Coventry Rugby 14 Cornish Pirates 21 - Pirates' take the spoils as Cov unable to breach the visitor's defences

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 pirate's life for me

We kindle and char and in flame and ignite

Drink up me 'earties, yo ho

We burn up the city, we're really a fright

Drink up me 'earties, yo ho

A Pirate's Life For Me - George Burns

Currently, Cov supporters appear divided into two camps...

...one believes that given the number of players currently unavailable, it's not surprising that results have declined significantly since Christmas, and not much more can be expected from either the players and coaches until several key players return;

...the other argues that even with the number of players missing, the team has not consistently performed on the pitch and the squad lacks the depth in both numbers and ability to be realistically considered a top two team in the Championship.

It appears to be a case of either one extreme or the other, with few opting for a middle path. Suffering seven defeats in the last ten Championship games is the sort of form expected from a club in the bottom three, not the top four, so it's unsurprising that some fans are starting to question everything from the players' motivation to the success of last summer's recruitment.

In my view, both perspectives have merit.

The context is key here. Losing numerous first-choice players inevitably affects the quality of rugby the team can deliver, especially when many of them are forwards. For example, yesterday we were missing Nayalo, Kvesic, and Hinkley in the back row, Nkwacha and Tyas in the second row, and Nairau and Johnson in the front row, all players who would, likely as not, have started the game on Saturday.

Among the match day 23, there were three specialist hookers and three specialist scrum halves, with Ma'asi and Lane playing out of position. The team deserves some leniency; these numbers are significant, and the coaches are doing their best just to field a full match day squad, often having to rely on loan players to cover certain positions.

However, there have been games this season, and Saturday against the Pirates was one, when despite all the absences and the weakened squad, on the day Cov have had opportunities to win the game only for mistakes and indecision to cost the team the points.

In such games, the squad has still been competitive with more than enough possession and territory to have taken the points.

This weekend, Cov had only themselves to blame.

While absences have affected the season overall, they didn't influence yesterday's outcome. Even with so many players missing, the result was due to a failure to execute the basics correctly—issues with ball retention, securing the ball at the breakdown, handling errors, and line-out problems, all of which have been recurring issues throughout the season. These problems once again prevented us from capitalizing on what was, nonetheless, an improved 80-minute performance compared to recent weeks. The opportunities were present, but we lacked the ability to overcome a Pirates side that was, in many respects, quite ordinary.

The visitors certainly didn't dominate us up front as is so often the case, with the Coventry scrum arguably dominating the set piece and unlucky not to have won a couple more penalties as the Pirates were driven backwards on several occasions.

They didn't offer a great threat in attack either - yes, they scored three tries but other than these three visits into our red area, I'm struggling to recall other moments when our tryline was under threat. They missed a couple of long-range penalties, but that in itself is indicative of Cov's own defensive efforts. What Pirates were though, was organised and well-drilled, making fewer mistakes when it mattered most and having the discipline that we lacked on occasions.

And that comes with experience and we were forced into fielding a relatively inexperienced side though injured and absence..

This has been the most exasperating aspect for me in recent weeks. Despite playing with what amounts to a second-string team since Christmas, we've lost several matches where we could and should have achieved better outcomes. On numerous occasions, Alex Rae has either lamented that we've only performed well for 40 minutes, leaving us with too much to overcome in the final quarter, or expressed his frustration over the team allowing the opposition to gain control due to our own mistakes and indiscipline.

On Saturday, Pirates deserved to win because they made fewer mistakes, not necessarily because they were the 'better' side. We dominated the second half, had more possession and played more of the game in their 22 than elsewhere else on the pitch but we just weren't clinical enough. Both teams made mistakes, but we made ours at key moments, giving away possession when we'd worked ourselves into really strong positions.

The loss aside, I thought there were a number of positives coming out of the performance on Saturday. Against a resurgent Pirates side on a run of 5 wins from their last 6 Championship games, we didn't look at all outclassed, despite a slump in our own form. The scrum was makeshift to say the least, with the backrow of Tom Ball, Chester Owen and Suva Ma'asi looking especially light and inexperienced - yet they took the game to Pirates, all three playing the full 80 minutes plus and putting in a heck of a shift.

Ma'asi deserves particular mention - I understand that he was a flanker in a previous rugby life but even so, he didn't look out of place there on Saturday, keeping specialist back rower Daniel Okeke on the bench for the full 80 minutes (I'm not sure whether Okeke is just short of match fitness or out of favour, but he's not had much game time at all since his return from injury).

The Cov sponsors named Sam Maunder as their Man of the Match, but for me, Dan Green was the standout player in a Cov jersey. He's currently making a significant impact and was everywhere on Saturday, deservedly scoring a try and injecting real energy into Cov's forward drives at times. Despite being just 20, he already looks like a seasoned Championship player. Whatever the reasons for James Tyas' current absence, Dan Green seems to be the main beneficiary. If we can retain Obinna Nkwacha and Green next season, along with Rhys Anstey, we'll have a formidable presence in the engine room.

What we are missing, and I readily appreciate I'm repeating myself here from previous posts, is a gnarly, seasoned and experienced forward to bring on these youngsters in the next two or three seasons. Were Matt Kvesic staying, he would be ideal but given that all the smart money seems to be on him returning to his alma mater over the summer, then a couple of imports of the Ryan Burrows variety would be invaluable.

Given the average age of the squad is so low, (and the imminent departures of both Tyas and Kvessic will lower it still further) there is much to be hopeful about and although results in recent weeks have obviously been a concern, as have performances too, the core of players who will remain with us next season will have learned much from the experience and should be the stronger for it.

With many senior players absent, those who might have anticipated being on the fringes of the team this season have ended up playing much more than they expected back in September. This means they will enter the 2025/26 season with more experience and a bit more nous at this level than they might have otherwise. Despite the challenges this season, this could ultimately benefit us, provided Alex Rae can assemble the right mix of players over the summer to create a squad with greater depth and experience at this level.

There's only four (thanks, Barrie) more games of the season remaining and with two of those being away trips to Doncaster and Ealing respectively, it's likely that both Pirates and Doncaster could yet finish ahead of us in the table which would represent some fall from our top spot back in the first week of December. However, it is what it is and we have to try and accentuate the positives wherever possible whilst at the same time learning from the negatives, however difficult that might be.

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This season has shown that going into the Championship with a squad of just 32/33 just isn't a realistic proposition, at least not if we're expecting to make a real fist of it. However, we aren't a club that is cash rich, despite our professional status, and if that means having to cut our cloth, so be it.

We can enhance our options by developing more local talent, which is precisely the goal of the Academy setup. On Friday evening, the Coventry Combine concluded with the top 44 players from the initial 120 'elite athletes' participating in the Combine Match, where at least one professional contract was available.

Cov invited supporters to attend (a gesture which was much appreciated I might add!), many of whom were uncertain about what to expect.

As it was, the youngsters provided a full 80 minutes of excellent entertainment and it was evident watching on from the stands that there were players on display who would be playing national league rugby before too long, whether at Coventry or elsewhere.

Youngsters (I say youngsters but aged between 18-21, I think) from a plethora of rugby clubs/Academies including Hartpury University, Cardiff Met, West Harbour Pirates, Jersey RFC, Exeter Uni, Birmingham Moseley, Leeds Tykes, as well local schools and colleges were represented so unsurprisingly the standard was high. Despite this being a game between two scratch sides, it was a free-flowing game with s plenty of talent on show.

How many of these players will we see in a Cov shirt in future seasons

Hopefully, some of these players will be accepted into the Academy if unsuccessful in their quest for a pro-contract. (Having gone to a few of the U18/20 games at the BPA earlier in the season, I did recognise one or two faces from those games). It does seem the way forward and with both the age range teams seeming to have been very successful in their inaugural seasons, there could be more youngsters coming through the ranks to match the achievements of Tom Ball and James Martin who are currently playing in the first team having started their Cov careers in the Coventry Rugby Academy.

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Cov might have flattered to deceive at times this season and, although results have undoubtedly been worse than most of us had anticipated back in September, there are signs that progress is still being made, even if we're not picking up the points. If I'm honest, I think the recruitment last summer wasn't all it was cracked up to be, but in fairness there were players who left last May who were never going to be replaced like for like.

Nonetheless, several young players, particularly Dan Green, Eliot Salt, Chester Owen, and others, have made significant progress. However, with some senior players out due to long-term injuries, the squad has lacked the depth required to secure the points in closely contested games. It's been frustrating to watch at times, but I'm sure the coaches understand that not all issues rest solely with the players. Responsibility must be shared by everyone involved, including us supporters on occasions.

Doncaster next week is going to be the toughest away trip of the season so far, but it's these sorts of games, steep learning curves as they are, that provide players with invaluable experiences that will give them the edge in years to come. It's not going to be for the faint hearted (from a Cov supporter's perspective), but perhaps there's a bit less pressure at the moment playing away from home without the expectations of a 3000 plus crowd.

Here's hoping.

Up the Cov!

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