HT 5-14 FT 19-36
Attendance – 1,534
Referee -Alex Thomas
STAR MAN – James Martin (Coventry)
Scrums Won Cambridge 5 Coventry 1
Scrums Lost 0-0
Line Outs Won Cambridge 11 Coventry 10
Line Outs Lost Cambridge 3 Coventry 0
Penalties Against 10 – 12
RC/YC – none
Coventry came away from Grantchester Road with their third bonus point win of the season and went home on top of the table but were run very close by a Cambridge side which is growing into this season’s Championship after a disastrous start against Chinnor in Round One.
Coventry DOR Alex Rae wasn’t unhappy with the result. He said “Credit to Cambridge – they made it really tough for us and we weren’t really where we wanted to be today. Cambridge played with a lot of pride – we found a way to get those five points but there’s a lot for us to work on. We’re not a side to look too far ahead but we’re pleased to have a third successive victory”.
Neither side appeared to have read the script, even after Coventry opened the scoring in the second minute with a beauty from Ryan Hutler, who touched down from Liam Richman’s cross kick, with the fly half adding the extras. The visitors were expected to win at a canter, but the Blood & Sand dug deep for the second week running, and Arthur Lennon pulled one back 11 minutes in after some huge defence saw the ball hacked on and the full back gathered to splash down under the posts. Louis Grimoldby’s conversion was charged down.
Cov went into the sheds further ahead at half time – Jimmy Martin, a former Cambridge loan player, lit up the turf once again, working his way at speed down the touchline and dotting down. Richman added another two points off the tee.
The visitors started the second half like a train and were adjudged held up by more spectacular defence. But Cambridge conceded a third as Charlie Robson danced his way through from just outside his own 22 with hardly a hand laid on him, and Richman converted again.
The try bonus point arrived close to the hour – Tom Ball fed Martin for the score, with Richman again successful from the tee. Former Cov man Ben Adams battered his way over the line for Cambridge’s second, Grimoldby adding the extras – but a penalty goal from Richman made the game safe.
A bungled clearance attempt saw Martin away and he fed Oli Morris for try number five. Cambridge fiitngly had the last word as Matty Jones finished off another flowing move for their third of the afternoon, again converted by Grimoldby to put a gloss on the score.
Richie Williams was disappointed not to have got a bonus point – or even two – from the game, but couldn’t fault the effort or desire of his side. “The really disappointing thing from today was two errors and poor skill execution help Coventry to a couple of tries – soft points from our perspective which have cost us the game. But I’m really pleased we made them work for that win today – last season we wouldn’t have been able to do that in the manner in which we did”.
Teams
Cambridge
Lennon 7, Skelcey 7, Hema 8, Betteridge 8 (Hanks 48 8), Green 7, Grimoldby 7, R Dawson 7 ( Jones 56 7); Ellwood 8 (Brownhill 64 6), Brownlie7 (Veness 48 7), Walker 8 (Bridges 64 6) Sylvester 7, Bretag Norris 7 (Baxter 48 7), Rees 7, Cardew 8 (Adams 52 8), Bartlett 8 (M Dawson 52 7)
Coventry
Robson 8, Hutler 8 (Opoku 60 7), Morris 8, Hitchcock 8, Martin 9, Richman 8, Lane 8 (Barton 45 7), Trinder 7 (Warren 55 7), Poole 7 (Ma’asi 50 7), Johnson 7 (Nairau 50 7), Tyas 7 (Anstey 45 7)), Nkwocha7, Kvesic 8, Hinckley 7 ( Owen 60 7) Okeke 7 (Ball 45 7)
Scorers
Cambridge
Tries- Lennon 12 , Adams 63, Jones 77
Conversions – Grimoldby 64, 78
Coventry
Tries – Hutler 1, Martin 22, 55 Robson 44, Morris 73
Conversions – Richman 2, 23, 45, 56
Penalties – Richman 67