Under the Friday night lights, Coventry welcomed Hartpury to the BPA for a 7:45pm kick off, as Alex Rae’s men hoped to continue their strong league form.
The BPA crowd were rewarded for their punctuality by some excellent attacking play within the opening 60 seconds which nearly resulted in an early Will Biggs score. However, the supporters in blue and white didn’t have to wait much longer for James Kenny, on loan from Exeter Chiefs, to steam on to a Will Chudley pass for the first five points of the contest. Evan Mitchell happily converted the early 5 to an early 7 points from the tee. (0-7)
The Cov side were in no mood to do anything other than race out of the metaphorical blocks, as the first try was shortly followed up by a delightful second. Will Rigg picked a smart line in midfield before holding his feet just enough to find the interim skipper, Will Chudley, who raced under the sticks un-touched. (0-14)
Hartpury soon showed why they’re sat comfortably at 5th in Championship league table with a series of strong driving mauls. A clever ‘peel’ play managed to fool the Coventry defensive set-up and reduce the home lead to 14-7.
After a furiously fast start to the match, all in attendance could take a breather as the game paused to allow the physios to tend to an injured player on the Hartpury side. Normal entertaining service soon resumed once play got back underway, as the forward got through the pick and go’s. Ollie Andrews put his head down and managed to drag a few of the Hartpury defenders with him as he slid over the try line. Mitchell stayed 100% off the tee and nailed the resulting conversion. (21-7)
The opening to the match was beginning to resemble a tennis match with its back-and-forth nature, as Hartpury marched straight back up the field and performed another textbook driving maul to draw the tie closer once more before the two teams headed into the sheds. (21-14)
Half time: Coventry 21-14 Hartpury
The second period began in a very similar to fashion to that of the first with an early Coventry try. A clever inside ball from James Martin allowed Will Chudley to show some speed for his second of the evening and gain a Coventry bonus point inside 41 minutes. (28-14)
Once more Coventry then managed to follow an early score in a half with a second in quick succession. This time the forwards took full control of proceedings and eventually made their strength show as James Tyas crept over the whitewash after a series of pick and go’s. (35-14)
The game took a much-needed break from these non-stop scores between the 50 and 60 minute mark, which allowed the admin team to catch up on the live tweeting, as neither side managed to pierce the other’s defence for a little while. Thankfully, from a Coventry point of view, it was the team in blue and white that delivered the next blow to the scoreboard as Louis Brown capped off an excellent performance with a try of his own. The fullback spotted a small gap in the red defensive wall, and Evan Mitchell continued his faultless performance with the tee. (42-14)
Hartpury continued to show plenty of spirit deep into the final minutes with yet another try off the back of a solid driving maul. However, there were to be no more twists in thia particular tale as the referee took to his whistle to put an end to things.
Full time: Coventry 42-19 Hartpury
Thank you to all the home supporters that came out to the game, as well as to our visitors from Hartpury. We look forward to welcoming you back to the BPA in 3 weeks’ time as we face Nottingham on the 22nd April at 3pm.
