Cov concern over venue for cup final

A SPORTING fixture pile-up in London saw Coventry Rugby ‘raise concerns’ with the RFU over the venue of Saturday’s Championship Cup final with Ealing Trailfinders.

Under 10 miles away from Trailfinders Sports Ground, both Saracens and Harlequins will be in Gallagher Premiership action while just four miles north, Wembley Stadium is hosting the League One play-off final between Sunderland and Wycombe Wanderers which is expected to attract tens of thousands of supporters to the capital.

Coventry booked their place in the Championship final with a thrilling 20-17 win away against Jersey Reds and then awaited the outcome of Ealing and Cornish Pirates a day later in the other final-four contest.

Ealing, who were crowned the league winners in March but denied promotion to the Premiership next season due to their ground not meeting the minimum standards criteria, defeated the plucky Pirates to book a shot at securing a league-and-cup double in front of their home fans.

Despite approaches to the sport’s governing body in this country being made by Coventry officials, the fixture will go ahead in Ealing on Saturday, with the 3pm kick-off time clashing with two of the above-mentioned games.

“We have received confirmation, that despite our raised concerns to the RFU of the volume of sporting fixtures on Saturday within London, the Championship Cup Final will take place at Trailfinders Sports Club with a 3pm Kick Off on May 21,” Coventry Rugby said in a statement.

“Our concerns, as a club, were that travel for our supporters would be made extremely difficult..”

Coventry finished 35 points and seven places below Ealing in the Championship season. Ealing won both their home and away games against Coventry scoring 120 points in the process.

But the Blues and Whites overcame Ampthill in a two-legged cup affair before repeating the trick against Ealing’s closest rivals to promotion, Doncaster Knights, earning the semi-final shot which Coventry emerged triumphant from on Friday.