LUCAS Titherington and James Martin both scored two tries as Coventry RFC secured a 47-31 bonus point win against London Scottish in a thrilling Championship Cup tie in the capital.
Titherington scored an early try before he later completed the scoring whilst James Martin touched down twice in the first half as Senitiki Nayalo, Will Wand and Louis James all dotted down at Richmond Athletic Ground.
However, the result was not enough to secure Coventry’s place in the semi-finals after Doncaster Knights secured a dramatic 42-all draw with the last play of the game against Bedford Blues to clinch top spot in the pool.
In the capital, London were rewarded for a strong start when Nathan Chamberlain kicked an early penalty only for Coventry to respond from the restart as Martin gathered Evan Mitchell’s chip over the top and dotted down.
And the visitors crossed again on 12 minutes when Nayalo ran in unopposed from five-metres out after Coventry secured the ball at a lineout with Mitchell adding the extras.
Alex Rae’s side extended their lead just three minutes later as Titherington received an offload and raced to the line with Mitchell converting.
However, the home side responded with their first try soon after as Jordan Els went over following a maul with Chamberlain adding the extras.
Coventry crossed for their bonus point score on 32 minutes when Martin crashed over for his second of the game and Mitchell converted.
London responded once again as former Wasps wing Luke Mehson picked up a loose ball to score before Wand raced the length of the field to grab Coventry’s fifth try of the half which was converted by Mitchell.
And Coventry picked up where they left off after the break as James sprinted clear of the London defence to score after some smart interplay with Adam Peters.
London replied with two tries in quick succession as Viliami Taulani and Mehson both crossed to close the gap to nine points.
However, Titherington completed the scoring at the death with his second and Coventry’s seventh try of the night when he exploded through a small gap from Ollie Betteridge’s pass with Mitchell adding the extras.
Coventry return to league action against London Scottish on Saturday, March 4 with kick-off at 3pm at Butts Park Arena.
