With the clock in red, the Knights were awarded a penalty but the kick sailed wide of the uprights to Cov’s pleasure.
Ordinarily the Knights wouldn’t have needed the points in extra time because they would have already been three points ahead but unfortunately two conversions (four points) were also missed during the game. All six kicks taken would have normally bisected the uprights or at least five, so it was highly unusual for three to miss.
Last time out Cov lost 14-21 to the Cornish Pirates, which is something that will annoy them because the Pirates are two places, over ten league points, below them in the Championship. The game was obviously (given the scoreline), two converted tries to three converted tries with no penalty kicks scored.
The Knights travelled to the Wirral to play Caldy last Saturday and returned 15-33 winners. Fly half Russell Bennett opened the try-scoring by spotting a gap after just two minutes had been played, he chipped over the defence, gathered the ball and dotted down.
Cov have scored the second highest number of points scored away in the Championship this season; the good news for the Knights is that they have conceded the second fewest number of points at home.
Cov are also the equal-second best travellers in the Championship but again the Knights can counter that stat with having the equal-third strongest home fortress and this is two wins better than Cov’s away prowess. ‘Defence wins games’ is etched on the Knights’ changing room wall, so hopefully that will be the case on Saturday.
Offensively Cov have only scored six more points than the Knights after playing 18 games but the Knights have a stronger defence after conceding 78 fewer points than Cov. This leaves a points scored/conceded difference of 72 in the Knights’ favour. Despite these scoring stats, Cov have scored three more bonus points than the Knights, which more important.
Cov fly half Liam Richman is ninth and another Coventry fly half Tommy Mathews is twelfth in the Championship’s top points-scorers. If both scores were added together, a Cov fly half would be third (one point behind second) in the list. Knights’ fly half, Russell Bennett (pictured) is the seventh highest points-scorer.
An added incentive for the Knights is that Steve Boden, the ex-Director of Rugby left to become First Team Assistant and Academy Pathway Coach at Coventry, so they’ll want to show him what he’s missing.
All games across the Albion (not Plymouth Albion!):
Friday, May 9
Nottingham (7) v Caldy (11)
Saturday, May 10
Ampthill (8) v Bedford Blues (2)
Cornish Pirates (5) v Hartpury University (3)
Doncaster Knights (6) v Coventry (4)
Ealing Trailfinders (10) v Chinnor (9)
London Scottish (10) v Cambridge (12)
A Knight Win will see us rise to fifth if Hartpury beat the Pirates.
A Knight Loss will see us remain sixth because seventh-placed Nottingham are now 10 league points below us.
The Knights have that winning feeling after winning their last eight consecutive games, hopefully that will continue this Saturday. The Knights’ purple patch should bolster the Knights’ head to head win count, it stands at three wins to nine over the last ten years in Cov’s favour. As everyone is aware it is the next game is all that matters, historical stats are irrelevant.
Congratulations to Knight of the month for April, winger Aiden Cross (pictured).
COYK
DONNY, DONNY, DONNY…