Coventry Telegraph

By John Wilkinson, Coventry Telegraph.
February 8 2015

Shortlisted for January’s Samsung try of the month, flying winger Dan Rundle must already be in the frame for the February award with a 90-metre scorcher to complete his second hat-trick in successive home games.

But Rundle’s heroics apart, and a maximum five-point win which took Cov’s unbeaten run to 18 games, there was little to cheer the faithful on a cold and grey afternoon at the Butts Park Arena.

It all started so well as Cov raced into a 14-0 lead in just seven minutes, ripping Macclesfield’s defence apart in a manner which suggested an avalanche of points to come.

That was really as good as it got, however, as Cov went right off the boil, making too many handling errors and failing to capitalise on their clear edge up front so that it became a laboured victory and, notwithstanding Rundle, not one for the memory banks.

There were, perhaps, mitigating circumstances. Underfoot conditions were testing, the pitch – which was subject to two morning inspections before declared playable – firm beneath a greasy top layer, while Cov played most of the second half with an unfamiliar-looking pack.

Prop Rikki Stout came in at loose head as a change to the starting line-up when Andy Brown was taken ill before the game, and injuries to Sam Pailor and Roan van Heerden left Cov with a prop in the second row and a hooker in the back row. Throw in a home debut for full-back Martyn Thomas, given the last half-hour, who will need time to settle into the squad, and a 20-minute run for Barry Davies in an unfamiliar fly-half role, and it is not surprising that there was some lack of fluidity.

But while it underlined that they are far from the finished article and there is a lot for the coaches to work on, Cov remain in their healthiest position for a number of years with time to get fully back on course before the big games to come at the end of the season.

Apart from knocking-on Matt Jones’s kick-off, Macclesfield hadn’t put a hand on the ball before they went behind as Cov went through the phases to create an overlap for Rundle’s first try after a minute and 39 seconds of play.

Cliffie Hodgson converted, and then ripped through the opposition’s midfield for the second converted try from a text-book line-out move.

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Coventry RFC 35 Macclesfield RFC 15

Discussion started by Unofficial Coventry Rugby (IP Logged), 08/02/2015 18:30

Unofficial Coventry Rugby
08/02/2015 18:30

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Peter Redhead
08/02/2015 18:41

Wishing Sam a quick recovery from his broken nose and that it isn't as serious as the last time.

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