Coventry Rugby 77 Cambridge 14 - ruthless Cov show no mercy as Tommy puts the boot in

Closing time, time for you to go out

To the places you will be from

Closing time, this room won't be open

Till your brothers or your sisters come

So, gather up your jackets, move it to the exits

I hope you have found a friend

Closing time, every new beginning

Comes from some other beginning's end, yeah

Closing Time - Semisonic

Perhaps the greatest positive to come out of the game against Cambridge on Friday evening wasn't the scoreline or even the second half performance that saw Cov score 49 unanswered points.

No, for me it was the fact that of the 23 players who made up the match day squad, 19 of them will still be with us next season as things currently stand.

One of the most frustrating parts of supporting Cov in recent seasons is that the club's success has led to some instability, the result of inevitable player turnover. This has become a recurring problem for us. We've recruited young players who often lack experience at this level, and due to their dedication and natural talent, along with the expert guidance from our coaches, they frequently catch the eye of clubs with far greater resources than ours.

This, along with the opportunity for players to challenge themselves at a higher level, has often resulted in a significant number of key departures at the end of each season. In many respects, it's not the worst problem to face, but it has meant that the club has had to regroup at the start of each season. As it takes time for a new squad to settle in, early results have tended to be somewhat inconsistent.

This was definitely the case last season when we lost nearly two-thirds of the team following another highly promising campaign together with the re-emergence of Worcester Warriors, of course.

Given the challenging nature of our opening fixtures in October, it wasn’t unexpected that we were struggling somewhat in the lower half of the table early doors. Playing an expansive game, relying on off-loads and the type of player understanding that only develops with ample game time, doesn't happen overnight.

Once results started to go our way and performances reflected the desire of the coaches to play an attractive, running game and, as a consequence, individual players began to make headlines as exposure to The Champ continues to increase, the fear amongst some supporters was that the club would once again be decimated.

Of course, the club rightly won't stand in the way of anyone wanting to leave, and nor would supporters begrudge players the chance to test themselves at a higher level. But it is a source of constant worry around this time of year.

So, with so many of the club appearing to be retained over the summer and with the kind of success we've seen on the pitch over the last few months, it's small wonder that there was a feeling of great relief around the Nick Newbold Stadium on Friday that was almost palpable.

I think we're losing nine players as of now, although there's still time for clubs with bulging coffers to come in and make offers that are just too good for either players ,or the club, to refuse. Contracts might have been signed but that doesn't seem to mean as much as it used to nowadays.

All-in-all, I think we got away with it a little. Yes, there are some very good players leaving the club in a few weeks time but of those nine, only four have really contributed on the pitch this season - Adderly-Jones, Baker, Opoku-Fordjour and Ferrie. The others, good as they are, haven't really featured, either through injury or lack of opportunity. The biggest miss is Allan Ferrie who has fast become a lynch-pin of the side. His physicality, speed and strong ball carrying have been integral our play and there is no natural alternative to him in the squad at the moment. I would imagine a like-for-like replacement will have been top of Alex Rae's shopping list over the last couple of months

DOF has developed his all round game no end this season, especially in defence. He is almost another back rower at times and has won a good few penalties when he's been first to the break down. He deserves the chance he's been given and I'm sure he'll be most missed by supporters BUT with Reeves and Sullivan both looking as if they're staying, his place in the starting XV wouldn't necessarily have been a given, would it? And that's without considering Api Bavadra out wide. Such is the strength of competition at the moment.

Toby Trinder's departure is probably the one that has caused the most surprise. Perhaps his injury is worse than was first thought, but age-wise he's really in his prime and his experience at this level is second to none. However, he's played very little this season and the scrum has been one area in which we've really improved from 12 months ago, so in that respect his absence won't be felt quite as much as Ferrie and DOF's.

It's always sad to see players of this calibre go, particularly players like Trinder who have given so much of the career to the club, but there is something exciting about the idea of players coming in to improve what is already a formidable Cov squad, rather than the rebuild that we've endured in recent years. 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 - I'm not sure I can think of one player whom has brought in who has disappointed.

Wait, yes I can. Daniel Okeke, but I think he's the only one.

So, gather up your jackets, move it to the exits

I hope you have found a friend

Closing time, every new beginning

Comes from some other beginning's end, yeah

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 can aspire to in the current climate.

Overtaking Ealing must be the long-term objective but that's something that won't happen over the course of one-season unless Ealing implode.

Before kick-off on Friday evening, most of the discussion centered on the club's announcement earlier in the week regarding those departing, rather than the game itself. Given the dismal season that Cambridge has experienced, it was expected to be as close to a home banker as possible. Consequently, aside from some surprise regarding the strength of Cov's chosen match day squad, attention was largely elsewhere.

On Friday evening there was plenty of praise for Rae and especially his ability to keep the squad together. Many had opined in the run up to the news that, given Cov's performance since Christmas, players like Bavadra, Strong, Sullivan (despite his injury), Maunder, Reeve et al, might be targeted by other clubs with larger budgets, either within this league or elsewhere. That they haven't speaks volumes for the camaraderie within the group and the ability of the coaches to keep them together.

Naturally, the conversation has now shifted from departures to potential arrivals. With Doncaster opting to go semi-professional and rumours of Rae traveling abroad to scout potential signings, there's a lot of speculation about who might be coming here next season. No specific names of course, but there were many requests—Bainbridge's return to Donny was a popular one. However, with reports that Moana Pacifica seems to be insolvent, the idea of Pat Pellegrini's return might sadly be a step too far!

It's an exciting time to be a Cov supporter - the rugby we're currently enjoying is as entertaining as any we've witnessed from a Cov side for many a year. In many ways, we've been spoiled of late and expectations are that with the majority of the squad here for another season at least, things on the rugby front will continue to improve. Optimism a go-go.

With Rae absent, Gordon Ross presumably was in charge on the night alongside Steve Boden who was there, too. With Cambridge yet to win again this season in 23 games, if Rae was going to be away, the this would seem to be the one to miss.

Yet it certainly didn't go all to plan in the first half.

Like Nottingham last week, Cambridge flew at us from the first whistle and had much the better of the first 14 minutes or so before first Reeves, and then Ferrie, broke through the visitor's defences to settle some early nerves amongst supporters, if not the players. 7-0 up and time to breathe again.

It was all a little scrappy early on with Cov losing what little possession they had with a series of unforced errors and Cambridge bungling a couple of golden opportunities to put points on the board.

When Opoku-Fordjour darted through a couple of tackles and found Maunder with as good an offload as we've seen all season (and that's saying something) a few minutes later, it felt like the floodgates would open. And indeed they did, but not before Jack Shine received a 20-minute red card for a head-on-head and Aristot Benz-Solamon was yellowed for collapsing a maul which led directly to a penalty try for Cambridge.

For a period of 9 minutes we were down to 13 players but still managed to score 14 unanswered points, such was the dominance Cov had managed to achieve since Ferrie's opener just 15 minutes earlier.

The new Elior post bags on display at the NNS for the 1st time

There are several teams in The Champ who I'd take more pleasure from seeing blitzed like this but Cambridge wouldn't be on the list. Whether home or away, their supporters have always been a pleasure to be amongst and away from the NNS they offer the sort of hospitality that makes Granchester Road probably my favourite ground to visit (and the food is always a winner for Josh!). I hope they can regroup next season and quickly rebuild a side that is competitive in National One. I could think of worst places to go for a pre-season friendly, too!

Although the performance was impressive, it was not flawless, and there were a few missed opportunities in the first half that could have been costly against stronger opponents. There was a tendency to throw the odd blind pass in an attempt to keep the play flowing and at times we over elaborated in a way that against Worcester or Ealing might be overly ambitious if their defences are as tightly organised as I'd imagine.

Nonetheless, that's being a bit critical; Cov scored 11 tries and were far, far too strong for a Cambridge side that crumbled under pressure. To make matters worse, Tommy Mathews maintained a perfect kicking record, leaving no room for respite. Mathews' overall performance has been a significant asset since Christmas, and although Josh Thomas likely joined the club as the preferred choice at fly half, Mathews has demonstrated in Thomas's absence that he's ready to compete fiercely. Just as the rivalry between Maunder and Barton has benefited Barton, it appears to have done the same for Mathews. Competition for positions keeps players sharp, so it will be interesting to see the effect that new arrivals over the summer will have on the rest of the squad.

An injury to Dan Green and a probable enforced absence for Jack Shine should his card involve a further ban means there might well be a lack of available locks at the club for the remaining two games. Either Ferrie or Graham could fit in alongside Nayalo but with Ball likely to be unavailable before the end of the season, that leaves pressure on the back row, too. Fortunately both Nayagi and Harding add options but suddenly we're not quite as strong there as we were a couple of weeks back.

Maybe the lack of a game this weekend will work in our favour and Green's injury isn't as bad as it looked (was it a recurrence of the one he suffered at Nottingham the week before???). I hope so because Rae will want to pick from the strongest possible squad for the trip to Pirates, arguably the toughest place to go this season with the possible exception of Ealing.

That's going to be one heck of a game...

Finally, spare a thought for Craig Newby, once an assistant coach under Rowland Winter at Cov and the current Head Coach at Cambridge. It's a hard watch and gives an insight into just how hard can be to lead a side at this level. He clearly suffered just as much as the players did on the pitch...

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGytDsqkQY8