Match Reports 2003

Rugby League Powergen Challenge Cup Round 1 - November 30th (2002). Featherstone Lions 60-21 Coventry Bears

A superb first-half performance raised hopes of a big upset victory for the Coventry Bears before the experienced Featherstone Lions side eventually ran out comfortable and relieved winners.

Coventry went ahead early as Neil Lightowler crossed but the Lions side, who play in the Premier Division of the Winter League competition, seemed to have shown their class and set the scene for a tough afternoon for the visitors as they ran in four tries to take a 22 points to four lead. However, the Bears were in no mood to give in as they produced a magnificent period of rugby with hooker Alex Brown darting over twice and then Coventry Rugby Union colleagues Dave Campton and Matt Richards combined for the best try of the game for winger Richards. Lightowler converted two to bring them back within two points. Featherstone then managed to stem the sky blue tide and crossed themselves right on half time to make the score 26 points to 20 at the break.

The shell-shocked Lions were obviously given a roasting by their coach, former Halifax pro Richard Agar, at half time and came out flying in the second period. The home side ensured they would progress to the next round of the Powergen Challenge Cup as they blew away the Bears with a barrage of six tries at regular intervals through the second half. Coventry fought gamely, particularly debutant Mark Hyslop at full back, but could only add a late snap drop goal from Joe Smith to their first half tally as the Lions ran out 60 points to 21 winners.

Coventry Bears had certainly given a fine account of themselves against their experienced hosts and had showed that there is plenty to look forward to during next summer's National League 3 season.

Man of the Match: Troy Perkins

Team: Hyslop, Reynard, Piotrowski, Campton, Richards, Fairhurst, Smith, Davies, Brown, Stevens, Lightowler, Wright, Perkins  Subs: Muchiti, Major, Schindler, Merril

Tries: Brown (2), Lightowler, Richards

Conversion: Lightowler (2)

Drop Goal: Smith

National Division 3 - August 9th. Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks 26-12 Coventry

By Rich Davies - Coventry Bears completed their National League 3 campaign with a defeat at Sheffield but produced a remarkably brave performance. The Bears travelled with only two substitutes due to unavailabilties and suspensions to face the experienced northern side who needed a win to ensure a play-off place. At a sweltering Hillsborough Arena it seemed that the Hawks were going to overwhelm their visitors as they ran in three converted tries in the first half against a single penalty for Coventry from Rich Pepperell to lead eighteen points to two at half time.

The second half looked like it might be one way traffic as the Bears players had nearly all had to play without a break in the heat due to the lack of replacements - which the home side were using regularly. However this proved not to be the case as the Bears players produced a heroic second half performance in which they outscored their hosts.

 Coventry scored early in the second period as half backs Joe Smith and Rich Pepperell combined sweetly for Pepperell to score under the posts, Rich adding the conversion himself.

Sheffield then hit back with another try but the Bears did not give in to the high temperatures or to the Hawks as they somehow kept driving themselves forward. The forwards led by man of the match John Nicholls and props Tim Stevens and Richard Davies kept on taking the ball up to the northerners and their efforts were rewarded as Joe Smith again made a break in midfield and this time had the pace to go over in the corner for the try, which went unconverted.

The home crowd were becoming a little anxious as the Bears were now back within sight of the Hillsborough team and continuing to apply pressure. The Bears youngsters like Ben Hands and James Hunt were an example of the team’s spirit as they repeatedly tackled and attacked the Hawks ferociously. However, Sheffield finally saw off the Bears' challenge as they scored once more to seal the game and their place in the play offs leaving the brave visitors only with pride in their excellent performance against the odds.

Bears: Hands, Hunt, Lightowler, Malin, Thompson, Pepperell, Smith, Davies, Brown, Stevens, Schindler, Nicholls, Wright, Carver, Muchiti

National Division 3 - August 2nd. South London 34-22 Coventry

By Rich Davies - Coventry Bears hopes off making the National League 3 play-offs came to an end with defeat on Saturday at South London Storm. The Bears again put in a spirited performance against their play-off rivals but it was again not enough to gain the vital win.

Coventry seemed to have recovered from the long journey south quickly as they scored an early try, Dean Thompson pouncing on a spilled kick to touch down with Neil Lightowler adding the conversion from wide out. However, he early burst from the visitors was short lived as the South London side dominated the rest of the half as they spread the ball wide taking advantage of the pacy and elusive back three in their side. This led to four tries for the home side and a lead of eighteen points to six at half time.

The second half continued in similar vein as the Storm again put pressure on the Bears and put the game out the visitors' reach with two further tries. Coventry were far from finished though, with skipper John Nicholls leading by example driving his team forward with a Man of the Match performance, and his side responded to almost produce a remarkable comeback.

Stand off John Fairhurst was first over the line by the posts and then it was the turn of powerful forward James Hadfield to cross twice, which meant that with Lightowler adding two conversions, the Bears were suddenly back within a score of their opponents.

The win was not to be though as with the Storm under pressure  and pinned on their own line, they swooped on a loose Bears pass and the winger sprinted away the length of the field to finally seal the game.

Coventry have one final game remaining to complete their first season in National League 3 away at Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks next week.

Bears: Slater, C. Hands, Viggers, Lightowler, Thompson, Fairhurst, Brown, Davies, Schindler, Dowding, Grime, Stevens, Nicholls, Major, Carver, McGar, Hadfield.

National Division 3 - July 26th. Coventry 32-32 Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks

By Rich Davies - Coventry Bears' final home game of the season brought a highly entertaining draw against visitors Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks. The result keeps Coventry’s play-off hopes alive although they may feel they could have got more from this game. The opening of the game was frantic as play switched from end to end, Coventry’s Alex Brown coming close to opening the scoring as he just failed to ground the ball over the Hawks' line. It was however the visitors who put the first points on the board with a try but the Bears hit straight back with Ireland International Wayne Holmes scoring on his first appearance of the season to level matters.

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The game continued at pace with the action flowing from one end to the other, Hawks taking the lead again with a converted try. The rest of the first half belonged to the Bears as they produced some scintillating rugby leading to three high quality tries. The first came from John Nicholls who burst through the Hawks defence and rounded the full back to score under the posts. The next two both came for full back Richard Pepperell who was on hand to finish good handling moves which swept from the Bears own half, Pepperell also adding two conversions.

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Bears man of the match Rob Lowe was making numerous busts through the Sheffield line and these could have led to more points for the home side. However the Hawks managed a converted try just on half time to make the score twenty to sixteen at the break.

After the break an early penalty from Pepperell stretched the Bears' lead, but this seemed to shake the Hawks into action, and the Northern side replied with a three try burst of their own in the following twenty minutes which gave them a ten point lead with only eight minutes left on the clock. However Coventry were not going to be denied and the spirit which the inexperienced side have shown in the past couple of games led to a thrilling finale. The Bears came back within one score as winger Charlie Hands went over in the corner and with time running out talisman prop Alan Robinson scored by the posts to allow Pepperell to tie the scores with the conversion.

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There was still time for more action as both sides had drop goal attempts to win the game, Alex van der Walt’s effort for the Bears going just wide. The final whistle brought a tense and exciting game to its conclusion and ensured that the Bears can continue to fight for a place in the next stage with away games at play-off rivals South London and the Hawks again to come.

Bears: Pepperell, Slater, Lightowler, Holmes, C. Hands, van der Walt, Smith, Davies, Brown, Robinson, Hewitt, Nicholls, Lowe, Dowding, Wagstaff, B. Hands, Grime

National Division 3 - July 19th. Bradford Dudley Hill 40-8 Coventry Bears

By Rich Davies - Coventry Bears came away from their National League 3 encounter at Bradford Dudley Hill with a defeat but plenty of pride on Saturday. The Bears were without a number of players who were unavailable to make the testing trip north, but those who did performed heroically.

As in the previous game at Coundon Road, Dudley Hill were fastest out of the blocks producing an impressive performance throughout the first half. The Bears hardly saw the ball as the home side ran in six unanswered tries to lead twenty eight points to nil at the break.

However, after half time the determined Bears refused to fold, despite another early two try burst from the Bradford side which gave them a forty point lead. Bears' Man of the Match Micky Hewitt and fellow debutant Neil Lightowler began to make inroads into the home side prompted by lively hooker Alex Brown. Coventry got due reward for their efforts as skipper Joe Smith sent Wales Amateur International Prop Richard Davies storming through the home defence for the try.

The Bears much improved second half continued as they maintained the pressure on the league leaders’ line. Dudley Hill were rattled and forced to concede a series of penalties which led to a sin binning for the home side and then both sides’ frustration led to a further sin bin for the home side and also for Bears replacement Tim Stevens.

Coventry deservedly had the final word in the game as winger Francis Slater went in at the corner to give the Bears further consolation points right on the final whistle.

However more importantly the inexperienced side that travelled to the league leaders could head back south with their heads held high for the effort they had put in for the Coventry Bears.

Next week sees a ‘must-win’ game for the Bears’ play-off hopes as they face fellow contenders Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks at Coundon Road. Defeat would surely end Coventry’s hopes of end-of-season action.

Bears: Pepperell, Slater, Fairhurst, Coulsey, C.Hands, Talbot, Smith, Davies, Brown, Robinson, Hewitt, Nicholls, Grime, Stevens, Muchiti, Lightowler 

National Division 3 - July 12th. Coventry 24-30 Huddersfield Underbank Rangers

By Rich Davies - On a scorching hot day at Coundon Road, Coventry Bears couldn’t quite overcome their northern visitors. It was the visitor’s experience which told in the end as they completed most of their sets and pressured the Bears, particularly around the tackle area, into mistakes.

The game started well for Coventry as they took an early lead through a Rich Pepperell penalty goal and this was stretched further by John Fairhurst squeezing over in the corner. Rangers came back into the game with their captain Dave Scholes scoring and Holmes adding the conversion then a penalty to give them the lead for the first time in the game.

It looked like the Bears were going to go into half time behind however right on the whistle centre Fairhurst scored again, dummying his way over under the post, Pepperell adding the goal to make the scores 12 points to 8 at half time. 

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The period just after half time was the game’s turning point as the visitors ran in three quick tries from Scholes again, Jones and Dunne to give them a 12 point lead. The third score also lead to an incident which saw the influential Coventry loose forward Rob Lowe sent off along with an Underbank player reducing the teams to 12 a side for the remainder of the game. Coventry responded to this set back with a try for Fairhurst, completing his hat trick, again kicked by Pepperell which bought the Bears back within six points.

Rangers showed their experience as time ran out in the game, constantly kicking Coventry back deep into their own half and applying the pressure, which lead to a match clinching try again for hooker Jones.

Coventry ensured they had the last word however as Alex Brown scooted under the posts for a try, converted by Pepperell, which led to a frenetic last couple of minutes as the Bears pressed for a score levelling try. However the visitors held out to take the points back up north with them and leave the Bears with an uphill task to make the play offs.

The run in starts next week with a tough visit to league leaders Bradford Dudley Hill, as all the games become crucial for the Bears now.

Bears:  Pepperell, Slater, Fairhurst, G. Southwell, Talbot, Brown, Smith, Davies, Allsopp, C. Southwell, Robinson, Nicholls, Lowe, Saunders, Dowding, Grime, B. Hands

Coventry Bears ‘A’ side performed admirably against unbeaten Birmingham Bulldogs. Looking to prevent the visitors from clinching the Midlands title the Bears held Birmingham at  6-all for much of the first half. However the strength of the new champions was too much in the second half as the Bulldogs ran out winners by 58 points to 6.

Totalrl.com Rugby League Conference - July 5th. Coventry Bears  28-40 Leicester Phoenix

Despite a brave effort the Coventry Bears 'A’ team went down to a defeat at Old Coventrians on Saturday.

The Bears took the lead when Chris Allsopp scored after sustained pressure.

Leicester replied four minutes later with a fast break from Mark Sloan. The Bears roared back when substitute Dave Poles scored a good try behind posts. Leicester were back in touch when after sustained pressure Man of the match Paul Walmsley scored to take the score to 12-8.  Leicester’s Carl Wesley drifted through a woeful Coventry defence for Leicester to draw level. On 42 minutes Mark Sloan scored near the posts. With the extra points being added, Leicester went in at half time leading 12-18.

Leicester started the second half as they had finished the first when Paul Walmsley added his second try of the afternoon. Three minutes later Scott Carver scored for the Bears. Charlie Hands the Coventry winger saved what looked to be a certain try stealing the ball in the tackle. It was Leicester however who scored next when hooker Dan Parnell supported well to score to the right of the goal posts. Carl Wesley again took advantage of some poor defending. Leicester had really got their act together and two further tries by Paulo Carvalhal saw the Phoenix stretch further away. Again Charlie Hands pulled off a great try saving tackle before Cov’s Rich Chappell made a great solo run to score under the posts. Paulo Carvalhal went in for his hat trick before Paul Wagstaff broke through and was just held on the line before Coventry's Man of the match Stuart Major scored the last try of the afternoon

Coventry Team Hyslop, C. Hands, Love, Collins, Farrel, J. Malin, Daley, Keogh, Grime, McNair, Chappell, Major, C. Allsopp, Mangan, Wagstaff, Carver, Poles

Leicester Team Wood, Green, Wesley, Yuill, Walmsley, Johnson, Sloan, Murray, Parnell, Rogerson, Lydon, Jameson, Carvalhal, McNaughton.

Coventry scorers. Tries: Allsopp, Poles, Carver, Chappell, Major. Con: Malin (4)

Leicester Scorers. Tries: Carvalhal (3) Walmsley (2) Wesley (2) Sloan (2), Walmsley (2)

MoM. Coventry, Stuart Major. Leiceste,r Paul Walmsley

Gamebreaker, Mark Sloan’s try just before half time that gave Leicester a lead they never lost.

National Division 3 - July 5th. Coventry 48-14 Hemel Stags

By Rich Davies - Coventry Bears returned to winning ways on Saturday at Coundon Road against bottom club Hemel Stags. The first half was a tight affair with both sides using their big sets of forwards to drive into each other fiercely in the early exchanges. The opening score came for the Bears however, as John Nicholls sneaked over for the try, converted by Alex van der Walt. Hemel then caught the home side napping at the kick off, as a short kick gave them possession and this led directly to a score for Stags' replacement Matt Spencer.

Coventry made sure they went in at half time with a lead as Neil Saunders scored his first try for the Bears and then Rich Pepperell went over, with Van der Walt adding one conversion to make the score 16-4 at the break.

The start of the second half saw the Bears’ spirit and confidence of last season come flooding back as they produced a devastating period of rugby. Any hopes Hemel had of a comeback were quickly quashed as Francis Slater went over in the corner -  the first of a five try barrage from the home side. The scores came quickly and the home crowd were treated to some flowing rugby and high quality tries. Skipper Matt Allsopp went over first and was quickly followed by Man of the Match Rob Lowe, Slater flying in again and John Fairhurst completing the set of tries. Rich Pepperell added three conversions to seal the points for the Bears.

Hemel showed some spirit late in the game as they added two scores, from Sean Lovett and Peter Clarke, with a conversion from Chris Caws. This snapped the Bears out of the comfort zone they had slipped into and Alex Brown ensured that the home side had the final word as he scored between the posts, Van Der Walt adding the extras to complete the scoring.

Coventry will be looking to continue this momentum at home to Huddersfield side Underbank next week as they continue their quest for an end of season play-off place.

Team: Pepperell, Slater, Price, Fairhurst, Talbot, Van Der Walt, Brown, Davies, Allsopp, C. Southwell, Robinson, Nicholls, Lowe     Subs: Smith, G. Southwell, Dowding, Saunders

Coventry Bears A side put in a good performance against a strong Leicester Phoenix team at Old Coventrians RFC before going down 40 points to 28. The try-scorers for the Bears were Chris Allsopp, Dave Poles, Scott Carver, Rich Chappell and Man of the Match Stuart Major with John Malin adding four conversions.

National Division 3 - June 28th. Coventry 18-36 Bradford Dudley Hill

By Rich Davies - Coventry Bears saw any hopes they had of upsetting the unbeaten league leaders blown away in the first twelve minutes. Dudley Hill produced an almost perfect start running in four converted tries as the Bears hardly had a touch of the ball in the opening spell. 

Coventry did not help themselves as their woeful disciplinary record continued with the sin binning of Luke Talbot, for an impetuous kick out, and Rich Pepperell, for disagreeing with a referee’s decision. However the home side recovered from this early barrage to regain their composure and exerted some pressure on the Bradford line for the rest of the first half although they could not breach the defence. The half ended on a stormy note as players from both sides were involved in a mass melee which led to Alex Van Der Walt being sent off along with a Dudley Hill player.

The Bears opened up the second half much more positively taking the game to the visitors and visibly rattling them, man of the match John Nicholls carrying the ball up dangerously.

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The home side were rewarded with tries from Alex Nash and Rob Lowe, both converted well by Rich Pepperell, which gave hope that a comeback maybe on the cards. However these hopes were short lived as the visitors came back with a penalty and two further tries to seal the victory for them. There was still time for more drama as Alan Robinson was dismissed, for the second time this season, for use of an elbow in the tackle.

The short-handed Bears however had the last word as they showed spirit to allow John Fairhurst to stretch over for the final score, again converted by Pepperell. The experience of the Dudley Hill side, along with Bears' indiscipline, meant that they took the points back to Bradford, a result Coventry will be looking to reverse when they travel north later in the season. The Bears are at home again next week against Hemel Stags and will be looking to complete their first double of the season against the visitors.

The Coventry Bears 'A' team also slipped to defeat at Telford Raiders in the Rugby League Conference. They led for much of the game before eventually going down by 38 points to 30 to the youthful Raiders.

By Ron Banks - Bradford Dudley Hill blew a woeful Coventry defence apart in the first twelve minutes scoring four unanswered tries. In the first minute Craig Tyman started the rout to be quickly followed by Alex Dickenson, Gaz Walker and Ryan Dickinson.  Man of the match Liam Jarvis added the extras, and the game seemed to be developing into a walkover for the classy Yorks outfit. Slowly however, Coventry started to claw their way back and stopped the rot conceding no further points in the first half.

In the second half Coventry at last made their mark with Alex Nash scoring in the corner. When Rob Lowe scored again for the Bears and following another successful conversion by Rich Pepperell the game seemed to be back 'on'. Bradford scored next from a penalty maybe indicating that they were beginning to take a fight back by the Bears seriously. Bradford increased the pressure when Jamie Brentley scored to be followed by Liam Brentley. But it was the 11-man Bears who had the last word with Coventry's John Fairhurst scoring near the posts.

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Game breaker: Jamie Bentleys second half try that ended Coventry's fightback.
Men Of the Match: Coventry - John Nicholls, Bradford - Liam Jarvis, who not only prompted his team throughout but also contributed 12 points with his kicking.
Teams. 
Coventry: Pepperell, Slater, Nash, Fairhurst, Talbot, Lowe, van der Walt, Smith, Davies, Allsopp, C. Southwell, Wright, Nicholls, Lowe, Robinson, Dowding, Price, Greevy 
Bradford Dudley Hill: Tyman, Bradbury, Ackroyd, A. Dickinson J. Brentley, R. Dickinson, Jarvis, Bingley, L. Brentley, Vaicekauskas, Walker, O'Connor, Huby, Squires, Brooke, Wilkins, Walsh 
Scorers: Coventry tries: Nash, Lowe Fairhurst Conversions: Pepperell (3). Bradford DH tries: A. Dickinson, Walker, R. Dickinson, J. Brentley, L. Brentley  Conversions: Jarvis (5) Pen: Jarvis

Referee: Mr Paul Stockman

National Division 3 - June 21st. St. Albans 24-14 Coventry Bears

Coventry Bears suffered a second defeat to the St Albans Centurions although they produced a better performance than in the recent home meeting. It was the Bears’ inability to keep the ball that frequently cost them with too many turnovers meaning that they had to defend far too often throughout the game.

St Albans took an early lead with a converted try from a quick tap penalty and continued to pile on the pressure throughout the rest of the first half. However the Bears defence stood firm as it did for long periods throughout the game, led by some big hits from prop Richard Davies and the hard work of Matt Wright, until the last minute of the half when the tiring Bears conceded a second converted try.

Coventry narrowed the home side’s 12 point half-time lead almost immediately with a penalty goal from Alex van der Walt, before Centurions went over again for another score. The Bears then came back into the game, strong running from impressive debutant Ken Downing leading to a close-range try from Rob Lowe, standing in at hooker for absent skipper Matt Allsopp.

Again however the home side struck back to effectively put Coventry out of the game with another converted try to take a 16 point lead with time running out. Coventry’s frustration with the poor and inconsistent referee boiled over close to the end with Rich Pepperell sin binned for voicing his disapproval of one of the official’s decisions.

The Bears continued to push forward and were rewarded with a well-worked try out wide for Chris Lloyd-Smith which van der Walt converted superbly. The referee had one more controversial act to perform before the end reducing the Bears back to 12 men with a sending off which mystified players from both sides. Coventry will be looking to gain some points in the next three weeks with a run of home games, starting with unbeaten league leaders Bradford Dudley Hill at Coundon Road next week.

Coventry: Pepperell, Slater, Lloyd-Smith, Fairhurst, Hands, van der Walt, Smith, Davies, Lowe, Greavy, Grime, Nicholls, Robinson  Subs: Wright, Downing, Wagstaff, Saunders

Coventry Man of the Match: Ken Dowding

National Division 3 - June 14th. Hemel 4-19 Coventry Bears

Coventry Bears got back to winning ways on Saturday against Hemel Stags, last years opponents in the successful RLC Grand Final. Coventry again fielded a changed side due to injuries, with a number of first team debutants, and they fell behind early to an unconverted Stags try. These however were the last points the side were going to concede as the defensive effort, led by hard-hitting centre Alex Nash, was stepped up for the rest of the game.

The Bears got back into the game as the forwards produced a powerful scrum which unusually resulted in a ball against the head. The turnover ball was quickly moved wide by the backs and Jonny Fairhurst scored in the corner to level the scores. Man of the Match Joe Smith quickly followed suit with a well taken try for the Bears as he skipped round the tiring home forwards, Alex van der Walt adding the conversion to take the lead for the first time.

The Bears increased the pressure on the Stags and the frustration of the home side led to the scrum half lashing out with a kick at Coventry captain Matt Allsopp and as a result he was sent off.  The resulting penalty from in front of the posts was successful again for van der Walt to take the Bears into half time with an eight point lead. The second half was controlled by Coventry although they couldn’t find the decisive score to put the game beyond doubt despite a number of promising attacks. However all the defensive work was taking its toll on the Stags and eventually they cracked as the Bears prop forwards combined with Rich Davies driving towards the line and offloading to his front row partner Carl Southwell who stretched over for the score. van der Walt, who had converted the previous try, then added a sweetly struck drop goal to complete the scoring.

Hemel finished strongly and laid siege to the Bears line for the last ten minutes, but a resolute and spirited defence ensured that the visitor’s line stayed in tact. The Bears are on the road again next week at St Albans looking to gain revenge for the defeat inflicted on them by the Centurions just a few weeks previously.

Coventry:  Brown, Slater, Nash, Fairhurst, B. Hands, Van Der Walt, Smith, Davies, Allsopp, Southwell, Robinson, Greavy, Lowe.  Subs:  Hadfield, Wright, C. Hands, Muchiti.

Totalrl.com Rugby League Conference - June 14th - Coventry Bears 46 - 22 Wolverhampton Wizards

Coventry Bears 'A' turned the tables on Wolverhampton Wizards who had defeated them earlier in the season.
The Bears were first off the mark scoring on their first attack with Chris Lloyd Smith darting over from short distance after the Wizards had conceded a penalty close to their own line. Seven minutes later the Bears moved the score on again when Noel Daley finished off a good move. However, Wolverhampton started to exert pressure and their persistence finally paid off when new signing John Homer crossed under the posts. Coventry then eschewed two good chances to score before debutant John Bagnall broke down the left to score in the corner. Coventry's Rich Chappell was putting in some good breaks and just before half time it paid off when he went over in the left hand corner.
Half Time: Coventry 20 Wolverhampton 6
Coventry's stalwart Alan Collins opened the scoring in the second half just before Chris Lloyd Smith claimed his second of the afternoon with the try that sealed the win for the Bears. Tries by Nigel Kane and two more from Lloyd Smith finally eased the Bears into an unassailable position.

 Wolverhampton however were not not finished and were the stronger side in the latter stages, and 
scrum half Rich Bringau really came to the fore prompting his side on. A try by Mark Austin was quickly followed up by two more by Garry Morgan who supported superbly to touch bothdown under the posts.
Coventry's Jon Malin converted five from 9 kicks at goal with the Wizards' Garry Morgan kicking three from his four attempts
Men Of the Match: Coventry - Chris Lloyd-Smith; Wolverhampton - Rich Bringau
Gamebreaker: Chris Lloyd-Smith's 50th minute try that left the Wizards with too much to do. 
Coventry Team: Chris Lloyd-Smith, Ian Walker, Dave Worwood, Paul Wagstaff, Dave Brierley, Jon Malin, Noel Daley, Nigel Kane, Ken Downing, Jim Mangan, Rich Chappel, John Bagnall, Alan Collins, Jason Wetton, Rich Farrell
Wolverhampton Wizards Team: Russell Ashley, Neil Cartwright, Ian Quigley, John Homer, Simon Metaxas, Richard Bringau, Mark Williams, Duncan Merrill, Jamie Hickman, Mark Austin, Wane Illidge, Garry Morgan, Paul Pountney, James Vukmirovic

Final Score: Coventry Bears 'A' 46 Wolverhampton Wizards 22

National Division 3 - June 7th. Teesside 34-18 Coventry Bears

Coventry produced a much improved performance this week, although it was still not enough to secure the win at Teesside. On a warm sunny day the Bears efforts were hampered by a series of early injuries, including Aussie Troy Perkins, which meant they had very limited resources throughout the game. Coventry seemed to have shaken the long journey early as they soon took the lead after a good set of drives resulted in a penalty which was converted by Alex Van Der Walt.

The Steelers then hit straight back with a penalty of their own to draw level. Coventry continued to play well and control much of the game but were then hit by two quick counter-attack tries which sent the home side into the break with a 12 – 2 lead. A positive half time was soon rewarded with Coventry coming out well in the second half and scoring an early try after a number of drives led them the length of the field and Rich Davies crashed over from close in for the try, with van der Walt adding the conversion. Just as the Bears seemed to be getting back into the game Teesside again grabbed a quick pair of tries to take the game away from Coventry. The Bears competed bravely for the rest of the game with the forwards particularly having to work very hard due to the lack of fit substitutes. Teesside added just one more score, while the Bears had chances but the final pass did not quite stick. Captain Matt Allsopp said “Unlike last week, this time the lads can hold their heads up despite the defeat, they put in a great effort against tough opponents and in difficult circumstances with the injuries we picked up early on.”  The Bears are on the road again next week at Hemel Stags, the side they defeated in the RLC Grand Final last year.

Coventry: Slater, Muchiti, Lowe, Fairhurst, Nash, Van Der Walt, Smith, Davies, Allsopp, Robinson, Grime, Lindsay, Perkins, Stevens, Schindler, Brown

Tries: Davies (42 mins)

Conversions: Van Der Walt (42 mins)

Penalties: Van Der Walt  (5 mins)

Totalrl.com Rugby League Conference - May 31st. Birmingham 62-12 Coventry Bears 'A'

Birmingham Bulldogs kept up their 100% record in the South Midlands Division of the Rugby League Conference with an emphatic win over a commendably game Coventry Bears ‘A’ XIII. As has become customary for Brum this year, pack power laid the basis for the backs to do the damage; Coventry matched, even outmatched Birmingham in pure pack poundage, and outside the scrum too. But that was as far as it went.
 It took just four minutes for Bulldogs to get under way as, from the game’s first scrum, full back John Hefford, the dominant figure of the first half, came into the line and burst through Cov’s defence to touch down; hooker Darren White converting. An attack down the left saw Fennimore’s pass to Williams just go astray but Brum extended their lead three minutes later as prop Mark Baines went on an awesome 55 metre run to score wide on the right White adding a good goal,
 The home side were firing on all cylinders now, and a long range penalty took Birimingham to the Bears’ line where Jon Flatman took White’s well-timed pass, dummied and went in at the left corner. White added a fine conversion from the touchline. The hooker (White ) then added his name to the try scorers list by going over from acting half back. Coventry were doing all they could but couldn’t stop the flow. Another long range penalty took play to the visitors’ line where deft handling saw skipper Brabin feed Hefford for the latter’s second score.
 The score that took the home side to 30 points and removed any lingering doubts about the outcome came from right centre Eral Anderson who had already begun to torment the visitors after coming on as a sub early on. His try was well goaled by White. Still no respite for Bears as Hefford completed a first half hat-trick with another touchdown straight from a scrum.
Coventry stuck gamely to their task and, on almost their first trip to the Brum line, picked up their first points as sub centre Mike Greavey took a short pass to touchdown, adding the goal points himself.
HT: Birmingham Bulldogs 38 Pts, Coventry Bears 'A' 6
 The second half began with referee Mr Bettridge, who was not letting anything go by him, disallowing a second try for White. Play was then held up following an inury to Cov’s scrum half Nigel Kane who had to leave the field with a cut eye.
 Bears had, in fact, been getting more of the ball thsn in the first half, but it was Bulldogs who scored first as Anderson’s zig-zagging run from ten metres out took him over; White adding the extras. Straight from the restart, Brum right winger Tony Williams ran back through a disorganised Coventry defence to touch down. Then, after a period of sustained attacks by Coventry which the home side defended well, Williams twisted out of some rather weak tackles for his second. White improved both scores.
Fifty points down on a hot May afternoon, Coventry might have been forgiven for throwing in the towel. But capitialising on some silly penalty concessions by Bulldogs, the Bears went on the attack again and hooker Schindler’s up-and-under saw centre Richard Chapel outleap the home defence to touch down. Full back John Mallin added the goal. Back came Brum, and prop Paul Fennimore gained due reward for his afternoons efforts by going over from close range; White goaling.
Coventry kept at it, and had the satisfaction of the last points of the day as stand-off Rob Smith found a rare gap in the home line, and Mallin added the conversion.
Coventry Scorers

Tries: M. Greevy, Chapel, R. Smith

Cons: M. Greevy, J. Malin(2)

National Division3 - May 31st. Coventry 18-40 St. Albans Centurions

At Coundon Rd, Coventry

Referee Mr Ian Jefferson

Weather Hot & Sunny

St Albans Centurions really showed the reigning RLC champions how the game of rugby league should be played as Coventry were outclassed in every department with only debutant Troy Perkins really matching the Centurions.

St Albans opened the scoring on seven minutes when Callum Irvine tore through the woeful Bears defence. A penalty and tries by Leigh Strid, Tom Eisenuth moved the score on to 20-0 in favour of the visitors.

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Coventry centre Rob Lowe scored just before half time to take the score at half time to Coventry 4 St Albans 20.

The Bears started in brighter fashion in the second half, and two breaks by Toy Perkins resulted in tries for Francis Slater and Carl Southwell. At 14 -20 the Bears flattered to deceive but two quick tries by Craig Gunnell and Quintin Kersh halted any chance of a Bears comeback.

Coventry's Rich Davies crashed over only for Tom Eisenuth to score his second try of the afternoon.

St. Albans goal-kicker Steve Toon had a perfect afternoon with all of his eight kicks being successful.    

Game breaker - Craig Gunnell's second half try that ended Coventry’s fightback.

Men Of the Match

Coventry; Troy Perkins

St Albans; Leigh Strid

Teams.

Coventry;  Slater, Nash, Lowe, Van der Walt, S. Campton, Smith, Brown,  Davies, Allsopp, Robinson, Stevens, Carver, Grime, Stevens, Perkins, Carver,  A. Lindsay, C. Southwell, B. Hands

St. Albans;  N. Walker, L. Strid, C. Irvine, D. Miller, S. Toon, T. Eisenuth, D. Wortley, S. Drew, B. Stokes, J. Warner, M. Saunders, Q. Kersh, A. Cox, K. Edwards, G. Edwards, C. Thomas, C. Gunnell

Scorers

Coventry  tries - Lowe, Slater, Southwell, Davies.

Conversion - Van der Walt

St. Albans tries - Eisenuth (2), Irvine, Strid, Gunnell, Kersh

Conversion - Toon (6)

Penalty -  Toon (2)

National Division3 - May 17th. Coventry 20-14 South London Storm

At Coundon Road, Coventry

Referee: Mr Ian Jefferson

Weather: Rain Showers

This was the first meeting of the two sides, and ironically was a clash involving the two sides that had lifted the silverware at Cheltenham last September. Neutrals may well have seen it as a chance to assess the progress of the Londoners since then, and will be in no doubt as to the strides they have made when in a closely-contested game Coventry Bears managed to hold on for a win after a strong late fightback from South London Storm.

The match seemed to be too close to call for the first 20 minutes with both defences on top, but Souths broke the deadlock on 23 minutes when winger Gavin Calloo squeezed into the corner.

Minutes later Coventry responded when hooker Matty Allsopp dived over from the play the ball. Then John Fairhurst repeating his colleague’s trick 10 minutes later to make the half-time scoreline 8-4 to the home side.

 Five minutes into the second half Coventry were awarded a penalty and Will Tunnacliffe duly obliged.

The Bears were having their best spell at this point and the London defenders were beginning to fall off the tackle. Scrum half Joe Smith kicked a neat grubber through and Cov full back Rich Pepperell gleefully dived on the ball to score. Tunnacliffe added the extras to give the Bears a comfortable looking cushion for the first time in the match.

The game then looked to be done and dusted when Coventry’s Alan Robinson took the score to 20-4.

However, South London were not finished and showed great reserves of character and soon had the Coventry defence panicking. Caro Wild took advantage of a slow defence to score from a play the ball. Storm really had the bit between their teeth now and Gavin Calloo scored the best try of the afternoon, breaking on the half way line and weaving his way to score under the posts. Caro Wild converted but Coventry had weathered the ‘Storm’ to finish 20 points to 14 winners.

Game Breaker: Alan Robinson’s try that took the score beyond South London’s reach

Men of the Match: Coventry - Rob Lowe. South London - Koben Kapita

Teams:

Coventry. Pepperell, Slater, Talbot, Fairhurst, Tunnacliffe, Brown, Smith, Davies Allsopp, Carver, Grime, Stevens, Lowe, Lee,  B. Hands, Robinson,  Muchiti.

S. London. Simms, Bruce, Zacharow, Lyons, Calloo, Wild, Homes, Byram, Morris, Richardson, Davey, Wood, Meuws, McIntosh, Kapita, Makhous.

Scorers

Coventry tries: Allsopp, Fairhurst, Pepperell, Robinson.

Conversion: Tunnacliffe

Penalty: Tunnacliffe

S. London tries: Calloo (2) Wild

Conversion: Wild

Report by Ron Banks

Coach's Report....

Coundon Road saw another epic battle on Saturday as the Coventry Bears entertained the South London Storm in the third round of the Rugby League National 3 competition. Both teams had won their first games to upset the pundits as the Storm beat an established Huddersfield Underbank side and the Bears beat Warrington Woolston Rovers. However in a turn of fortune both teams lost their second round games, the Bears losing to a Manchester team bouncing back from an earlier defeat and Storm losing to the competition favourites Bradford Dudley Hill, however they suffered a double blow as one of their players shattered a vertebrae, but fortunately he is making a steady recovery.

The opening 20 minutes of the game showed that both sides had come looking for a win and there was nothing between them as they both completed their sets and the scoreboard remained untouched, then on 23 minutes the Storm managed to get the ball wide down the left hand touch line and winger Gavin Calloo squeezed in for a controversial try as it appeared he had hit the corner flag before grounding the ball. As usual Coventry responded quickly and after some great build up play Matty Allsopp dummied the ball from acting half back and then dived over to level the scores at four-all and as both tries were unconverted the scores remained the same until a minute before half time. This time the build up work took the ball out wide to the left and Matty Allsopp was on hand again to score an exact replica of his first try but on the other side. Again Coventry failed to convert and so at half time the score was 8 -4 to the bears and the second half promised to be entertaining.

The second half started well for Coventry as they were awarded a penalty in front of the posts on 45 minutes and Tunicliffe stepped up to convert taking the bears to 10-4, and then after seven minutes of constant Bears pressure Joe Smith took the ball wide to the right on the fifth tackle and slotted a nice grubber kick through for Rich Pepperell to pounce on and extend the bears lead. Tunicliffe added the extras from the touchline and the Bears suddenly looked to hold a strong lead at 16-4. They added to this on 59 minutes as the ball moved through five pairs of hands to make it to the left wing and Alan Robinson finished off the move by barging over the try line with the Storm full back on his back. Unfortunately the try remained unconverted and so the Bears led 20 points to 4 and looked capable of scoring more, but failed to post any further points.

The game looked all but over with five minutes left to play when Storm managed to find themselves on the Bears’ try line and Caro Wild, the Storm full back emulated Matty Allsopp’s earlier tries and dived over from acting half back. Not being able to convert his own try the score went to 20-8 and the Bears just had to keep out the Storm for the remaining five minutes. However, starting from the kick off the Storm came back and on the fifth tackle they ran a power play, instead of kicking and Gavin Calloo ran in the closing try from the halfway line. Caro wild added the extras and the score went to 20 points to 14. Some last minute desperation tackling from the Bears ensured the score stayed that way and Coventry took the points.

It was a good performance up until that last five minutes. I'd warned the guys before the match about taking their foot off the gas and we'll be working on it at training. The result is even better given that we were eight potential first teamers down and given that I am very pleased with the result and the performance. The thing I was most impressed with was Ian Grime - the lad stepped up to the plate today and put on a totally fantastic performance. I've struggled with selecting him before because of his size; he's small in comparison with the rest of the pack, but boy did he make me eat my words today.

Stephen Harrison-Mirfield

Totalrl.com Rugby League Conference - May 10th - Coventry Bears 34 - 28 Telford Raiders

At Old Coventrians RFC

Referee Mr Garath Illidge

Weather Dull/ slight rain

Coventry Bears 'A' got their season back on track after last weeks setback with a win against a young Telford Raiders team at Old Coventrians on Saturday, 10 May 2003

Coventry opened the scoring when loose forward Rob Smith scored following a penalty, Will Tunnacliffe converting. Telford hit back with a try by Alistair Hendry. on 11 minutes. Both defences were looking suspect when Coventry’s Luke Hutchinson scored from short distance again following a penalty. It seemed that both sides were likely to score whenever they were close to their opponents try line and again Telford responded with a try by Chris Dixon.

Half Time Coventry Bears 'A' 12 Telford Raiders 8.

The second half proved to be much more open but again both defences were looking naive. Telford’s Chris Dixon went in for his second try of the afternoon only for Coventry to respond with their best try of the afternoon when Rob Smith finished off a try that had seen the Bears move the ball from the right wing to the left hand side for Smith to run the ball back under the posts.

The Bears were having the best of the game and Jason Wetton again finished off a good move and when new boy Mike Hewitt scored the game looked to be sewn up at 28-12.

But Telford fought their way back into the game when the two half back brothers Phil and Jim Berry used their precocious skills to open up the Bears defence. First Phil dummied his way through the Coventry defensive line to score and then 5 minutes later Jim jinked through before passing to Alistair Hendry to get his second of the afternoon. When Telford's Jamie Waller squeezed in to the corner to tie the game at 28 points each the Raiders were on a roll and looked the most likely winners. But again the Bears replied in the closing minutes when last weeks man of the match Dave Schindler forced his way over to deny a gutsy Telford with their first league  win. 

Coventry Team

Ray Luggeri, Richard Farrell, Mike Hewitt, Luke Hutchinson, Alan Collins, Will Tunnacliffe, Jim Mangan, Dave Schindler, Jason Wetton, Ged Thompson, Stuart Major, Rob Smith, Dave Poles, Andrew Wagstaff

Scorers - Tries; Smith (2) Hutchinson, Wetton, Hewitt, Schindler. Cons; Tunnacliffe (5)

Telford Raiders Team

Ben Taylor, Edward Proffitt, Daniel Pugh, Chris Dixon, James Pirie, Phillip Berry, James Berry, Lee Drummond, Simon Taylor, Alistair Hendry, Chris Tinsley, Paul Lambert, Peter Jones, Gavin Williams, John Broadhead, Jamie Waller, Robert Allen

Game Breaker - Dave Schindler's 78th minute winner for the Bears

Men of the Match - Coventry - Ray Luggeri. Telford Raiders - Phil Berry

National Division3 - May 10th. Manchester 44-14 Coventry

Coventry Bears travelled up to Manchester to take on a Knights team who were reeling from their worst ever defeat at the hands of Sheffield on the opening weekend. Coventry on the other hand had been awesome in the first round and had seen off title favourites, Warrington. 
Coventry started well and after a couple of early penalties the Bears settled into their normal expansive game, which saw Francis Slater finish a move which flowed from one side of the field to the other. Rich Pepperell was unable to convert from the touchline, but on the twenty minute mark the Bears held a 6-2 lead and looked to be settling into their pattern.
However, very much against the run of play the home side then managed to post two unanswered converted tries to take the score to 14-6 in the Knights favour. Unfazed, the Bears were quickly back threatening the Manchester line when the Bears' ever present Alan Robinson was left with a bloodied mouth after a bad tackle. Robinson's retaliation to this treatment led to his dismissal; a harsh move which astounded both sides.
Turning round 14-6 in arrears, the 12-man Cov side were made to suffer as the Manchester team exploited the gaps left by the missing defender and ran in a further try to extend the lead to 14 points. The Bears were showing a lot of promise in the second half though, and they had moments of brilliance, one of which led to centre Luke Talbot running in Cov's second try of the day. As the ball moved across the field from right to left, Talbot dummied the ball to the winger and stepped inside his opposing centre to score. Again it remained unconverted leaving the visitors 10 points adrift.
The Manchester team then dominated for the next half hour as they exploited the gaps out wide and scored a further five tries to which the Bears could only muster one in return as Rob Lowe provided a neat little kick through on the fifth tackle which Rich Pepperell pounced on.
In a match that was spoilt by poor refereeing one more decision went against the Bears as Jonny Fairhurst was sin binned for dissent on 75 minutes.

Speaking after the game, Stephen Harrison-Mirfield said.  " We deserved to lose today. Early indiscipline cost us very dearly. The Manchester team knew our weak spot and exploited it well and fair play to them. However I feel the important thing for us is that we have had this hiccup now and not later in the season. We are a team not used to losing and sometimes you need an upset like this to teach you some valuable lessons. The one thing that really went against us was the level of refereeing. You don' t expect your players to be told to "bear with the ref" as "he is only learning, himself". We are playing in a national competition, and we need to know that the standard of the refereeing staff is going to match that of the players. My lads had no protection out there. Don' t get me wrong, the standard of refereeing didn't affect the result, but I certainly think it would have been much closer had he not been so hasty showing his cards. Even the Manchester team were dumbfounded that Alan was sent off. It says something when the beneficiaries of the decision think it was wrong. "

Team 1) Rich Pepperell 2)Ben Hands 3)Jonny Fairhurst 4)Luke Talbot 5) Francis Slater 6) Alex Brown 7) Joe Smith 8) Richard Davies 9) Matty Allsopp (c) 10) Tim Stevens 11) Alan Robinson 12) Ian McGregor 13) Rob Lowe 14) Craig Lee 15) Liam McGar 16) Ian Grime 17) Scott Carver

Cov Scorers - Tries; Slater, Talbot, Pepperell. Pen; Pepperell

National Division3 - May 3rd. Coventry 16-13 Warrington Woolston Rovers

The new Rugby League National Division three got off to a fantastic start at Coundon road, when the Coventry Bears took on the Warrington Woolston Rovers team. It really was a meeting of the old guard and the new order as the Bear's team, only formed four seasons, ago took on a Rovers team with a 45 year history.

The conditions were more reminiscent of winter rugby as the heavens opened up for the first half and made the surface and the ball very slippery, and while there were a number of handling errors this didn't detract from a fantastic and scintillating game of rugby league.

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It took the very experienced Rovers side only eight minutes to gain the ascendancy when their scrum half Mark Wallington dummied a drop-off to one of his charging forwards, which created a moment of hesitation for the Bears' defence which he exploited by going through the gap and scoring under the posts. The try was duly converted by the Mark Roughneen to take the score to six points to nil. The score remained at this until six minutes before the break, as defence became the name of the game and the Coventry team absorbed all the Rovers team had to throw at them. During this period the Bears barnstorming forward Alan Robinson was dispatched to the sin bin following an off-the-ball incident and Rovers' Lee Rushton joined him a couple of  minutes later for interfering at the play the ball. On 34 minutes the Bears were pinned down ten metres from their own line, but had possession through a scrum. Newcomer Jonny Fairhurst attacked the centre and wing and made a decisive break. Having already made 50 metres he superbly dummied around the full back to race over in the left hand corner for the try of the game. The kick by Pepperell slipped just wide and left the score at 6 points to 4 in favour of the Rovers. The Bears, duly lifted, spent the last five minutes of the first half camped on the Rovers line and after three sets of six Joe Smith came up with the break and raced in at the corner after jinking around four Rovers players. Pepperell added the extras from the touchline to take the home side into the interval leading by 10 points to 6.

The second half was another massive defensive battle with the Coventry Bears having to defend against seven sets in a row at one point. Having weathered the onslaught, winger Tom Shaw broke will down the right and maybe should have gone himself, but instead elected to slip the ball back inside to Joe Smith who was unable to collect. After a period of relentless attack the Rovers finally broke the Deadlock when substitute Lee Rushton bundled over from short distance to tie it ten- all, with the subsequent conversion attempt failing. 

Twenty five minutes then elapsed without a breakthrough, with Cov repelling wave upon wave of Rovers attacks as they looked for the next score. The Rovers side eventually took an opportunity for a field goal on 71 minutes and then extended their lead by another two on 75 minutes when Mark Roughneen put over his second conversion of the day from a disputed penalty. 

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Behind by three points and with only five minutes remaining many teams would have thrown in the towel at this point but the Bears somehow upped a gear and went into overdrive and were finally rewarded on 77 minutes when Rob Lowe took an inside ball off Joe Smith and managed to break out of two tackles and carry two players over the line to score the match winning try for the Bears. Pepperell rubbed in the salt with the extras.

With only three minutes to go, a short kick off caught the Bears napping, and only a last gasp tackle by Shaw on the Woolston right wing prevented the Rovers side from stealing the game at the end.

Before the game many people thought the Bears would be on the end of a 20 point-plus thumping, but speaking after the match Bears Head Coach Stephen Harrison-Mirfield  said "At the end of the day reputations count for nothing. We probably gave the Woolston side too much respect in the first 20 and then when we realised we were as good and better we really settled into our game. For me there were some blinding performances today. Alan Robinson played the best game I have seen him from him in a while. Ian 'Ginger' McGregor was awesome; his tackling was fearsome and he certainly put his body on the line, and the other fantastic tackler was new lad Alex Nash. In his first season in League he has proved to be awesome and his tackle on the Rovers prop on our line even made me wince. The other great thing was the two half backs, Smith and Brown. They combined brilliantly and for two relatively small lads they were smashing the Rovers team in every tackle. It's been a great day, the crowd really got behind us and we have claimed our first big scalp of the season. Hopefully we have shown those sceptics in the North and in the Midlands that Rugby League is becoming a truly National sport and we in Coventry are going to lead the way."

Man of the match was Rich Pepperell who as well as converting two great goals had a fantastic game in returning the ball from the kicks throughout. The Rovers team voted for him as he consistently positioned himself well, took every high ball that was put his way and always beat the first defender when returning the ball.

Team: 1) Richard Pepperell 2) Francis Slater 3) John Fairhurst 4) Alex Nash 5) Tom Shaw 6) Alex Brown 7) Joe Smith 8) Richard Davies 9) Matthew Allsopp 10) Alan Robinson 11) Ian McGregor 12) Jonny Nicholls 13) Rob Lowe 14) Ian Grime 15) Luke Talbot 16) Tim Stevens 17) Liam McGar

Scorers: John Fairhurst (Try), Joe Smith (Try), Rob Lowe (Try), Rich Pepperell (2x Goals)

Conference Cup Semi-Final - April 20th. Derby City RLFC. Coventry 22-41 Rotherham Giants

Referee: Mr P. Gluck
Weather: warm/overcast

Coventry Team: Francis Slater, Ben Hands, John Finn ,Charlie Hands, Alan Collins, John Fairhurst, Joe Smith, Liam McGarr, David Schindler, Tim Stevens, Jason Wetton, Craig Lee, Al Robinson, Luke Hutchinson, Michael Greevy, Nigel Kane, Stephen Harrison-Mirfield
Coventry scorers: Tries - Ben hands (2) Charlie Hands (2) Dave Schindler. Conversion: Francis Slater
Men of the Match: Coventry - John Fairhurst. Rotherham - John Dudley

The Coventry Bears finally exited the Conference Cup at the hands of an experienced Rotherham side - but the largely inexperienced Coventry development team showed flashes of potential that will stand them in good stead for the upcoming TotalRL.com summer campaign. The Bears were again trialling some new players and it seems once again that some bright new talent has been unearthed.
Rotherham were 12-0 up after five minutes and the Bears were staring down the barrel of a big defeat, but quickly settled down and started to make a game of it.  Two of the newcomers, Charlie and Ben Hands, scored in the next few minutes, with Charlie breaking down the left wing and running in to score under the sticks. Then, not to be outdone by his elder brother, Ben went in at the corner.

Rotherham replied with two more tries - the second of them from veteran former Rotherham RU forward John Dudley - the team is aptly called 'The Giants' with the likes of JD in the side.

Once again though, Charlie Hands stepped forward to reduce the deficit, and at half time with the score at Rotherham 22 and Coventry 14, the Bears were still not completely out of it.
For 15 minutes of the second half of the game the Bears competed but then the Giants took over scoring three tries. They resorted to their old effective ploy of take the ball in and ship it to Dudley to crash over from short range. Not pretty- but devastatingly effective.

However, it was the improving young Coventry Team that had the last two words when Ben Hands equalled his brother's brace and finally Dave Schindler, who had an impressive game, scored in the corner.
Final Score: Rotherham 41 Coventry 22

Conference Cup Quarter-Final - April 13th. Coundon Road Coventry. Coventry 29-18 Bolton le Moors

Referee: Mr P. Gluck

Weather: warm/overcast

Teams

Coventry: Francis Slater, Brent Evans, John Fairhurst, Will Gilbert, Andy Whitehall, Rob Lowe, Joe Smith, Rich Davies, Matty Allsopp, Al Robinson, Tim Stevens, Craig Lee, Rich Draper, David Schindler, Liam McGarr, John Finn, Stuart Major, Alan Collins.

Bolton Le Moors: Anthony Robinson, Andre Deakin, David McComas, Mark Brindle, David Myers, Mark Bolton, Kevin Coward, Keiron Spruce, Craig Ray, David Ogden, Darren White, Carl Kelly, Mark Simone, Darren Leach, JJ Jakar, N. Ogden, Andrew Bowling, David Hindley, Gary Dooney

Game Breaker:  Rich Draper's break and touch down that took the Bears to a seven point lead with minutes remaining.

Men of the Match: Coventry, Rob Lowe. Bolton Le Moors, Mark Bolton

The Bears progressed through to the semi-finals of the Totalrl .Com Conference cup this afternoon when they overcame a committed Bolton Le Moors outfit by 29 points to 18. The game was in doubt until the final few minutes with the Bolton le Moors team making the Bears dig deep for their win.

Coventry started brightly enough and were leading by 10 points to nil with tries from Will Gilbert and Rob Lowe and a conversion from Francis Slater after 10 minutes. The Bolton side showed their mettle however, and fought back to level with tries from Craig Ray, who wrong-footed the Coventry defence on 14 minutes with a neat dummy, and Mark Bolton on 32; David Ogden converting.

With nothing between the sides a Rob Lowe dropped goal in the 35th minute saw the Bears lead 11-10 at the interval.

Bolton took the lead on 48 minutes with a penalty from Mark Bolton only for Francis Slater to oblige with a penalty for the Bears after 53 minutes. After a period of sustained pressure the Bolton defence finally gave, and  David Schindler squeezed in from short distance under the posts on 65 minutes. The Bears' lead was reduced to one point five minutes later when Anthony Robinson scooted through the middle of the Coventry line.

With five minutes remaining Rich Draper opened up the Bolton defence to score what was undoubtedly the game-breaking try - Slater topping-up - before John Finn sealed the game for the Bears twop minutes before time.

The Bears now go into the hat for the semi-final which will be played at a neutral venue next Sunday.

Conference Cup - April 6th. Moderns RFC, Nottingham. Nottingham 20-38  Coventry

Referee: Mr. N. Evans
Weather: Grey and overcast

Team: Francis Slater, Brent Evans, John Fairhurst, Andy Whitehall, Tom Shaw, Alex Van der Walt, Joe Smith, Tim Stevens, Alex Brown, Al Robinson, Scott Carver, Ian Grime, Rich Draper, Luke Hutchinson, Graham Hall, Ian McGarr, Stuart Major, Jason Wetton 
Coventry Tries: Slater (2) Evans, Fairhurst, Robinson, Whitehall, Smith, Stevens
Conversions Van der Walt (3)

The Coventry Bears secured their place in the quarter finals of the Rugby League Conference Cup with an aggregate score of 68 points to 28 with Sunday's 38-20 victory.
Again the Bears trialled new players, with four debutantes taking their places in the line-up. The cup competition has been used by the Bears to 'blood'  the players who will form the team that will defend their RLC championship.
A kick through by Alex Van der Walt was seized upon by Francis Slater to open the scoring on three minutes, but Nottingham hit back with a try from short distance nine minutes later. The conversion left the Bears trailing 4-6.
New winger Brent Evans was put through by John Fairhurst to restore the Bears' lead when he scored in the corner. Fairhurst himself added the next try when he completed a move that had seen the Bears patiently work their way up field. However, once again the Outlaws hit back with two more tries from close range - the Bears were guilty of trying to be too elaborate and went in at half time trailing 14-12. 
Francis Slater again got Cov's game underway  when he completed a move into the corner. Coventry skipper Alan Robinson scored under the posts to give Alex Van der Walt two from two conversions in the second half.
Two long distance tries followed for the Bears, Andy Whitehall -  another one of the new players -  ran in from fully 50 yards and scrum half Joe Smith broke through and ran on for 40 yards to seal the game for the Bears.

Nottingham had the benefit of a wicked bounce of the ball to close their scoring, but it was Coventry through Tim Stevens who had the last word scoring on the final whistle.
Coach Stephen Harrison-Mirfield said he was particularly pleased with the quality of the players that the Bears have discovered and feels that the team will more than hold their own in the season ahead. 

Conference Cup - March 9th. Barkers Butts RFC. Coventry 30 - 8 Nottingham

Referee: Mr N. Evans

Weather: Sunny/Windy

Coventry Team: Rich Pepperell, Kev Walters, John Fairhurst, Alex Nash, Tony Wildsmith, Alex Brown, Joe Smith, Al Robinson, Rob Lowe, Adam Lindsay, Ian Grime, Rich Draper, Scott Lindsay, Paul Newman, Craig Lee, Luke Hutchinson, Tom Shaw.

BearsWeb Man of the Match: Rich Draper

Tries: Rich Draper, Johnny Fairhurst, Rob Lowe, Alex Brown, Tom Shaw (2)

Cons: Rich Pepperell (2), Adam Lindsay.

Scoring Sequence:

The Coventry Bears started their new campaign in fine style with a good win over Nottingham Outlaws in the Conference Cup. This new competition is for the teams who will play in the Rugby League Conference this coming season, and the Bears intend to field their 'development' side. This team will, when the main season commences, defend the RLC championship, while the team that won last year's Grand Final will step up to National Division 3.The Bears were trialling seven new players, all of whom came through the game with flying colours. Facing an experienced Nottingham outfit they did not disappoint.
The Bears went ahead from the kick-off when a mix up in the Nottingham defence allowed Rich Draper to ghost in and score without another Bears player having touched the ball.
Sixteen minutes later Rob Lowe broke through the defence to score under the posts, Rich Pepperell converting. A little later a neat slip pass from Al Robinson let Alex Brown in between the posts; again Rich Pepperell added the extra two points.On 31 minutes Nottingham’s former Rotherham Giants player Graham Batty took the score at half time to Cov 16 – Nottingham 4 following a fine passing move.
The second half was a much scrappier affair than the first, with the Bears, playing into the stiff breeze, becoming over elaborate at times. Nottingham were playing their best rugby of the game when Tom Shaw scored against the run of play, latching on to a smart pass from the Coventry scrum half Joe Smith.Nottingham’s persistence paid off however when winger Ed Easter squeezed in to the corner, with the Coventry defence running out of numbers as Nottingham worked the overlap.
A charge down from Rich Draper as Nottingham tried to clear their lines then let Tom Shaw in for his second try of the game.
Rob Lowe nearly scored for the Bears having raced 45 yards only to be overhauled just before the try line. However from the resulting play-the-ball debutant John Fairhurst completed the Bears' tryscoring going in under the posts, upper body strength proving crucial as he reached out to score while being tackled.
Coach Stephen Harrison Mirfield said after the game “ I was really pleased with the new boys. All of them have earned a place in the Conference side and on this performance some of the new players will be pushing the National 3 players for their places in the higher division.”

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