COVENTRY RFC ran in seven tries to beat Doncaster Knights 45-39 in an enthralling encounter at Castle Park.
James Tyas crossed either side of half time as Senitiki Nayalo, Will Talbot-Davies, Tom Ball, Josh Bainbridge and Lucas Titherington all dotted down in a bonus point victory.
The result means Coventry remain third in the RFU Championship table, four points clear of Bedford Blues with a game in hand.
Doncaster dominated the first quarter of the match and were rewarded when Sam Hudson scored the game’s opening try after just four minutes.
However, the visitors responded on 11 minutes as Nayalo crashed over and Evan Mitchell converted before two Alexander Dolly penalties restored Doncaster’s lead.
And Knights went further ahead via a penalty try just before the half-hour mark only for Tyas to keep Coventry in the contest with his first try, converted by Mitchell, as a Doncaster player was sin binned for a late tackle on the try scorer.
The visitors completed an impressive turnaround with two quickfire tries before the break when Talbot-Davies produced a smart finish out wide and Ball peeled off a driving maul to dot down.
Knight turned the game back in their favour after the interval as Joe Margetts crossed from Sam Olver’s crossfield kick and Hudson notched his second of the game from a driving maul with both tries converted by Dolly.
However, Alex Rae’s side responded through Tyas’s second try just before the hour mark as he sped away to score after great offloads from Adam Peters and Titherington with Mitchell converting.
And Coventry reclaimed the lead straight from the restart as Will Chudley fed Bainbridge to score with Mitchell again adding the extras.
The visitors sealed the win through Titherington’s well-taken try, converted by Mitchell, as Will Holling grabbed a late try for Doncaster in vain.
Coventry are next in action at home to Hartpury University on Friday, March 31 with kick-off at 7.45pm at Butts Park Arena.
