Quinn’s late try secures Hartpury vital losing bonus

SECOND-HALF scores from Scott Russell and Junior Bulumakau saw Coventry home against struggling Hartpury.

In the process, the hosts logged their sixth league win in eight Butts Park Arena outings and climbed to seventh in the table with eight rounds of action remaining.

Forwards coach Louis Deacon felt his team did just enough to win an error-strewn match.

“It was a hard-fought win, it wasn’t the greatest of games,” he said. “We couldn’t get enough flow because it was scrappy. Neither team could hold on to the ball for long enough to create any sort of decent pressure so it was a bit frustrating but it’s a win.

“That last 20 minutes showed that the guys have a lot of desire, it came down to who wanted it the most.”

A first half full of handling errors and punctuated by stoppages ended with the hosts holding a 7-3 advantage.

The only try, which came midway through the opening quarter, was sparked by a break from lively home winger Andy Bulumakau, continued by a Heath Stevens break and finished by his centre partner Rob Knox.

Will Maisey added a good conversion to which Hartpury responded through a penalty from fly-half Lloyd Evans.

The visitors then took the lead in the third quarter when their pack shunted flanker Sam Graham over from a series of pick-and-drives for a try. Evans converted.

Maisey’s well-struck 35 metre penalty squared the scoreline up before Cov secured the points with two tries in a golden eight-minute spell.

Russell was driven over by his pack for the first of these after which Scott Tolmie’s carry and some good handling sent Junior Bulumakau to the corner.

Maisey converted both, which meant Evans’ conversion of Joe Quinn’s stoppage-time score only earned the visitors a losing bonus point.

Hartpury’s inability to replicate their September home win against Cov deepens their plight at the foot of the table. But as they look ahead to Friday’s crucial clash with Richmond, director of rugby John Barnes was buoyed by his team’s performance.

“We had a lot of intensity going into the game, and stuck at it for the whole game,” he said. “It’s a very tough place to come, only London Irish and Doncaster Knights have won here so far.”