The problem for Warriors fans, as I see it, is that up until Christmas they believed everyone else saw there side as very much the 'enfant terrible' of The Champ, disliked by many for reasons which they felt were unfair, and in the case of some supporters (like those from Cov) grossly hypocritical. We see it differently, of course, but as a group it united them against a common foe and in so doing gave them strength.

Rae has said previously that he'll only bring in players who will strengthen the squad and his track record as far as recruitment is concerned is impressive...Imagine an additional 9 players added to this squad all better than those leaving. Not only does it give the coaches more options, it should also raise performance levels to even greater heights and narrow the gap between ourselves and Ealing, hopefully enabling us to be the best of the rest which is pretty much all we

That's not so with Caldy. The have a little of the old school look about them - especially in the front row where fitness doesn't appear to be their greatest asset to be fair. Cov have a really mobile pack with the second rowers able to play in the back row such is their mobility around the park. Nayalo, Strong, Ferrie, Shine and Green are all excellent ball carriers, whereas Caldy really didn't have players who could punch holes in Cov's very well organised defence.

Interestingly, before the game, Cov led The Champ with more offloads than any other team in the league this season. They seem to have adapted better than most to the recent law changes regarding the lowering of the tackle, which now make offloads less risky than before, as noted by Shaun Edwards in today's The Rugby Paper. But that is true of the opposition, too, which is perhaps one reason why we're seeing more tries scored this season.

When the final whistle sounded, the sun had emerged, bringing a sense of Spring with it. From the elevated pitch, one could see a few fruit trees in bloom, adding a burst of color to an otherwise drab landscape. A metaphor for new beginnings perhaps, of hope for the future? As far as Cov is concerned, the shoots are already there for all to see.

It wasn't a complete Cov performance by any means, but Cov were disciplined and denied Hartpury any sort of meaningful platform on which to build. At no point in the game did they lead Cov, although Hartpury had pegged us back to 14-14 at the break despite Cov looking the better of the two sides in the first half.

With a minute to go before the break, Cov were 14 points clear and had they managed to defend their lines in the final play of the half, perhaps things might have been different. But urged on by a loud and understandably partisan crowd, Bedford's pack rumbled over the line and suddenly Cov were just 7 points clear and facing the steep slope (in rugby terms) second half, it always looked to be an uphill task from thereon in. And so it proved.

Well, Roll My Breakfast, 'Cause I'm A Hungry Man. I Said Shake Rattle And Roll, I Said Shake Rattle And Roll, I Said Shake Rattle And Roll, I Said Shake Rattle And Roll; Pirates were at first shaken, then rattled but it's Cov who remain on a roll as they go into the break with 7 wins from their last seven outings, showing the sort of form that should see them comfortably into the play-off places come the end of the season in May.

...but Cov have slowly built up momentum and despite what was, for me, a pretty average display against Cambridge, they've consistently picked up points of late and look to be in a good place right now. A significant amount of recognition should be given to Alex Rae and his coaching team. Despite facing criticism early on from certain quarters, they managed to ignore these external distractions and concentrate on their strengths, effectively responding to their critics

After establishing a seemingly decisive position at halftime with a 24-7 lead and dominating the last 15 minutes with a four-try salvo, Cov lost their discipline resulting in a series of penalties that allowed an increasingly confident Archers' team back into a game that appeared all but over when the outstanding Allan Ferrie scored just 5 minutes into the second half, extending Cov's lead to 24 points.

I'm not sure whether the stats would back this up, but it felt as if we kicked far less than we have at times this season and with far fewer handling errors going forward, we caused the Scottish defence all sorts of problems and in truth, they struggled to handle the pace and directness of our runners. The penalty count, 21-7 in favour of Cov, is indicative of the pressure that Scottish found themselves under and I thought they were a little lucky to get away with just a coup

Post-match, there have been plenty of comments rightly praising the likes of Maunder and Thomas for their roles in changing the momentum of the game, but I've not heard or read anything regarding what was for me a very different, a very tactical, use of the bench. Had there been a couple of further injuries at the start of the second half, then Cov could have been really exposed but, as it was, the plan worked to perfection

Alex Rae had suggested in his post-match comments (after the Caldy game) that the players would learn things about each other during the course of the week leading up to yesterday's game against Ealing and for most supporters who turned up yesterday, the performance as much as the result was of greatest importance. Just what had they learned and to what extent would it impact on the team's performance on the pitch?

And I can't see colour, any colour will do I'll stick on you, that's why they call me "pit bull" 'Cause I'm the man of the land When they see me they say, who? Who let the dogs out? Who, who, who, who, who? Who let the dogs out? Who, who, who, who, who? Who let the dogs out? Who Let The Dogs Out - Baha Men It should have been the ideal photo to highlight Coventry's first away victory of the season, featured prominently in game reports and tagged atop the club's socials. It wo

But for many fans of Champ clubs outside of Worcester, the current prodigal son of English rugby appears to have sold its very soul to the devil (in the form of the RFU obviously). And it has come to pass that for Worcester Warriors at least, deliverance from its previous sins is indeed at hand and that Bill Sweeney and his faithful disciples, the most unlikely of Messiahs, have given the club a golden ticket to the promised land.

those starting the game yesterday did more than enough to show that there's a core of young players that has the potential to take Cov forward to that next level, even without such as talisman as Kvesic. Indeed, Kvesic had a fairly quiet game by his standards and it was the likes of Tom Ball, Chester Owen, David Opoku-Fordjour and Dan Green, when he came on, who caught the eye the most.

Now I'm free, free fallin' (Free fallin', I'm-a free fallin', I'm-a Free fallin', I'm-a free fallin', I'm-a) Yeah I'm free, free fallin'...

We extort and pilfer, we filch and sack Drink up me 'earties, yo ho Maraud and embezzle and even highjack Drink up me 'earties, yo ho A...

Well life can be a little hard sometimes, you do what you gotta do A lot depends on the luck a man has and the cards that's been dealt to...

Coventry Rugby didn't effectively manage supporters' expectations during that period. Although senior figures in the club have since stated that they anticipated the RFU's rejection of their Premiership bid and viewed it as a chance to identify areas for improvement before reapplying in the future, at the time of the bid, it seemed to be a sincere effort to compete for the Championship for the rest of the season and to seriously contend in the playoffs if Cov won the league i