COV SIGN PROMISING BATH PAIR
BATH have become the sixth Gallagher Premiership to send their promising players to boost Coventry Rugby’s squad and their youngsters’ development.
Ahead of the 2021 season, director of rugby Rowland Winter filled numerous gaps in his Cov squad by recruiting seven players from top tier clubs Wasps, Sale Sharks, Gloucester, Leicester Tigers and Exeter Chiefs on dual-registration agreements.
Another three have since joined the Greene King IPA Championship side and the numbers increased this week with the arrivals of Tom Doughty and Will Butt from Bath.
The pair will be poised for their debuts tomorrow after being named among the replacements for the Round 5 home clash with Ampthill (KO 2.30pm).
Winter makes only two changes to the XV which started the Round 4 win at Nottingham, with James Martin, scorer of the match-sealing try at Lady Bay, making his first start of the season on the wing and Joe Snow returning at scrum-half.
Doughty, a 24-year-old hooker, holds the record for top try scorer in BUCS rugby within a season, an achievement he reached while studying for a degree at the University of Bath.
Another regular for the University of Bath in BUCS Super Rugby, Butt is a 21-year-old centre who has been part of the Bath Academy system since the age of 14, including captaining the club’s Under-18s in the 2017/18 season.
With both Suva Ma’asi and Rob Stevenson out for a number of weeks with injury, Winter says that the Bath pair will provide depth in positions where it is needed.
“It is always difficult to lose players to injury, especially in a crucial position, and we’re looking forward to working with Tom and Will over the next few weeks,” he said.
“It is also a good reflection on Cov that [director of rugby] Stuart Hooper has recognised how quickly young players are developing at Butts Park, with Bath becoming the sixth Premiership club to be working with us.” In February, Coventry announced the dual registration signings of Callum Sirker and Mario Pichardie (Wasps), James Harper and Kieran Wilkinson (Sale Sharks), Cameron Jordan (Gloucester), Sam Lewis (Leicester Tigers) and Joe Snow (Exeter Chiefs).
After hooker Nic Dolly earned a move to Leicester after scoring tries in each of Cov’s three opening rounds, Ryan Poole arrived from Exeter on a dual registration deal as his replacement and scored twice on his debut.
Winger/fullback Sam Asplandrobinson (Leicester) and loosehead prop Kai Owen (Worcester Warriors) have also linked up with Cov.
Development Academy duo Tom Ball and Evan Mitchell are also set for a first competitive match tomorrow after being named on the Coventry bench.
Moulton College flanker Ball impressed during the pre-season clash with Jersey, scoring a try, while fly half Mitchell, who also featured in the 2021 pre-season, had a run-out in the entertaining win over the British Army which was the final action at Butts Park before the premature end to the 2019/20 campaign.
It is a good reflection on Cov that Stuart Hooper has recognised how quickly young players are developing at Butts Park. Rowland Winter
COVENTRY: 15 Louis Brown; 14 Rob Knox, 13 Andy Forsyth, 12 Will Owen, 11 James Martin; 10 Tony Fenner, 9 Joe Snow; 1 Luc Jeannot, 2 Jordon Poole, 3 Phil Boulton, 4 Nile Dacres, 5 Cameron Jordan, 6 Senitiki Nayalo, 7 Adam Peters, 8 Ryan Burrows (capt) Replacements: 16 Tom Doughty, 17 Toby Trinder, 18 Alex Gibson, 19 Sam Lewis, 20 Tom Ball, 21 Josh Barton, 22 Evan Mitchell, 23 Will Butt