COV KEEP THEIR COOL FOR RED-HOT CONTEST
COVENTRY Rugby provided cryotherapy cold treatment for players who are operating on a five-day turnaround before boarding two separate flights for tonight’s Championship Cup semi-final with Jersey Reds.
The Blue and Whites booked their place in the last four by seeing off Doncaster Knights by an aggregate score of 62-53 over two legs, the second of which attracted more than 2,000 spectators at the Butts Park Arena on Sunday.
Their reward is a trip to the Channel Islands and a Friday night encounter at Stade Santander International against Jersey Reds, who have had two days’ extra rest than the visitors following their quarterfinal second leg success against Hartpury University.
While Cov’s preparations have been far from ideal, interim head coach Alex Rae has sensed not a whiff of negativity in the environment they seek to secure their place in the final against either Ealing Trailfinders or Richmond, who play
on Saturday.
The former Jersey player and coach said: “There’s an easy excuse there if they want it – ‘oh poor us’ with the short turnaround. But we haven’t heard any of that. It’s just excitement. At the same time, let’s not just be happy with getting to the semifinals, let’s really go for it.
“We had the cryotherapy mobile
unit down so the boys all had cryo cold therapy after training. The boys are doing everything they can to be ready for the game.”
Such was the tight turnaround from Sunday’s win to tonight’s semifinal, the team was split into two for separate flights from Gatwick to Jersey on yesterday.
“It kind of all adds to the challenge of the trip,” Rae added. “There’s no moaning from us. We’ve addressed it as a group and we’re excited. It’s just another thing that’s been thrown at us, another challenge.
“The nice thing is, we’re flying out the day before, we will be together Thursday, have a walk around the beach or whatever, have a walk through on the Friday and roll into the game.
“As a group, we’re just really excited. It’s a little adventure. It’s an opportunity to spend time together. Enjoy each other’s company and make some memories really.”
Coventry endured a tumultuous Championship season during which director of rugby Rowland Winter was replaced by Rae on the day-today running of the playing operation in January before Winter’s departure from the club was officially confirmed in a brief statement in late April.
But Cov finished the league season strongly, winning three of their final four games to finish ninth before commencing their cup campaign that moves into its fifth game tonight.
“It’s been really good for us,” explained Rae. “We’ve really bought into it. We said to the lads ‘how often do you get the chance to win something?’ Not many lads in our team have probably won stuff.
“To play knock-out rugby and maybe put yourself in a position where you can get into a final, and challenge for a medal and a bit of silverware. I know the cup has got its doubters, but for us personally, for the players and staff, we’ve really bought into it. It’s been a breath of fresh air for us as a club. It’s also building momentum into pre-season next year, finishing well, finishing strong. We’ve got some really young players, it will give them some confidence.
“We went up to Doncaster and beat them. It bodes well for the future as well as the here and now. It’s a chance to create that mentality, a winning environment. Knock-out rugby is a really good thing for our young players, especially.”
The one loss in that final run of four league fixtures was at the hands of their next opponents as Jersey claimed a resounded 66-38 victory at the Butts Park Arena in March.
“We’re expecting a big set-piece, they’ve got a really strong scrum,” said Rae. “They pride themselves on their scrum, maul and physicality. I imagine they’re really going to try and target us around the set-piece and be confrontational. It’s nothing we’re not expecting.
“When you look at the home game when we played them, we were 19-all just before half-time and gifted them two tries which changed the dynamic of the game. That day we had three front row lads on the bench who only turned up on the Saturday morning. It was a really tough ask that day.
“It should be a really tough test, we’re just in a really good place at the minute, we’re really excited about going out there to see what we can do.”
I know the cup has got its doubters, but for us, for the players and staff, we’ve really bought into it. It’s been a breath of fresh air.
Alex Rae