ALEX Rae felt ‘shivers down his spine’ after Coventry Rugby secured a famous 33-19 victory at Leicester Tigers in the Premiership Rugby Cup last weekend.
Cov earned their first win at Welford Road since 1992 as a scintillating first-half performance set Rae’s side on their way to a five-try victory.
And Rae insists victory against the Tigers is a special moment for everyone at the club as Cov secured a seventh successive win in all competitions this season.
Rae said: “I got shivers down my spine at the end when I heard the Cov chant going round Welford Road – it was incredible.
“We said in the huddle after the final whistle that for old players like myself and coaches Gordon (Ross) and Scays (James Scaysbrook) those are the kind of special moments that you play for.
“The fans follow us home and away and to be able to share a moment like that with them is really special. This win is as much for them as for us and I hope we have many more similar moments this season.”
A nine-minute blitz in the first half saw Aaron Hinkley, Jordon Poole, Tom Hitchcock and David Opoku all cross for tries while Lance Bombardier Tiki Nayalo, of the 7th Parachute Regiment, completed the scoring after laying a Remembrance Day wreath in the pre-match ceremony.
Backed by a vociferous contingent of travelling supporters, Rae praised his team’s attitude and now wants to top the group.
Rae added: “This team seems to thrive on the adrenaline of the big games as the bigger the occasion the better is our performance as we showed.
“Maybe the challenge for us now is finding ways to bring this approach and attitude to every game including those at smaller venues against teams that everyone expects us to beat.
“We have Northampton coming to town next and we need to be ready for the Premiership champions as we want to beat them and finish top of the group.
“We’re expecting the Premiership clubs will put out stronger teams in round three as they’re heading back into the league the following week so that game is a really exciting prospect.”
Coventry are next in action against Northampton Saints on Saturday, November 23 with kick-off at 3pm at Butts Park Arena.
