Cov canter in as Cornwell blasts attitude at Hartpury

COVENTRY were good value for this win, pulling away with a burst of late tries.

However, until the final quarter it remained in the balance, particularly after the footwork of Hartpury’s James Williams created a second try for scrum-half Toby Venner to narrow the lead to two points.

“I think we panicked a bit and tried to over-complicate things in the first half,” said Coventry’s Rowland Winter. “I was glad to see that we solved that problem as the game went on, and were able to take advantage once the gaps started to open up.”

In fact, the home team had briefly led as Coventry were beset with first half difficulties. They didn’t win a single lineout before the break and also suffered two yellow cards. But after the second Venner try it was one-way traffic, as Coventry started to win the important collisions and had support runners when it mattered.

The visitors opened the game well, with hooker Jordan Poole driving over from close range with just four minutes on the clock.

When Coventry scored again through Ryan Burrows at the end of the first quarter, it looked as though they were in for a relaxed afternoon.

But Hartpury fought back. There was a touch of luck about their first try, as Coventry were loose in possession on halfway and Robbie Smith was able to gather before stretching his legs to the goal-posts.

Encouraged, the Red and Blacks built pressure and Coventry’s Sam Aspland-Robinson saw yellow for a high tackle.

Williams added a penalty, before the hosts got a further boost when Jordan Cameron was also carded for a tip-tackle.

The comeback reached a high point five minutes before the break, when a quick tap from Venner caught the visiting defence flatfooted and he was sharply under the posts.

But Coventry had the halftime lead when Tony Fenner scored in the corner and, in the second half, apart from Venner’s score, they were firmly on top.

Flanker Senitki Nayalo scored after a 5m scrum and then replacement Sam Lewis helped himself to a double.

Hartpury kept fighting but the result was beyond question by the time Cameron Jordan finished the scoring.

Hartpury coach Mark Cornwell said: “It was the same set of problems all over again. The attitude is still not right.”