RUGBY UNION: A THIRD gear Coventry side put 52 points past Old Albanian on Saturday, stretching the club’s unbeaten record to 24 league games.
Though Rowland Winter admitted his side could’ve performed better, the win leaves Coventry 18 points clear at the top of the National League One table.
Tries from White, who bagged a brace, Fenner, Makaafi, Stokes, Knox, Trimble and Povoas gave Old Albanian far too much of a hill to climb as Coventry’s promotion charge continued into 2018.
Old Albanian did record a try of their own when Parsons crossed over on 61 minutes, but that was the only threat they could offer as Coventry’s remarkable run extended.
Coventry boss Winter said he was pleased to start the year in winning style.
He said: “It’s disappointing that we conceded a try to them, we were a bit sloppy and fell asleep for that small period of time.
“But we had a number of players in that team who have picked up valuable game time, and we’ve rested two or three of our senior ‘old boys’ who will be raring to go next week when we have a really tough game against Blackheath.
“We didn’t really get into top gear, but we weren’t allowed to because of the stop-start nature of the game.
“For us to get 52 points and eight tries from a game like that, and the first game after Christmas, is really good.”
Winter admits a feel good atmosphere at the club has helped the team commit to training, which in turn is proving fruitful on game days.
“They (the players) all want to play their part in this journey,” said Winter.
“They all want to get on the pitch, and they won’t let anything let them down.
“We’ve got 14 games to go and I’m sure they’ll train hard again next week.
“Selection has been tough all year, but we’ve got to work with that and make sure we pick the right people for the right game.
“Today we had some different combinations that didn’t necessarily complement each other, but it was a good opportunity to look at them and develop a few things.”