Match Reports from 2002

TotalRL.com Summer Rugby League Conference Harry Jepson Trophy Grand Final Cheltenham 8th September 2002

Coventry Bears 31 Hemel Stags 18

Sunday the 8th September was a pivotal day in the short history of the Coventry Bears Rugby League Club, as they secured the TotalRL.com Grand Final title and went away with the Harry Jepson trophy.

The Bears team went into the game as underdogs, which is an interesting situation as they finished above their opponents in the League and were featuring in their second successive final, having narrowly lost against Teesside Steelers last year. But the role of underdogs suits the Coventry side as it takes the pressure off them and allows them to relax.

Stephen Harrison-Mirfield, the Bears coach explains "In the build up to this game and also the semi-final we were seen as the underdogs, many of the teams in the south stick together and support each other and so I think this lead to rumours that we were going to lose.

Add to that the fact that Hemel were featured on Rugby league world last week and you can start to see why we were given the 'underdogs' title. But that's great for me and the lads, it has meant we could just get on with what we are good at and that was training hard, working on our set pieces and really channelling our efforts and energy into playing."

The Bears had a steady build up to the final and even had a weekend off last week to allow them to rest up and get rid of some of the knocks that they picked up in the semi final.  Rich Pepperell and Scott Carver were both carrying knocks and the break gave them a chance to come back fixed and fresh.

Training was very light and as Alan Robinson said before the game "We know our game plan, we are all very fit and there is no need to do more than we need to at this stage in the season. A heavy training session could have led to injuries but we took it easy and just practiced our sets".

The game itself was an end-to-end affair with both teams playing their part in making it an enthralling encounter.

The Bears started ominously by conceding a try on three minutes after they had put themselves under pressure with a silly penalty. The Stags centre dropped inside and took a ball to run straight through and Rich Pepperell's last gasp attempt to stop him was just too late.

But Coventry being Coventry it was this shock that brought them into action.  They had a great roll on when Alan Robinson was tackled high and Jimmy 'the boot' Cathcart stepped up to convert the penalty and make the game 4-2, following that the Stags again gave away another penalty more or less straight from the restart and as the Bears set up to play their set move, up stepped man-of-the-match candidate Steve Campton to take the first settler and managed to spin out of the first tackle and with only the full back to beat he went over for the Bears' first try of the day. Jimmy Cathcart converted again to put the bears 8 - 4 up and they never looked back. Cathcart added another penalty before Tim Stevens' barnstorming run through the middle of the field led to his first try of the season.  Ironically the Bears' coach was trying to substitute him at the time and was the first to admit he was glad Tim hadn't heard him.

With Cathcart adding the extras the score was 16-4 and the Bears looked to be coasting; but on the stroke of half-time the Stags struck back from a scrum to make the interval scoreline 16-10.

The second half was a champagne display from both sides. The Bears were the first to score as Jimmy Cathcart added a trade mark penalty goal from 45 metres out and the Bears again struck a few minutes later when Joe Smith put over the team's third drop goal of the season to make the score 21-10 in Coventry's favour. The Stags then had five minutes in the ascendancy and England captain Richard Smith capitalised by scoring a trade mark try out wide on the left hand side. The Hemel kicker was unable to add the extras and so the scores drew closer at 21-14.

Again the Bears lifted their game and Jimmy Cathcart crossed the line following an excellent move where Alan Robinson came out of the pack just before it was about to go down to run a dummy at the defence. It worked a treat as the Stags all went for Robinson while Alex Van Der Walt was left free to break the line and feed Cathcart on his outside.  This took the scoreline to 25-14 but again Hemel showed their quality as their centre burst through a series of Bears tackles to score in the corner but again they were unable to add the extras and so the score stood at  25-18 and the Stags were in striking distance of the Bears and the tension was building.

Ironically the last word of the day went to Alan Robinson who scored a great try off Jimmy Cathcart's shoulder to finish the Stags off; it was an excellent end to an excellent day’s entertainment and no man deserved that try more than Alan Robinson, who has been the backbone of the team since he founded it in 1998.

Jimmy Cathcart was awarded the Bev Risman Man of the Match award and received it from the great man himself, a former dual code international and Leeds stalwart.  Speaking after the presentation Bev Risman said "It was a very difficult choice to make, it was between four players in the end, Cathcart, Rob Lowe, Steve Campton and Alan Robinson.  Ultimately I selected Jimmy as he was so integral in attack and his kicking was one of the real differences on the day.  I totally enjoyed the match and the great thing about Coventry is that you guys never give up, you showed it against North London and again today. There is total commitment."

The celebrations went on into the night and preparations are now being made for next season.  Coach Harrison-Mirfield, said "You are only as good as your last game and at the moment we are the best in the Conference, we will have a lot of people wanting to topple us next year and so we have to prepare well and go on to maintain our consistent run. But tonight we are going to celebrate, the lads deserve it, Ron Banks deserves it and so do the supporters.  It was great to see so many supporters here today and I hope they'll come down to the matches at Coundon Road next season."

The good news for the bears is that the victory yesterday gets them an invitation to play in the challenge cup and also a friendly match against the Scottish champions.

Team: Pepperell, S. Campton, Lowe, Cathcart, Slater, van der Walt, Smith, Davies, Allsopp, C. Southwell, McGregor, Nicholls, Wright, Robinson, Carver, Stevens, Lewis.

Tries: Campton, Stevens, Cathcart, Robinson.

Cons: Cathcart (4)

Pens: Cathcart (3)

Drop Goal – Smith

'Chicago Rock' Man of the Match - James Cathcart  

Mirf's Player Round-up

1. Rich Pepperell - Had a great game, made two try saving tackles and took the ball back well from the Hemel kicks.  Commanded the defence excellently and totally outclassed the Hemel full back who is also the Welsh full back. Rich did his international career no harm at all.

2. Steve Campton - Arguably the find of the season, Campo was awesome yesterday, he ran so hard and tackled like a man possessed - for me he pushed Jimmy all the way for the MOTM award.

3. Rob Lowe - Mr Dependable, had a great game, made some excellent yardage and tackled solidly - totally justified his selection as captain.

4. Jimmy Cathcart - Superb game in attack, he took the game to Hemel and showed he is much more than just a kicker.

5. Francis Slater - Excellent game, ran well and defended solidly, came in to take a lot of pressure off the forwards with his darting little runs.

6. Alex Van Der Walt - For me he was my man of the match, faultless in attack and his tackling was fearsome.  He made three big hits in a row at one stage and still wanted more.

7. Joe Smith - Great game in defence and he led the attack well with Alex, he always amazes me with his defence, he is so small but could stop a train.

8. Rich Davies - Solid game, made some big early hits which set the tone of the defence for us.

9. Matty Allsopp - Superb game, looked knackered at half time, but came out in the second half with a vengeance - should certainly be in the England side as he totally outclassed the Hemel hooker who is the current England number 9.

10. Carl Southwell - Played excellently, never took a step backwards and always manages to bounce the first man off.

11. Ian McGregor - Totally consistent, story of Ginge's season, he was relentless in attack and defence.

12. Johnny Nicholls - Great going forward, he runs in such a way that the opposition can't hold him, his defence was mean as well and he's so full of energy.

13. Matt Wright - Salty has been brilliant this season, he's the real steel in the defence, he loves tackling and showed it yesterday.   He's also strong going forward, he's like a terrier just getting up and going again and again.

14. Alan Robinson - Booming Marvellous, the best game he has had all season, he ran with passion and determination and made some great defensive hits.

15. Tim Stevens - Tim has come on loads this year and has made a great recovery from a shoulder injury, his attacking was great and he made great yardage.

16. Scott Carver - The human cannonball, Hemel found it hard to contain him as he his so small and strong, has a great game and had one awesome run where he carried two players about 30 yards.

17. Andy Lewis - Excellent game when he came on in the wing role, played excellently alongside Campo and took so much pressure off the forwards with his darting runs from halfback.

25.8.02 TotalRL.com Rugby League Conference. Harry Jepson Trophy Semi-Final North London Skolars vs Coventry Bears (Prince of Wales Stadium, Cheltenham, 24.8.02).

The Workforcedirect Coventry Bears have made it through to the TotalRL.com Rugby League Conference Grand Final for the second year in a row after a mammoth battle at the Prince of Wales Stadium in Cheltenham. Coventry trailed through the whole match until six minutes from the end when they finally gained the ascendancy in this very hard fought game.

After 17 minutes the Bears looked down and out as they trailed 14 points to nil after the London side crafted two well taken tries and converted an early penalty in front of the posts. It is a credit to the Coventry side that they never let their heads go down and dug in to take the match back to the London side. The second quarter was all one way traffic with the Coventry team camped on the London line and on 30 minutes, after a fantastic trademark burst through the line from Alan Robinson, hooker Matty Allsopp managed to burrow his way under the London defence from short distance to put the first Bears points on the board. James Cathcart added the extras and the bears were looking dangerous. A couple of missed opportunities for the Bears meant that the scoreline remained 14 points to 6 until just before half time when Cathcart added a further penalty to make the difference just one converted try. As half time approached the Bears were yet again camped on the London line and seconds before the interval they were very unlucky not to level the scores as they fumbled on the line.

Half Time: Skolars 14 Bears 8

After the Break North London came back with all cylinders firing but the Bears managed to weather the storm unscathed, and in fact narrowed the margin with a Cathcart penalty on 52 minutes and a well taken drop goal by Alex Van Der Walt on 60 minutes. This settled the Coventry team and set the stage for a tremendous fight-back. Going into the final quarter the score was 14 points to 11, but the Bears were then hit by two great London moves. Unfortunately for the London side the first of their efforts was disallowed as the player placed the ball down over the dead ball line but their second effort was rewarded with a try. However, crucially, the conversion attempt bounced off the post and left the score at 18 points to 11 with only twelve minutes remaining. At this point the Bears could have been forgiven if they had lost their structure and let the pressure get to them, but the ever level-headed Cathcart converted a penalty on 70 minutes to put Cov within a converted try of taking the lead. Further immense pressure paid off on 74 minutes when a flowing move which saw the ball pass through six pairs of hands from the far left of the pitch across to the right hand corner where Francis Slater dived over to make it 18 points to 17 in the London side's favour. With only 6 minutes remaining the pressure was on Cathcart to land the conversion from the right hand 'wrong' touchline to give the Bears the lead for the first time. His fantastic effort duly did so and on 79 minutes he added an extra two as the dejected London side gave away a penalty as they came through late on Cathcart after he had put up a great bomb.

Cathcart was awarded the Chicago Rock Man of the Match award with his magnificent twelve point haul and was as ever calm in accepting it. “It was a job it had to be done, we didn't come all this way both today and this season to lose the game. We knew we were the better team it just took us a while to get into our stride and unfortunately they managed to put 14 points on us in the meantime”.  Coach Stephen Harrison-Mirfield was elated after the win saying “I think I’ve aged ten years today, it was a hard match fought out up the middle of the park and the lads did an exceptional job of containing the London back line. We made three missed tackles today and they scored from each one, but three missed tackles is very low, I’ll be working with the lads to make sure it’s less in the final”.

The Coventry team showed they had a lot of heart and a great deal of grit and determination in pulling off this fantastic comeback. There are not many team who after trailing 14-0 would have the belief in themselves to think they could do it, but the Workforcedirect Coventry Bears made the City of Coventry proud today and showed the rest of the country what it means to have belief in your own abilities.

The Grand Final is on Sunday the 8th September at the Prince of Wales Stadium in Cheltenham with a 3pm kick off. Spectators are welcome to come to what will prove to be a fantastic day of family entertainment where all being well the Bears will go one better than last year and bring home the silverware.

Final Score: North London Skolars 18 Coventry Bears 21

Team: Rich Pepperell, Andy Lewis, Rob Lowe, Jimmy Cathcart (4P, 2C), Francis Slater (T), Alex van der Walt (DG), Joe Smith, Rich Davies, Matty Allsopp (T), Carl Southwell, Ian McGregor, Johnny Nicholls, Matt Wright, Alan Robinson, Tim Stevens, Scott Carver, Craig Lee

Chicago Rock Man of the Match: Jimmy Cathcart - cool head and a magnificent right boot helped the team claw back from the edge of the precipice, ultimately securing the win with a superb touchline conversion under intense pressure.

ALSO..as a bonus, here is the report of Gloucestershire Press Officer Chris Wilson, which is to be used in League Express and the Gloucestershire press.

CATHCART KICKS OUT SKOLARS  

COVENTRY BEARS … 21pts NORTH LONDON SKOLARS … 18pts
Irish international James Cathcart booted the North London Skolars out of the Harry Jepson Trophy with a superb display of kicking both from hand and at goal. The Bears' policy of containment kept the Londoners in their own half for long periods and meant that they couldn't capitalise on their impressive opening.
Showing several positional changes to cover for the absence of wingers Oyebade and Okwusogu, the Skolars started superbly. An easy penalty was followed by a glorious try as Johnstone backed up Pollard's break straight from a 20-metre tap to romp under the posts. Four minutes later, another classy handling move cut the Bears to pieces out wide Walker stepping inside to provide Harris with a simple score under the posts. With quarter of an hour gone, the Skolars led 14pts-0 and were cruising.
The Bears were not going to let the game get away from them and, despite Cathcart missing a shot at goal, battled their way back into the match, Allsopp forcing his way over on 25 minutes to reduce the arrears to 14pts-6.
The game was an even contest now. The Bears were gaining confidence and the Skolars were not having things their own way. Just before the break, Cathcart nicked another two points back with a penalty as the Skolars' discipline began to fray.
Coventry maintained the pressure into the second half with Cathcart's boot being put to good effect, pinning the Londoners deep in their own territory and their tenacious defence seeking the error that too frequently came. The deficit was reduced to four points with another penalty but the Bears had a lucky escape after 52 minutes. The Skolars thought they had the game won when du Toit finished off Johnstone's break but the winger had gone beyond the dead ball line in trying to improve his position and the score was disallowed.
Shortly afterwards, van der Walt dropped a goal to put the Bears within a try of the Skolars at 11pts-14 but six minutes later, Ijeoma broke the Bears' line with a superb burst and, although the initial support was brought to ground just short of the line, Pollard was on hand to burrow over from dummy half. The Bears were briefly rattled and the restart was sent sailing over the dead ball line to gift the Skolars another chance. However, they couldn't take it and Cathcart ground two more points back with another penalty on 69 minutes to make the score 18pts-13. Four minutes later, Coventry finally created some space out wide and Slater joyously dived over in the corner. Naturally, the conversion from the touchline was no problem to the Bears' kicker much to the delight of the noisy Midlands contingent in the crowd. The Skolars now found themselves a point down and with time running out. However, they were powerless to stop the Bears retaining possession. The final nail in the coffin came when they were harshly ruled to have late-tackled the Irishman as he put up a huge bomb and with the last kick of the game, Cathcart sent the ball between the posts for the final points of an absorbing match.
Gamestar: James Cathcart was at the centre of the Bears' plans. His long, booming punts downfield, pinned the Skolars in their own half and his goals kept the Londoners within range on the scoreboard.
Gamebreaker: Cathcart's right boot, though had du Toit grounded the ball correctly, even that might not have been enough for the Bears.
Man of the Match: Bears - James Cathcart. Skolars - Jake Johnstone.

Bears: Rich Pepperall (Capt.), Andy Lewis, Rob Lowe, James Cathcart, Francis Slater, Alex van der Walt, Joe Smith, Rich Davies, Matt Allsopp, Carl Southwell, Ian McGregor, Jonny Nicholls, Matt Wright. Subs: Alan Robinson, Tim Stevens, Scott Carver, Craig Lee.
Scorers: Tries - Allsopp, Slater. Goals - Cathcart (6). Drop goals - van der Walt
Skolars: Richard Pollard, Jeremy Alger, Jake Johnstone (Capt.), Steve Walker, Mario du Toit, Trevor McLachlan, Terry McGrath, Obi Ijeoma, Craig Harris, Jim Backhouse, Rubert Jonker, Mark Foster, Steve Hainey. Subs: Abe Kerr, Gabin Sinclair, Ben Lott, Stuart Hogg.
Scorers: Tries - Johnstone, Harris, Pollard. Goals - Johnstone (2), Harris.
Referee: Garath Illidge (St Helens).

10.8.02 TotalRL.com Rugby League Conference. Harry Jepson Trophy Nottingham Outlaws vs Coventry Bears

Workforcedirect Coventry Bears stayed on course for a semi-final spot with a convincing victory over a very good Nottingham side. In a fiercely contested match that saw no points until the 36th minute, the Bears' superior fitness and organization shone through to secure the win.
For the first 35 minutes the Bears were camped on the Nottingham line, but good scrambling defence from the Nottingham side kept the Coventry side at bay and forced them into some uncharacteristic errors which saw the Coventry side trying to force the pass to make the first opening. After being in the Coventry half only twice in the first 25 minutes, Nottingham grabbed the first try, on 36 minutes, against the run of play as the Coventry scrum half tried to find a gap with a long ball. The Nottingham winger intercepted the ball before it reached the centre and raced eighty yards to score wide out on the left. Nottingham were unable to convert the try and the Coventry team quickly recovered from their shell shock to score from an excellently crafted move on the left. After two mighty drives, hooker Matty Allsopp took the ball to the right feeding the rampaging prop Davies for what appeared to be a straight drive. However, on receiving the ball he turned sharply back towards the left to slip the ball to Alan Robinson who steamed onto it from deep and burst through the Nottingham defence to tie the match. James Cathcart duly converted the first of five. Half time score 4-6
In the second half Coventry lifted their game and made the most of the slope which favoured them. However it was 13 minutes before the break finally came, when on the last tackle Cathcart hoisted a testing kick from ten yards out to the left hand side. Campton coming in from the wing leapt to catch the ball whilst the Nottingham team were still watching it and was left an easy stroll to the line to make it 10-4. Cathcart's conversion took the score to 12-4 and the Coventry team had started to lift a gear. Four minutes later scrum half Smith jinked in just to the right of the posts after some sloppy defending from the Nottingham men following a scrum in front of their posts. Again Cathcart converted to make the scores 4-18. It stayed this way for another 16 minutes with the Coventry team piling on the pressure but with nothing more to show for it. On 67 minutes an all-out brawl erupted following a disagreement between two players, which led to the Coventry team being reduced to 11 men and Nottingham to 12, for ten minutes each. During this time the Coventry side scored again on 73 minutes when Johnny Nicholls drove over from short distance following a long range kick from Cathcart which gave Coventry excellent field position. Again Cathcart topped-up and the scores stood at 4-24 with just over five minutes to go. On 78 minutes Bears' Captain Rob Lowe exploited the big overlap they had created by dragging the Nottingham team wide on the right to score wide out on the left and again Cathcart stepped up to make the final score Nottingham Outlaws 4 Coventry Bears 30.

Team: Rich Pepperell, Andy Lewis, James Cathcart (5 cons), Rob Lowe (T 78 mins), Steve Campton (T 53 mins), Alex Van Der Walt, Joe Smith (T 57 mins), Rich Davies, Matt Allsopp, Carl Southwell, Ian McGregor, Johnny Nicholls (T 73 mins), Matt Wright, Alan Robinson (T 40 mins), Craig Lee, Scott Carver

Chicago Rock Man of the Match: Steve Campton - awesome, big defence, great attack; came in several times to take the pressure off the forwards, and scored a coolly-taken try from a well-judged Jimmy Cathcart bomb as a bonus.

Overall the game was a great spectacle to watch; a hard fought battle which took some time for the Bears to gain the ascendancy, especially with the significant slope against them in the first half. The Nottingham team came away with their heads held high, but this loss puts paid to their play off hopes whilst Coventry came away with another victory in a vein of form which is virtually guaranteed to see them through to the last four.
So all this means that only Ipswich and St Albans with a chance of claiming the league in front of Coventry. But with Coventry at the top of the table 2 points clear of both these teams and with a points difference of +139, St Albans would need to beat their next opponents Leicester by more than 140 points and Ipswich would have to put on over 200 points to beat the Bears in the final game of the ordinary season. With both St Albans and Ipswich having to travel for their final fixture all the sensible money is going to be on Coventry to finish top of the Midlands/ East League, which means a big semi-final showdown on Saturday the 24th August with either Teesside Steelers, North London Skolars, Hemel Hempstead Stags or Manchester Knights.

3.8.02 TotalRL.com Rugby League Conference. Harry Jepson Trophy.  Ipswich Rhinos vs Coventry Bears  

What should have been the Workforce Direct Coventry Bears biggest test of the season turned into a one sided affair, as the Ipswich Rhinos struggled to find players for the fixture. The game started well, with both sides competing fiercely for the first fifteen minutes, until a Cathcart penalty goal separated the two sides and proved to be the signal for a Coventry rampage.

The first try of the match, crafted by Alex an der Walt and scored by Joe Smith was arguably the best, Van Der Walt received the ball short after a rampaging run by Carl Southwell and broke the Ipswich first line of defence, Smith was then in support for Van Der Walt to offload to when the Ipswich full back provided the final opposition, Smith ran the ball in from 40 metres out to score the opening touchdown in a fifteen try whitewash of the Ipswich side - who are the only side to have beaten the Bears this year.

By half time the Ipswich side were losing by 36 points to nil and were down to 10 men as the fearsome Coventry defence took it’s toll on the Ipswich side who were without any substitutes. Credit must go to the home side who played on regardless, even when they were reduced to nine men after 60 minutes. Even with only nine men the Ipswich side ran in three consecutive sets of six on the Coventry line and were only denied a try by the excellent cover tackling of Matt Allsopp who held their man up over the line. Coventry are bound to take a great deal of confidence from this match as their defence was faultless and in attack they were outstanding, completing all but three sets of six in the entire match. If there was one thing the Coventry team need to focus on it is the place kicking with only eight of the 15 tries successfully converted the team missed out on 14 relatively easy points, with at least three conversions in front of the posts missed.

Special mention must go to Scott Carver and Ian McGregor, who both scored tries from inside their own half, Carver barging over two players to make a clean break and run it in from the half way line, whereas McGregor caught the ball from a short Ipswich re-start and ran straight through to score under the sticks. Chicago Rock’s man of the match award, as nominated by the match referee went to Johnny Nicholls, whose tireless efforts in defence and strong running in attack meant he stood out marginally higher in a team all worthy of the title.

Chicago Rock Man of the Match: Johnny Nicholls

Scorers
Tries: Rich Pepperell (2), Rob Lowe (2), Joe Smith (2), Johnny Nicholls (2), Alan Robinson (2), Scott Carver, Francis Slater, James Cathcart, Alex van der Walt, Ian McGregor
Goals: James Cathcart 6 (1PG), Rich Pepperell, Carl Southwell

27.7.02 TotalRL.com Rugby League Conference. Harry Jepson Trophy.  Coventry Bears vs Leicester Phoenix.

This Week's visitors for the first round of the second phase of the Harry Jepson Trophy were Leicester Phoenix, whom the Bears had already beaten twice this season. Although ultimately the Bears won again this was a close run game with the outcome in doubt until deep into the second half.

However, it didn't look as if it was going to be close when Francis Slater put the Bears ahead after just three minutes with a storming run into the corner which was added to by Wayne Holmes' superb touchline conversion. Coventry were much the better team at this point and for the next 20 minutes, but failed to capitalize on their superiority. Eventually though, pressure prevailed and the try came through Glenn Southwell who took the long cut-out pass from James Cathcart.

This though was the signal for a Leicester revival. Good Phoenix pressure led to a try in the 30th minute by Darren Johnson. From the resulting kick off Leicester quickly got back into the Coventry 10 and during this attack Francis Slater was sin binned for laying-on. Craig Hewitt followed up with the equalizing score for the visitors. Leicester now had the initiative but good defensive work from the depleted home side held the scoreline until half time. 

Half-time Coventry 10 - 10 Leicester.

Leicester scored almost immediately from the kick-off. Coventry's full back Holmes allowed a high ball to bounce and it was gathered by Leicester's Arismendez who duly scored under the posts. This was followed by some sloppy play by both sides until a good break by Bears' Al Robinson led to another try for Francis Slater to bring Cov back to within two points and scenting a victory which had at times looked unlikely. 

A good right wing move should have put Cov back in the driving seat but unfortunately Joe Smith dropped the ball over the line. Tom Shaw was then held up over the line after a comedy sequence of handling errors from both sides, and then just over a minute later Shaw had another chance to score but knocked on on the line. Coventry were now camped in Leicester's 20 and another try had to come, and Joe Smith duly obliged with a superbly worked try in the corner to knock the wind out of the visitors' sails. Leicester tried to respond from the kick off but a superb forty-twenty kick from James Cathcart put them right back under pressure, and from the resulting attacking scrum Johnny Nicholls crossed the whitewash to increase the Bears' grip on the game.

Leicester might have scored practically from the kick off but their prop forward knocked on over the line, giving the ball, and the pressure, back to the Bears. A good clean break by Rob Lowe was rewarded by some handbag action by a Leicester man, bringing retaliation from Matt Allsopp which resulted in both Allsopp and the Leicester player taking a well-earned ten minute breather.

Another clean break from Rob Lowe then found its reward, bringing a try under the posts for Matthew Wright. The score was topped-up by Jimmy Cathcart and Coventry were now out of sight.

For good measure, Joe Smith, from another right wing break, added the final touchdown, sealing another great display by the replacement scrum-half. Then, right at the death Rob Lowe hammered Coventry's first drop goal of the season to make the final score Coventry Bears 35 Leicester Phoenix 16.

Coventry Scorers

Tries: Francis Slater 2 (3 mins, 50 mins), Glen Southwell (22 mins), Joe Smith 2 (65 mins, 80 mins), Johnny Nicholls (70 mins)
Matthew Wright (79 mins)
Goals: Wayne Holmes 1 (3 mins), James Cathcart 2 (70 mins, 79 mins)

Drop Goal: Rob Lowe (80 mins)

Gamebreaker: Jimmy Cathcart's superbly-judged 40/20 which resulted in the try that finally broke Leicester's resistance.

'Jumpin Jaks' Man of the Match: Matt Allsopp

Go to the 'Picture Gallery' for match photos

13.7.02 TotalRL.com Rugby League Conference Round 10  Birmingham Bulldogs vs Coventry Bears

The Workforcedirect Coventry Bears wound up the first part of the season, and the Midlands crown for the second time in a row, with a convincing win over Birmingham Bulldogs on Saturday at a sun-drenched Walsall RUFC.

Birmingham started confidently enough and comfortably weathered an early storm to take the lead against the run of play after seven minutes. This certainly lifted the Bulldogs and it was 23 minutes before the Bears managed to pull level. Rob Lowe broke through the home defence and slipped the ball to Joe Smith who crossed near the posts. Just two minutes later Francis Slater raced down the wing and touched the ball down under the crossbar to put the Bears into a lead they held for the rest of the match. Two further tries, both from man of the match Steve Campton, took the Bears into a 22-6 lead at the break. 

Just three minutes into the second period Alan Robinson forced his way through some despairing Birmingham tackles, offloading to Glenn Southwell, who in turn shipped the ball to the supporting Wayne Holmes who went in under the posts. The Bulldogs pulled a try back in the corner when the Bears were down to twelve men, but Matty Allsopp quickly took advantage of a sleepy Birmingham defence when he scooted home from five yards following a quick play the ball.

Steve Campton rounded off a virtuoso performance at centre by completing a hat trick of tries. He broke away midway inside his own half and ran 75 yards shaking off three players in a race to the corner. The points scoring was completed after Rob Lowe again broke through the defending line, passed to Tom Shaw who slipped the ball on to Bears full-back Wayne Holmes. 

Final Score Birmingham Bulldogs 10 Coventry Bears 42

Coventry Team:

Holmes. Shaw, G. Southwell, Slater, Brown, Smith, T. Wright, Allsopp, Davies, Robinson,  Lee, Lowe, Thompson, McGregor, Nicholls, Carver. 

Coventry Scorers:

Tries: S. Campton (3), Holmes (2), Smith, Slater, Allsopp 

Conversions: Holmes (5) 

‘Jumpin Jaks’ Man of the Match: Steve Campton

Go to the 'Picture Gallery' for match photos

6.7.02 TotalRL.com Rugby League Conference Round 9  Coventry Bears vs Leicester Phoenix

The Workforcedirect Coventry Bears welcomed  Leicester Phoenix on Saturday and completed a double over their nearest rivals in the Midlands division.

Leicester began well when Ben Harbottle pounced on a fumbled cross-field kick at the end of Leicester's first set of six in the Coventry try zone. A well taken goal attempt made it 6-0 to the visitors.

The game developed into a real struggle as both sides failed to take advantage of each other's mistakes, and it wasn’t until the 33^rd minute that Coventry drew level when Rob Lowe broke through and unloaded to Joe Smith who scooted home to leave Wayne Holmes the opportunity to level the scores at 6-6 at half time.

The second half was five minutes old when the Bears took the lead when Tom Shaw finished off a move from right to left to score in the corner. Three minutes later John Nicholls increased the Bears' lead, breaking through the Phoenix defence to score from 15 metres out.

Phoenix were by no means being overshadowed and influential stand off John Boden pulled a try back to breathe life into the Leicester side. With nothing to choose from either side Carl Southwell managed to force his way over to take the Bears lead to 22-10.

Leicester can count themselves as unlucky when they had a try disallowed for a forward pass. Coventry then had two tries disallowed for the same offence before Rob Lowe again broke through the Phoenix cover. He raced 50 yards and then slipped the ball to Joe Smith who had been tracking him to give the Bears a 16 point advantage. Wayne Holmes completed Cov's scoring, crashing over for the Bears before Leicester’s Matt Ginvert scored in the dying seconds to take the final score to 

Coventry Bears 30 Leicester Phoenix 16

'Jumpin Jaks' man of the match: Ian McGregor (Coventry)

Leicester man of the match: John Boden.

Gamebreaker: Rob Lowe's break and dash of 50 metres in the second half which allowed Joe Smith to finally give the Bears some breathing space.

Coventry team:

Holmes, Shaw, Lowe, G. Southwell, Slater, Brown, Van der Walt, Davies,  Allsopp, C. Southwell, Robinson, Nicholls, McGregor, Stevens, Smith, Carver, Lee

Coventry scorers:

Tries: Smith (2), Holmes, Nicholls, C. Southwell, Shaw,

Conversions: Holmes (3)

Leicester team:

Wrighton, Harbottle, Wesley, French, Jones, Boden, Cramb, Rogerson, Green, Maxim, Millar, Farnden, Arizmandez, Martinez, Bryant, Ginvert, Murphy.

Leicester  scorers: 

Tries:  Harbottle, Boden, Ginvert

Conversions: Boden (2) 

30.6.02 TotalRL.com Rugby League Conference Round 8 Wolverhampton Wizards vs Coventry Bears

The Workforcedirect Coventry Bears completed a double over bottom of the Midlands division Wolverhampton Wizards at Four Ashes on Saturday. The Wizards club are to be congratulated on having secured their own 'patch', attached to a very convivial public house, which makes for pleasant and welcoming surroundings for visitors. It is to be hoped that this stable situation will enable them to consolidate and grow as a club and to become much more of a power within the west midlands - which can only be a good thing for the Service Area in particular and Rugby League in the midlands in general.

The unfamiliar surroundings and small size of the pitch, together with an occasional blustery wind, combined to cause a few problems early on, but the Bears soon settled to their task. After several nervous and below par performances, everyone saw this as the perfect opportunity to regroup and reaffirm the commitment that the team is renown for. And so it was to be, particularly in the second half as new faces started to feel their feet and the gaps started to open up. Ironically, the scoring in the second period only just outweighed that of the first, but that can be partially put down to three 'tries' being snuffed out by very marginal forward pass decisions.

John Nicholls opened the scoring for Coventry when he raced through following a penalty after just three minutes.

It was Wolverhampton who scored next when  Bringow  scored a drop goal which turned out to be the Wizards’ only point of the game..

Tries from Glenn Southwell, John Nicholls, Francis Slater, Wayne Holmes and two from  ‘Jumpin  Jaks’ man of the match Rob Lowe saw the Bears cruise into half time at Wolverhampton 1 Coventry  34.

The second half was just five minutes old when Glenn Southwell ran in from 10 metres out.

The Bears pacey scrum half Joe Smith scored two tries in as many minutes as the Bears ran riot.

Both Rob Lowe and John Nicholls completed their hat-tricks and Wayne Holmes making his debut for the Bears grabbed a brace of tries.

In the closing minutes Scott Carver rounded off a good display with the last try of the day.

Final Score: Wolverhampton Wizards 1 Coventry Bears 74

Coventry Team

W. Holmes. Shaw, Robinson, G. Southwell, Slater, Smith, Van der Walt, Davies. Lowe, C. Southwell, McGregor, Nicholls, M. Wright, Carver, Stevens, Rodden, Lee.

Coventry Tries:

Nicholls (3), Lowe (3), Holmes (2), G. Southwell (2), Smith (2), Carver, Slater

Conversions:

Van der Walt (3), G. Southwell (6)

Go to the 'Picture Gallery' for match photos

22.6.02 TotalRL.com Rugby League Conference Round 7  -  Coventry Bears vs Nottingham Outlaws

Workforcedirect Coventry Bears completed a double over rivals Nottingham Outlaws on Saturday, with the visitors proving a much more difficult team to beat this time round.

It all started brightly for the Bears when Francis Slater scored in the corner after just two minutes. Nine minutes later Nottingham were level when Jim Feasey finished off a well-worked move to score in the corner.

Andy Lewis restored the Bears’ lead, but after Coventry’s Ian McGregor was sin binned for tripping and with the Bears down to 12 men the Outlaws replied with tries from Rich Waters and Rich Buck.

Just before half time the Bears drew level with Steve Campton brilliantly collecting a ball that looked as though it was heading for touch to level the score. 

Half Time: Bears 12 Outlaws 12 

It was Francis Slater who broke the deadlock in the second half when he broke down the right wing and scored again in the corner.

When Tom Shaw repeated the Slater try it looked to be all over but Nottingham, taking advantage of a poor Coventry defence, scored again through Martyn Hilton and with Tom Mapp converting it was game on at 20-18.

But Coventry's ‘Jumpin Jaks’ man-of-the-match skipper Alan Robinson broke through from 10 yards to score under the posts. James Cathcart converted his only straightforward goal attempt to take the game. 

Full Time: Coventry 26 Nottingham 18 

Coventry Team 

Slater, Shaw, G. Southwell, S. Campton, Lewis, Van der Walt, Smith, Davies, Allsopp, C. Southwell, Robinson, D. Campton, McGregor, Wright, Stevens, Cathcart, Grimes 

Coventry Tries: Slater  (2) Lewis, Shaw, S. Campton, Robinson.

Conversion: Cathcart. 

Gamebreaker

Alan Robinson’s late try that finally sewed up the game for Coventry

Go to the 'Picture Gallery' for match photos

8.6.02 TotalRL.com Rugby League Conference Round 6  -  Ipswich Rhinos vs Coventry Bears 

An out-of-sorts Workforcedirect Coventry Bears ran into a determined Ipswich Rhinos at Ipswich RU on Saturday with the Rhinos taking revenge for their opening day defeat.

The Bears fell behind conceding a soft try after only six minutes when the Ipswich hooker squeezed through from just one metre out.

The Rhinos then increased their lead on thirty minutes, but Coventry’s ‘Jumpin Jaks’ Man of the Match Rob Lowe immediately pulled a try back after breaking through the centre.

Scott Carver’s conversion attempt then bounced off the crossbar before going over .

Half time - Ipswich 10 Bears 6

The second half saw the Bears start to compete and a good move across the pitch ended in them drawing level at 10-10 when Carl Southwell shipped the ball to Tom Shaw who touched down in the corner.

The Bears had what looked like a good try disallowed when Matt Wright appeared to have forced his way over the line, but it was the Ipswich scrum-half who broke the deadlock by taking advantage of some sloppy defending.

Tom Shaw completed his second try of the match to keep the Bears in the game at 14-16, but a kick over the back of the Coventry defence was pounced on by Ipswich after the ball took a wicked bounce to see the Rhino’s home.

Final Score - Ipswich 22 Coventry 14.

Coventry Team

Slater, Shaw, Lowe, S. Campton, Lewis, Van der Walt, Brown, Davies, Allsopp, Carver, Grimes, C. Southwell, McGregor, Wright, Lee, Rodden

Coventry Scorers:

Tries: Shaw (2) Lowe.

Conversions: Carver.

1.6.02 TotalRL.com Rugby League Conference Round 5  -  Coventry Bears vs Birmingham Bulldogs

The Workforcedirect Coventry Bears made hay while the sun shone at Old Coventrians RUFC on Saturday to consolidate their position at the head of the TotalRL.com Rugby League Conference.

Man of the match Steve Campton opened the scoring with the first installment towards his hat trick after the lively Andy Lewis broke down the wing.

Alex van der Walt then increased the Bears lead before Birmingham’s Jake Holmes scored from close range to narrow the gap to 14-6, prompting some optimism among the Bulldogs’ players. However, two more tries by Steve Campton on 25 and 30 minutes completed his hat trick, and before the first period drew to a close, the ever-probing Joe Smith, Tom Shaw and Francis Slater had increased the Bears’ lead.

Half time Coventry 38 Birmingham 6.

The second half commenced pretty much as the first finished with Andy Lewis gamboling over the whitewash in the Bears first attack of the half. 

Alex van der Walt completed his brace powerfully running a Birmingham kick back downfield.

Full back Francis Slater added to the rapidly growing tally before Birmingham replied with two tries in five minutes.

John Nicholls shook off a yellow card to break through the Birmingham centre to score under the posts before Birmingham’s Jake Holmes completed their scoring for the afternoon.

However, Tom Shaw restored normal service by collecting the ball on his own 20 metre line and jinking his way through the Birmingham defence to score a fine solo try.

Scrum half Joe Smith then made the most of a half chance by hacking a loose ball on, outpacing the defence to make a superb one-handed pick-up before sending in John Nicholls for his second try of the afternoon.

Then right on the final whistle Smith again took advantage of some slack defending to run in the Bears14th try.

After five Conference matches the Bears have averaged 60 points a game, and are certainly providing their supporters with some exciting rugby.

With potentially around half a team becoming available next week following the conclusion of the RFU County Championship, it is to be hoped that the winning run can now be extended into the knock-out stages with coach Harrison-Mirfield being able to select from depth for the first time this season.

Final Score: Coventry Bears 78 Birmingham Bulldogs 22 

Coventry Team

Slater, Lewis, S. Campton, Brock, Tunnicliffe, Van der Walt, Smith, Davies, Allsopp, Stevens, McGregor, Nicholls, Lowe, Murray, Carver, Lee, Shaw.

Coventry Scorers

Tries: S. Campton (3), Van der Walt (2), Smith (2), Shaw (2), Slater (2), Nicholls (2), Lewis.

Cons: Tunnicliffe (5), McGregor (3), Smith (2), Nicholls.

‘Jumpin Jaks’ Man of the Match  - Steve Campton.

Go to the 'Picture Gallery' for match photos

25.5.02 TotalRL.com Rugby League Conference Round 4  -  Leicester Phoenix vs Coventry Bears 

Coventry Bears continued their fine start to the season on Saturday, with yet another try-blitz, but at one stage it looked as though Leicester Phoenix were going to repeat last year's win in this fixture. Early dominance turned into near-disaster as the Phoenix turned on a display of dominant forward power - particularly from loosie Arismandez - which had the Bears rocking on their heels for much of the rest of the half. However, memories of last season's reverse at Leicester Forest must have been at the forefront of a few minds, and perhaps forced the Coventry team into something approaching their real form.

Coventry went ahead after only two minutes when Will Tunnicliffe scored in the corner. But a makeshift Leicester team shook the Bears with three tries in eighteen minutes, and at 14-4 down the Bears appeared to be in disarray. Coventry were caught napping twice by Leicester man of the match Arrismandez and when Vernon scored, the Bears were on the rack. Slowly however the Bears started to come back into the game and tries by John Nicholls and Rich Pepperell just before the break took the score to 14 -14 at half time.

In the second period the Bears turned up the pressure. Rob Lowe appeared to be held up when tackled by three players, but somehow managed to break away and scored under the posts for the try of the match. Coventry Skipper Alan Robinson benefited from a Leicester infringement to power through from five metres. Then a break down the left wing saw Andy Lewis race home on 53 minutes. Two breaks through the middle followed, and resulted in a try for Rich Davies and another for Rob Lowe.
Steve Campton took advantage of a loose Leicester pass to intercept and run in from the halfway line. Francis Slater then collected the ball from Alex Van der Walt to score Coventry's 10th try and right on the final whistle Van der Walt again broke through and fed Joe Smith who scored under the posts.
Graft finally paid off then, with the Cov defence seldom troubled as the 'visitors' took the second half honours by 40 points to nil.

Final Score: Leicester 14 Coventry Bears 54

Coventry Team 
Pepperell, Jackson, Lewis, Slater, Tunnicliffe, Van der Walt, Smith, Davies, Allsopp, C. Southwell, S. Campton, Nicholls, Lowe, Robinson, Wright, Brown, Carver.

Coventry Scorers:
Tries - Tunnicliffe, Nicholls, Pepperell, Lowe (2) Robinson, Lewis, Davies, Campton Slater, Smith.
Conversions - Tunnicliffe (4), Van der Walt

Leicester Scorers:
Tries - Arismandez (2), Vernon.
Conversion - Bateson

'Jumpin Jaks' Man of the Match - Rob Lowe.
Leicester Man of the Match - N. Arrismandez

Go to the 'Picture Gallery' for match photos

18.5.02 TotalRL.com Rugby League Conference Round 3 -  Coventry Bears vs Wolverhampton Wizards