ALEX Rae praised the confidence of young full back Tobi Wilson after he kicked a crucial late penalty in Coventry Rugby’s stunning 34-32 win against Ealing Trailfinders.
Wilson’s 74th minute penalty proved decisive as the 20-year-old showed nerves of steel to slot the ball between the posts from 35-metres out.
And with regular goal-kicker Patrick Pellegrini limping, Rae praised Wilson’s confident approach to taking on kicking responsibilities at such a late stage in the game.
Rae said: “Tobi is a confident character – he would back himself to kick that penalty in a howling wind in the desert.
“You want your goal-kicker to step up and look confident and he certainly did that – you could see he was desperate to give it a big celebration in front of the crowd.
“I love a confident person and I’m sure he’ll be in the changing room telling everyone he’ll do the job every week from now on.”
Goal-kicking percentages proved the difference between the two teams as Ealing’s experienced pair Craig Willis and Billy Twelvetrees managed to convert only one of their team’s six tries.
By contrast, although Cov only scored four tries, Pellegrini upgraded all of them and also kicked one of his four penalty attempts before Wilson’s successful 74th minute kick.
Rae added: “We knew it was going to be fine margins and their kicker Craig Willis missed a few he would normally get but we worked really hard, stuck together and deserved our win.
“When Pat missed a few kicks it would have been easy for him to back away but he kept stepping up and backing himself which was great to see.
“We had two very good teams going toe-to-toe in a fantastic advert for Championship rugby.
“We were asleep for the first ten minutes and gave them ten points then after that it was two very good attacking teams going at each other. I’m really proud of our players and the commitment they showed.”
Rae also paid tribute to his captain Jordon Poole who put in a superb display in the middle of Cov’s front row, worked himself to a standstill in the loose and claimed two of his team’s four tries.
He said: “Pooley is exactly what you want in a Coventry player and a captain – he oozes commitment and leadership.
“I also thought our two senior players were both fantastic.
“Matt Kvesic’s fight and battling at the breakdown played a huge part for us while Will Chudley controlled the game from the base brilliantly – we’re lucky to have the three of them.”
