Cov have no margin for error - Heath
THE ‘small margins’ are costing Coventry Rugby in the Championship according to captain Heath Stevens.
London Irish became the third team to defeat the newlypromoted Blues and Whites with a 21-17 victory at the Butts Park Arena on Saturday.
“The main positive for us is everyone showed a lot of heart, a lot of determination, that shows we can compete with these teams,” said Stevens. “Not just that, but teams have got to compete with us.
“I thought we took it to Irish really well and I thought we were unlucky to not come away with the win.
“There are things we can learn. This is Championship rugby, this is the league, that’s the level we want to get to. It’s about the small margins and learning how to control them.”
The Exiles, relegated from the Premiership last season, required a late try from former Wasps centre Brendan Macken to defeat a Cov side that has now lost its last two games within losing bonus point territory.
“We challenged the forwards from last week to up their game,” said Stevens, reflecting on the improvements made from the away loss at Hartpury.
“Last week wasn’t acceptable for anyone in the team. Against Irish, I thought they really fronted up. We saw a lot of opportunities in the Irish defence to grab them, when it’s a day like this you can’t not be excited about getting the ball in your hands and playing with it.”
Coventry’s search for a first win on the road takes them to Richmond on Saturday.
The London club, like Cov, has won two of its opening five games, the most recent being a 38-12 win over Hartpury College on Saturday.
“Richmond are a different outfit, a different challenge altogether,” said Stevens.
“We’ve got to go down there and contend with the travel, contend with the changing rooms but it’s something we want to do. We’re desperate for the win and we’re really going to work hard this week on the little margins.”