Coventrians 0 - 17 Southam

Southam travelled to Coventry for a cup tie with Coventrians.
The start of the game was delayed, which stymied the initial action, as the pre-match preparation went to waste. Coventrians started with the ball and were not going to give it up easily. They rumbled down the pitch, using short, steady pick-and-go drives. This slowly ate ground, and sapped the strength of attack and defence alike. When Coventrians tried to go wide, the Southam backs were up to the challenge, thwarting their endeavours.
Southam were first to score points through No. 8 James Finch. He chased scrum half Tom McGuire’s box kick, that found considerable space behind the Coventrians line. The covering defence weren’t able to deal with the ball and when it fell to Finch, he gladly snapped it up and scored in the corner. The conversion was well slotted by McGuire from an acute angle into the wind.
The game then went back to type with Coventrians keeping the ball in hand, following a failed clearance kick that Southam were once again able to score. Winger Ali Thorpe caught the ball deep in his half and decided to run the ball back. He broke the first line of defence, and when the second came, he offloaded to Dan Haynes. The supporting run of Liam Jones saw him take the ball into the Coventrians 22, where he popped the ball to Peter Burnell to crash his way through the fullback, scoring under the posts. McGuire easily kicked his second of the half to bring it to an end.

After the restart, again, it was Coventrians who started the brighter. The reliable Southam defence ensured they were unable to break the line, and only through the excellent work of the Southam front row, Will Bostock, Sam Deeming and Peter Harris, were Coventrians’ attempts to score from a penalty scrum thwarted.
After this, Southam began to take charge of the game. They moved the ball well from left to right, but due to handling errors and some excellent tackling from Coventrians they weren’t able to capitalise with a try. Seeing the clock roll on, Southam chose to kick a penalty, which McGuire effortlessly nudged through the uprights.
Coventrians had the last say in the match working their way right down the Southam try line, only to be stopped by the last ditch ‘Southam Dog’ defence that has saved them on numerous occasions before.
The game ended 17 – 0, which belittled the efforts of Coventrians who performed well despite being 2 leagues below Southam.

Man of the Match: Dave Harris

Dick of the Day: William Lyne (how can a team manager not sort out a linesman?!)

Trys: James Finch (x1), Peter Burnell (x1)
Kicks: Tom McGuire (x2 conversions, x1 penalty)