With festivities now over- who would be the quickest to get back to form following the Christmas break? In the run up to Christmas, Redditch had won 3 games out of 4- including an impressive win against form team Burbage. Was this to be a potential ‘banana skin’ for the ‘Blue Army’? In dry and bright conditions- but with a heavy pitch- what would today bring?
1min- Redditch kicked-off playing towards the club house and into the wind, with the ball bouncing and going into ‘touch
2mins- Resulting line-out tapped back to Jason Kenney and a pass to Warwick Whitewood with a fine clearance kick- bouncing end over end into the 5m line only 5m from the Redditch goal line, kicked into touch by the retreating Redditch winger; Line-out and tap down by Rhys Evan-Johns, run through by Jack Morris and a ruck, Redditch Offside at The Ruck- missed kick by Steve Fairchild- a good start from Covents
4mins- Coventrians line out and the ball taken forward by the rampaging Chris Hope- relishing the physical challenge as ever- tackled at the third attempt but Redditch Offside at the Ruck- Steve Fairchild with a fairly easy kick 3-0
6mins- Redditch re-start- kick goes straight out- Covents scrum on half way. In an attempt to get an early hit- Redditch penalised for early engagement- high up an under kick, but easily fielded and under no pressure by the Redditch full back
8mins- ball cleared to the Redditch 10m for a Covents line out. Ball thrown to 4 but lost- knocked back- but Jack Morris runs through to collect it- handing off one player- feeding Chris Hope who passes to Callum- tackled but pops to Jack Morris who runs through to score- great support play- conversion by Steve Fairchild 10-0
11mins- a repeat from only 5 minutes before- Redditch kick straight out- scrum on half way with a Covents put in. This time Covents smaller and more ‘lithe’ pack get a nudge on, Jason Kenney passes to DJ on the Covents left, out to Steve Fairchild, but he is tackled by the rush defence before being able to make the pass to the waiting Lolo Goddard, ball comes out after Callum Craig hits the ruck hard- now pressuring into the left side of the Redditch 22. The ball gets fly hacked through and the Redditch winger kicks blindly into touch 5m from his line
13mins- the bit between their teeth the ball is won at the line- passed out to DJ, Steve Fairchild to Lolo who passes short to the lively Luke Thornton making a great break in support- drawing his man and putting Bob Eaves through a narrow gap to dot down for the second try of the game- super support, super hands and a great start- playing some of the best rugby seen since the early games of the season. Steve Fairchild with the conversion 17-0
22mins- Another scrum, another early engagement from Redditch, another free kick conceded, another long kick down the park from DJ- but another easy field from the Redditch full back- lots of silly mistakes, knock on’s- over running of passes- lots of ‘cobwebs! All the unforced mistakes meant that possession was given easily back to Redditch without them having to work for it
25mins- penalty against Covents for Holding on at the Ruck- kicked to the Covents 22 for a rare Redditch line-out. As fully expected and warned by the coaching staff pre-game, the Redditch pack took the ball at ‘2’ and simply drove the possession forward some 10m with ease before being disrupted. The ball eventually coming to the Redditch back line 9-10, 10-12- 12 stepping into the gap made by a Covents defender rushing out of the line- managing to pass to the Redditch 13 who passed behind the Redditch winger in a rare attack that could have been more dangerous with some composure. A let off for the Covents backs!
This seemed to spur the Redditch pack into activity and the momentum shifted back towards the less mobile visitors who used possession well to pressurise Covents- keeping the ball tight for the next 10 minutes
35mins- another line out, another driven maul- this again in the Covents 22- the Covents pack driving well into the maul to stem it- but Redditch retained and moved the ball well and found themselves just 2m short of the line. Heavily under pressure and having resisted all drives and carries with brave and determined defence that has come to be the ‘norm’ for this side, the Redditch tight head making a low carry and just grounding the ball- conversion missed 17-5
Half time 17-5
The coaching team resisted to make changes at half time- Covents needed a better start, retain possession and keep composure and not to allow the tiring Redditch pack any ball or territory.
41mins- DJ with the restart to the Covents right- a little too deep but from the tackle on the receiving Redditch player- Coventrians awarded a penalty for Redditch being offside at the ruck. Kicked to the corner but the resulting line out was missed- the grateful Redditch back row catching it and taking it forward to relive the pressure
45mins- Redditch knock-on on their 10m line- Covents scrum. Jason Kenny to DJ- short pop to Steve Fairchild and a clever loop and smart pass to Lawrance Goddard who drew the winger- putting Warwick Whitewood away from 30m for a fine run to the corner – conversion missed by Steve Fairchild 22-5 a good start to the half

50mins- substitutes- Dave Sexton for Karl Cook at Loose Head, Richard Bent at Second Row for Rhys Evan-Johns, James Gittins for Jason Kenney at Scrum Half, Lawrence Goddard replaced by Rohan Aitken and Ty Rowe for Bobby Eaves with Warwick Whitewood moving to Full Back
52mins- Redditch scrum on Coventrians 10m line and an instant shove by the pack- taking the larger Redditch scrum by surprise- possession taken forward by Chris Hope again into the heart of the Redditch back line but too few players providing support and a slow clear out of the resulting ruck meaning that the ball slowed- frustrating all involved

60mins- now in dominant form in the open- and at scrum time- Covents looked to be enjoying their rugby again. Line-out on the Covents right side and a quick piece of possession for the backs: 9-10- DJ passing to the sweeping Ty Rowe coming smartly off his wing- making an instant impression and a fine, fine run through 3 Redditch defenders- nicely linking with Rohan Aitken outside him who injected yet more pace- running smartly forward to half way and supported on his outside by both Warwick Whitewood and Ben Coton- the referee sadly adjudging that the pass being forward that would have meant an easy run in for either of the wingers
62mins- Redditch in possession from a line out in the Coventrians 22. Another driven maul- brave tackling, every Covents player making big hits, stopping Redditch carriers with wave after wave of heavy carries towards the Coventrians line
63mins- another ruck- right in front of the posts and only 5m out- James Gittins getting hands on the ball- but adjudged to be handling at the ruck- and sent off for doing so- Yellow card. Some momentary changes with Jason coming back on, Ben being sacrificed instead- pressure really on now the 14 Coventrians defenders. In an effort to at least get something from the game, Redditch took a tap penalty and the rumbling Redditch pack powered over- conversion missed 22-10

70mins- smart kick off and re-gather with a real push and urgency now by Covents to get a valuable try scoring bonus point. The ball cleared into touch in the Redditch 22- the impressive Richard Bent up to steal at the front- ball carried in and recycled quickly and with a clear overlap out to the Coventrians left- Connor Macintosh bravely smashing his way through several tired Redditch defenders, taking the direct route- conversion missed- taking the game completely away from Redditch 27-10
With the light fading and conditions getting colder- the final whistle was greeted with some relief by all- a fine win- the 8th of the season- taking the team to 41 points and all poised for the top of the table clash against Stoke Old Buys next week.
Final Whistle- 27-10

Head Coach John Allbright said afterwards:
“It wasn’t the prettiest of games for sure but sometimes it’s about the result. The first game back is always difficult, but we worked hard in training this week- the pitch conditions at this time of year always provide a challenge- but we largely kept to our plan. I’m proud to coach these lads- the results are coming and there is real belief in the club as a whole.
We have managed to get back on track after a couple of disappointments before Christmas. We now look forward to the biggest game and the biggest challenge of our season next week at Stoke Old Boys”