Hartpury 31 Coventry Rugby 24 - second half resurgence has Hartpury reeling as Cov fall just short

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 you

I'd fold this hand if I could or at least take a card or two

I been around

Had my ups and downs

Tell me does it sound little like you

Its either good luck -- I'm the last to get it

Bad luck -- I'm the first

When its good, ain't nothing better

When its bad, ain't nothing worse

Good Luck, Bad Luck - Lynard Skynyrd

Many who travelled to Hartpury on Saturday did so more in hope than expectation, knowing this would be a significant challenge for a Coventry squad so heavily impacted by injuries.

Last week, the situation worsened with long-term injuries to two more key players, Dafydd-Rhys Tiueti and Billy Nairau, further hampering their efforts.

Facing a team with six consecutive wins under their belts and unbeaten at home this season, the omens weren't looking great.

And for 50 minutes, Cov played like a team that were out of sorts and out of confidence.

Little went right for them as Hartpury did the basics well, made good use of a strong wind at their backs and showed exactly why they have proven such a hard team to beat this season. Cov struggled to get their game going once again with a display that mirrored those that have so frustrated supporters these past few weeks.

Cov were guilty of making the same kind of errors we've seen all too often in recent games - too many penalties conceded, a misfiring line-out, out of hand kicking that left the chasers with too much to do, handling errors and so on. And to cap it all, another early injury which saw Jordon Poole leave the pitch to be replaced by Suva Ma'asi.

Cov were poor for the most part in that opening 40-minute period, the real saving grace being a concerted defensive effort that prevented Hartpury from going into the break with an even bigger lead than the 21 points that were showing on the scoreboard. Yes, one of the tries had been from a clearance by the luckless Josh Barton who probably had his least effective game in a Cov shirt since his return but I don't think there were many Cov supporters who at half-time felt the scoreline was anything but a fair reflection of the gap between the two sides in that opening 40 minutes.

One can only guess at the mood of the Cov camp at the break, but with nowhere to hide and plenty of players struggling to show the kind of form that took us to the top of the table in the weeks leading up to December, Alex Rae could be forgiven had he succumbed to a 'Fergie moment'. That said, though, I imagine there aren't too many hair dryers lying scattered across the Cov changing room floor these days....

Having watched from the sidelines as his team produced another below part 40 minutes, nilled for the second half in succession following the second 40 minutes of the Ampthill game, his patience must have been sorely tried.

The consensus amongst those Cov supporters where we were standing was that they just wanted to see a reaction from the players in the second half. Whilst the game wasn't beyond us, to get anywhere close to Hartpury would mean a complete turnaround in performance. Hopefully, there had been enough time in the break for the coaches to make it clear exactly what changes needed to be made and for the players to regroup.

With the wind behind Cov in the second half, there needed to significant improvements or else another half of rugby as toothless as that of the first would have made for a very uncomfortable couple of weeks before the next game, at home against Pirates. Whilst not quite a defining 40 minutes of rugby, both for the players out on the pitch and the coaches watching from the grassy knoll behind the posts at the car park end, there was much at stake.

The second half started disastrously for Cov as a long, and somewhat telegraphed, pass resulted in Hartpury's fourth try. With the score at 28-0 and jut 37 minutes remaining, it seemed, to all intents and purposes, game over for Cov.

For the doubters and dissenters though, and there have been a few of these on social media in the last couple of days, it was very much game on. Grist to the mill for them...

And in fairness, I've been critical of Coventry in recent times, but in doing so I've also looked for the positives, too, and on Saturday we saw just what this squad, even when pared down to the bone, is capable of producing when the pressure is on.

As often happens after a run of defeats or poor performances such as Cov is experiencing at the moment, the moaners come to the surface - of which I'm probably one. But what I can't countenance is the view from some quarters that performances such as those we've seen in the last few weeks are down to a lack of effort and commitment on the part of the players.

I firmly believe no player goes into a game with the intention of not trying - to do so would be to jeopardise themselves and their team mates. There are times when players just can't get into a game, are carrying knocks or simply lack a little confidence, any of which will influence how they play - but simply to lack commitment, to not try...well that's an anathema to me.

Ok, the first half was a continuation of the second half of the Ampthill game. Little went right, confidence was low and Hartpury could sense that. But there was no lack of effort...something reiterated by The Rugby Paper's Man of the Match, second rower Dale Lemon.

Speaking after the game, Lemon stated 'Coventry had a lot of ball, they were keen for it, you could see they were trying really hard to fight back but the boys put in a really good shift...'.

And what was Lemon awarded his MofM performance for? His defensive work.

It says much about the group of players who wore the shirt on Saturday that after conceding that fourth try in just the 3rd minute of the second half, heads didn't drop. We've seen opposition at the BPA wilt under that sort of pressure and staring down the barrel at that moment, it could have easily gone a very direction.

But this is where Alex Rae deserves plenty of credit.

Whatever was said at half-time was still ringing in the players ears and all it needed was a couple of changes from the bench (Hitchcock and Maunder replacing Richman and Barton immediately the bonus point try had been conceded). When Tommy Mathews finished off a well worked try minutes later, suddenly it was very much game on. Cov sensed that Hartpury were there for the taking and they sparked to life with 4 tries in 14 minutes.

It was as if a switched had been flipped - suddenly it was all Coventry, with Maunder and Mathews controlling the game and the backs looking likely to score every time they got the ball. Hartpury were reeling and further tries from Morris, Martin and Maunder himself took Cov to within 7 points with14 minutes to play. Hartpury had a chance to widen the gap but Bazalgette missed a long-range opportunity and in the final seconds it looked like Ma'asi had earned Cov the chance of a draw as he dived over in the corner, only for the referee to call play back for a forward pass.

It would be interesting to see a clip of that as at the time no Hartpury player appealed and those supporters standing pitch side felt it was good (of which I was one - although it was close enough to be reviewed had the option been available).

In those last 30 minutes we looked a totally different side and in a complete contrast to the previous week, the bench came on and rejuvenated the team. Mathews looked by far the better of the two 10s, although in fairness Richman isn't yet back to match fitness. Hitchcock combined well with Morris who is starting to look a really good addition to the squad and Logan Trotter had another encouraging game and looks to be a strong runner with ball in hand.

Also, a word for the youngsters who came on from the bench to give the forwards that added impetus, two 19-year-old loanees and our own Dan Green (just 20). They gave it their all and against a Hartpury pack that had vastly more experience, they did more than hold their own.

As is so often the case, Will Lane looked extremely sharp when he came on and had a hand in some of Cov's best attacking moments. We currently have 4 scrum halves at the club which, in such a small squad, is perhaps overkill (?), but Will Lane's versatility makes in a shoe-in for me, although whether he's happy getting limited opportunities when perhaps he's good enough to be starting elsewhere in the Champ or Nat 1 remains to be seen.

Despite the loss and the poor first half, there were plenty of encouraging signs. The run-in to the end of the season is only going to get harder, with trips to Donny and Ealing and a home encounter with Pirates still to come. With such a depleted squad, realistically it will be as much about the performances as the results in the weeks to come and for me, taking the game to the opposition as we did in the second half at Hartpury is the standard by which the team should be judged and not necessarily by the position we finish in the league.

Being Head Coach at Coventry Rugby must be a tough job right now - all the uncertainly surrounding the league, budgets cut to a bare minimum, an unprecedented number of injuries in recent times, a run of 'iffish' form and supporters getting on his and the players' backs.

I'm not sure what else AR is expected to do but unless he's got ice in his veins, he must be feeling the pressure a little. We arrived at Hartpury probably 75 minutes before kick-off and he was sitting on his own in the coaching area on the far side of the pitch where he remained for a good 10-15 minutes. Goodness knows what was going through his mind - sometimes as supporters we fail to acknowledge the feelings and emotions of the players and coaches in these sorts of situations. However, despite the result and that first half performance, AR should be pleased with the manner in which his players fought back, if not the final result.

Cov has faced several challenges over the past few months, with numerous injuries compelling AR to patch up the team with a number of short-term loanees. Despite the absence of some key players among the forwards, Saturday demonstrated that the backs possess the quality to ask questions of any team in this league.

With a couple of weeks off, there's hope for the return of a few more players, providing the coaches with options that are currently unavailable.

'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 you

I'd fold this hand if I could or at least take a card or two'

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Chef Joshua was keen to sample the culinary delights that Hartpury had to offer as he had fond memories of his previous visits there in recent seasons. Although rather limited in choice, with only burgers and hotdogs available pitch side, Josh was impressed with the actual quality of the fare available and deemed the burger he had as the best he's tasted so far this season. Unsubstantiated reports that the hot dogs were equally as enjoyable suggest that less is more in Hartpury's case.

As you can see from the photo, the burger was fresh and moist and with a slice of cheese to go with it, he was more than happy.

At just £6, it was also the cheapest burger in the Championship so far (with only Donny and Ealing to come). But with no chips and a lack of other foods available, Josh felt that Chinnor, Caldy and Cambridge all offered something a bit different.

Without the chips, Josh decided to opt for a desert - a huge wedge of white chocolate/marshmallow blondie which for £3 sated him for the duration of the game and for the return journey, too. No mean feat, that.

With apologies to Cornish once again, it was just a trip to far this year, here are the current standings.

1. Chinnor - 9

2. Caldy - 9

3. Cambridge - 8.5

4. Coventry - 8

5. Hartpury - 8

6. Leicester - 7.5 (added for comparison to Prem)

7. Nottingham - 6

8. Ampthill - 5.5

9. London Scottish - 5

10. Bedford 4.5

As a footnote, Josh won't be reviewing the food at Doncaster as he'll be attending an Open Day (at Hartpury would you believe it). However, I have secured the services of a guest reviewer whose fairness and impartiality is beyond question.

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