Blues on the end of heavy defeat at Coventry

MACCLESFIELD RUFC suffered an emphatic defeat on Saturday after they were easily brushed aside by Coventry.

The hosts put in an incredible first half performance to lead 54-7 at the break, but a quiet second half saw each side only add one try.

It didn’t take Coventry long to take the lead, with Scott Tolmie going over after just three minutes, Will Maisey converting.

Coventry continued to dictate play and increased their lead on 11 minutes when captain Eoghan Grave touched down on the right hand side.

It went from bad to worse for Macc when referee Darren Gamage felt the Blues impended illegally while Coventry pushed forward. The home side took advantage of the referee’s decision as Brett Daynes crossed for yet another try.

Macc were in danger of having the game get away from them already, and that looked to be the case as by the 22nd minute Coventry had made it 33-0, with Maisey adding the extras for all three tries.

The Blues finally had something to cheer about when they got their first points on the board with their first real attacking.

Sam Moss broke the Coventry defence to score, with full-back Matt Bradley converting to make it 33-7.

Any slim hopes of a comeback were soon dashed though when Coventry scored three more tries.

Dan Rundle and Cory Hircock both got on the scoresheet, before Tolmie crossed for his second try of the afternoon.

Coventry weren’t done there, as they scored the best try of the match when James Stokes started a move in his own half before passing for Darrell Dyer to touch down under the posts.

There was then time for Rob Knox to get the final try of the half to give Coventry an emphatic 54-7 lead at the interval.

Macclesfield put in a much better performance in the second half, ensuring that the home side would not add even more insult to injury.

While Coventry did manage to score another try when Stokes went over, Macc hit straight back with a try of their own when captain Ryan Parkinson went over, with Bradley again converting.

Both teams pushed forward in the closing stages as they looked to score again, but neither could go over, with Coventry having to settle for a dominant 61-14 win.