Coventry 37 Blackheath 10

Five tries was Coventry’s final tally, but it was the two scores either side of the interval that determined the outcome of this hard-fought match.

Having edged three points ahead through fly-half Will Maisey’s second penalty strike, the hosts conspired to lose the initiative as Ben Palmer was dismissed for kicking the ball away after his side conceded a penalty, both captains having been warned for indiscipline a moment earlier by referee Neil Chivers.

However, Blackheath’s resultant line-out ball went astray and, perhaps spurred on by the annoyance of such an unnecessary yellow card, Coventry drove up field, and as the visitors were penalised for side entry, the hosts gathered their own throw comfortably enough for scrum-half Pete White to crash over on the short side with 40 minutes played.

Then, within two minutes of the re-start and still a man short, Maisey’s expertly judged punt towards the right corner was met sweetly by full-back James Stokes to complete a beautifully executed move and suddenly Coventry were 25-10 ahead and gone.

The Cov pack fell inches short eight minutes later as they probed the Club goal-line, but with the match firmly under their control, open-side Jack Preece was driven across for the bonus point on the hour, and a penalty try after Geoff Griffiths slapped down a scoring pass added further varnish.

Nevertheless, for 39 minutes the game had been a tight contest. 

A quickly taken tap-penalty, followed by a grubber-kick into space, had put Blackheath under early pressure for Cov second-row Nile Dacres to power across in the third minute, but the visitors quickly levelled as Tom Baldwin kicked forward loose ball in the Coventry defence and Mark Cooke grounded.

Indeed, Blackheath had the better of the opening quarter as the Club front-row gained an early edge, and an eleventh minute Joe Tarrant penalty gave them a 10-7 lead, but they failed to capitalise further and two Maisey strikes at the other end restored the hosts’ advantage before a couple of quick tries took the game away.

Next Saturday Blackheath return to Well Hall for the visit of Hull Ionians.  Kick-off is at 3.00 pm.

Coventry

Tries:   Dacres, White, Stokes, Preece, Penalty try

Conv:  Maisey 2

Pens:    Maisey 2

Blackheath

Tries:   Cooke

Conv:  Tarrant

Pens:    Tarrant