COVENTRY Rugby lost 38-24 away at Doncaster Knights as Alex Rae’s side slipped to a fourth successive defeat.
The Knights recovered from a 14-point deficit at the break to leave the visitors stunned at Castle Park.
Tries from Senitiki Nayalo, Matt Kvesic and Jimmy Martin put Coventry in command at the interval.
However, Doncaster scored four second-half tries with Cov unable to trouble the scoreboard in the second period.
The result means Coventry drop to sixth in the Championship table.
Rae’s side made the perfect start as as Nayalo powered over from five-metres out following a lineout as Tommy Mathews kicked the conversion with the game just five minutes old.
A penalty from Alex Dolly reduced the deficit before Kvesic scored Cov’s second try from close range on 23 minutes after good work from Jake Henry as Mathews again added the extras.
Doncaster responded just before the half-hour mark as Dolly received Telusa Veainu’s pass before dotting down and converting his own try.
Mathews kicked a penalty to stretch Coventry’s lead before Martin intercepted a loose pass and raced 30-metres to the line two minutes before the break as Mathews kicked the extras.
However, the momentum shifted on 46 minutes with Doncaster awarded a penalty try after a driving maul was hauled to the ground inches from the try line.
Cov lost captain Jordon Poole to the sin-bin in the process and the Knights drew level on 56 minutes as Obe Ene gathered Russell Bennett’s cross-field kick and scored in the corner as Dolly converted.
And Doncaster struck again three minutes later as Zach Kerr dropped on a kick ahead which bobbled over the Coventry line to score the home side’s bonus point try.
The Knights scored the game’s final try on 67 minutes when Jordan Olowofela ran the ball to the line and Dolly converted.
Coventry are next in action against Nottingham on Saturday, May 17 with kick-off at 3pm at Butts Park Arena.
