DAVID Opoku-Fordjour crossed for a hat-trick as Coventry Rugby ended the season with a dominant 64-28 win against Worcester Warriors.
Opoku-Fordjour scored the game’s first try and touched down twice in the second period as Coventry crossed for eight tries at the Nick Newbold Stadium.
Tries from Josh Barton, two from Jack Reeves, Allan Ferrie and Onisivoro Sukani Nayagi ensured Coventry finished the campaign with a sixth successive home victory.
The game proved a straight shootout for third place in the Champ Rugby table as Coventry finished the season on 93 points, just four points behind runners-up Bedford Blues.
And Coventry now head into the end-of-season play-offs with Alex Rae’s side to play sixth-placed Hartpury in the quarter-finals at the Nick Newbold Stadium.
Coventry made the perfect start when Opoku-Fordjour scored the game’s opening try after just six minutes after Api Bavadra burst through the Worcester line.
And Barton then intercepted Billy Twelvetrees’ pass and sprinted the length of the field to dot down four minutes later as Josh Thomas converted.
The home side crossed again on 16 minutes as Reeves collected Thomas’s looping pass to stroll in unopposed in the corner as the latter added the extras.
However, Worcester responded on 27 minutes when Josh Bassett scored from close range and Twelvetrees converted.
And Warriors reduced the deficit to five points when Bassett crossed for a second try six minutes later as Twelvetrees added the extras.
Coventry extended their lead early five minutes into the second period as Opoku-Fordjour made the most of an overlap to score out wide and Thomas converted.
And Opoku-Fordjour completed his hat-trick three minutes later from Senitiki Nayalo’s offload as the wing crossed for a treble in his final regular season fixture for the club.
After Thomas added the extras, the visitors kept themselves in the game on 59 minutes when Juan Gonzalez intercepted a pass and raced to the line and Twelvetrees converted.
Replacement Tommy Mathews kicked a penalty to stretch the home side’s lead before Ferrie pounced on a handling error to dot down on 65 minutes as the former added the extras
Coventry crossed again with five minutes left to play as Nayagi powered over from a driving maul and Mathews converted.
And Reeves scored the game’s final try on 79 minutes as he dove over the line in the corner to take the home side beyond the 60-point mark as Mathews added the extras.
Coventry host Hartpury in the play-offs on Saturday, May 16 with kick-off at 4pm at the Nick Newbold Stadium.
