamie Campbell, Conor Brockschmidt, Jamie Carr, George Stokes, Gabriel Mann, Luke Carter, Nathan Chamberlain, Kieran Goss, James Bourton, Thomas Watson, Grant Hughes, Connor Slevin
Finishers:
Alun Walker, Ramaz Rukhadze, Cameron Doak, Daniel Cooke, Will Cave, Callum Pascoe, Scott Hall, Morgan Passman
