| Kick Off : | 15:00 |
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| Crowd : | 2500 | |
| Weather : | Sunny | |
| Ground : | Soft & Damp | |
| Wind : | Slight S-Easterly | |
| Captain : | Verner Swanepoel | |
| Referee : | Mr Geraint Jones | |
| M.O.M. : | Gavin Pfister |
| Coventry V The Warriors 31 August 2002 |
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Counden Road Looking Good |
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After 3 months the season finally got started at Counden Road. The
warriors arrived having had 9 weeks of training, ready and well prepared
for the first match of the season. And what a fixture? Coventry, 4th
last season and openly stating their intentions to go at least one place
higher, are a strong side with lots of talent. This was the fixture,
quote, "if there is one game we have to win
this season it is at home to Worcester".
Above John Brain(slim guy on the left) watches and ponders with Lymey (injured and unavailable) how the game will go! |
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Gavin Posses For
The Camera
Players look relaxed as they walk the pitch to get a feel for the surface and soak up the Worcester Support. Was This A Home Game? |
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Adrian in relaxed mood shows off his new T Shirt |
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Peter Finch gets the team warmed up by praying to the Grass God "Counden Road and NO MUD" |
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Peter Finch gets the team warmed up by praying to the Grass God "Counden Road and NO MUD" |
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The game continued with The warriors pressing hard for the next score. This went to Coventry after an infringement at the ruck, Coventry converted the penalty. The warriors responded immediately from the kick off Gavin Pfister stealing the ball for "Smiley" to quickly recycle and the backs were off and running, Coventry having no answer to the speed and running lines, culminating in Chris Garrard taking the final pass and going over in the corner. |
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| Jim Jenner was having yet
another terrific game, this season he is as fit and as strong as I have
ever seen him. Powerful and quick he led the forwards from the front and
behind him Smiley was starting to get a feel for Div 1 Rugby, his
service to James Brown was spot on, even when in trouble he managed to
do something extraordinary to keep his team moving forward.
The Coventry forwards were now constantly infringing at the ruck and maul slowing down possession enabling their defence to get back into place. Some incredibly strange decisions by the referee made it difficult for both sides to construct a passage of play. This further slowed down the game not at all helpful to the superior Warriors side. There were however occasions where the reliable Swanepoel knocked on at the ruck and maul, the forwards have to ensure they secure the ball and not allow an illegal hand or body from the opposition through to disrupt possession |
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This is now the fifth time I have seen Mr Geraint Jones perform and each performance gets worse. I have produced a picture for all to see! please give your Referee's performance rating on the Online Performance Ratings |
| Half Time Score: Coventry 3 The Warriors 12 | |
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| After an infantile wait for
Coventry to return after the break(maybe they didn't want to) the second
half got underway. Coventry were awarded 2 penalties early on and
converted both to make the score 9 - 12. The Warriors were pushing hard
and refused numerous penalties, within easy kicking distance, in
attempts to ensure the bonus points were achieved. The side were
confident of victory due to massive territorial and possessional
advantage.
But things are never guaranteed and the game could have been lost. Coventry again were awarded a penalty which fortunately was missed, this was the spur The warriors needed. Ignoring the growing number of stoppages for "injured" Coventry players and the stream of penalties the warriors surged forward and a charged down kick by the ubiquitous Gavin Pfister who caught the ball and ran fully 40 yards to score under the post. Then came the "piece de resistance" after being held up over the line for the second time The Warriors with a quick heel sent Swanepoel away and after an outrageous dummy(fooling his own side into the bargain) Smiley skipped inside to score near the post, the try being duly converted by the reliable James Brown. 26 Points to 9 and the bonus point secured The warriors made the fatal mistake of taking their foot off the pedal and allowed Coventry to score two quick converted tries. The game ended with The warriors on the charge and converting a penalty to make the final score 29 to 23 |
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| Observations:
The pack were solid against a bigger outfit, the lineout work was excellent after the first few minutes. Martin Morgan stole a plethora of balls from Coventry. We only saw 20 minutes of Craig Gillies and Mark Gabey but what was seen was, that these two premiership players will make an enormous difference to the team. In addition, Gareth Mason recruited this year from Swansea was probably the fastest prop I have ever seen and not just over 5 yards his 30 meter run totally outstripped the Coventry back line and only a desperate tackle from the fullback saved a certain try. Not playing were Richard Bates and Neil Lyman there is still a lot more to come from this pack. |
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| The threequarters look good, seemingly able to break the line at will, but the ball did not get recycled quick enough. Gary Trueman taking a knock early on meant Roke moved to centre and Southwell came on at full back and boy does he look good. he has an enormous boot one kick must have made 80 meters. I am not sure yet about James Brown's distribution, he seemingly delayed the pass, which then put the receiving player in an impossible situation. Was this due to his slow ball or the speed of the defence, I also believed he used the long pass too often. But his ability to change direction and his deft kicking are something we have needed for some time. Hinshelwood made a fantastic break ripping the defence apart beating 3 players, but "Oh No" his final decision will live with him all this season(not like him, but another try gone begging) |
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| End of the game and a great great result!! Bonus
points away at Coventry, that will not happen again this season.
Coventry are much better than last year and will be a big threat to all
the clubs still to play them.
One of the top four has already lost a game, which means they are playing catch-up!! |