COVENTRY Rugby head coach Alex Rae admits returning to work following an extended break ‘felt like therapy’.
Rae’s men lost their final three games of 2024 which culminated in a 41-26 defeat away at Nottingham.
However, following a 10-day break, head coach Rae hopes Coventry can rediscover the form that saw them win their first seven league games of the season.
Rae said: “I’m very glad to be back as it’s been hard not to dwell on the game at Nottingham since there were things that I wasn’t happy with.
“The performances against the Pirates and Nottingham were not ones we want to associate ourselves with.
“You’re then desperate to get back to work and make things better, so arriving at the Butts after the break felt like therapy and now we have to use that experience to improve in the second half of the season.”
Defeat at the Lady Bay ground in Nottingham saw Cov ship 40 points for the second successive away fixture.
And Rae questioned the effort and energy of his players following the defeat having beaten the same opponents on the road in the Premiership Rugby Cup in November.
Rae added: “Rugby is a really simple game in many ways and there were certain points in the Nottingham game when certain individuals were definitely not working hard enough.
“Recognition of the effort required to be a Coventry player has existed within the squad ever since I’ve been at the club.
“If we had delivered that effort for 80 minutes the momentum Nottingham got doesn’t happen and some of the opportunities they created don’t happen.
“How hard are you willing to chase a kick? How hard are you willing to chase back and defend a break?
“I felt we lacked a bit of energy which isn’t something I’ve noticed much in the past and isn’t something I want to see again.”
Coventry return to action against Doncaster Knights this weekend and Rae expects a difficult test against the South Yorkshire club.
Rae said: “Doncaster have chucked a bit of money at it and signed a few ex-Premiership lads like Semesa Rokoduguni, George Wacokecoke, Logovi’i Mulipola and Telusa Veainu who have been there and done it.
“They’ve had a mixed bag of results but on their day they’re a very dangerous team as they showed when they beat Ealing so it will be a tough game.
“On the back of a difficult run we’re obviously not in a position to take anyone lightly and we certainly won’t be doing that against Doncaster.
“Our support has been outstanding this year and we are hoping for the same again to feed the players’ energy levels.
“We have an exciting five-week block of games starting with Doncaster and Bedford followed by the Premiership Cup so there’s a lot to play for in the next five weeks.”
Coventry host Doncaster on Saturday, January 18 with kick-off at 3pm at Butts Park Arena.
