Gutted, but what a bloody game! Come on, Cov!
I honestly don’t know whether to scream into my pint or applaud, because that was absolute Championship rugby at its most chaotic and brilliant!
To head up to Clifton Lane for the opener, put 28 points on the board before the break, and lead 28–12 at half-time… you’re thinking the boys have turned up, laid down a marker, and got the job sorted. Tom Bacon getting over early, Maunder bagging a brilliant double, the skipper Jordan Poole muscling over, and Bruce Houston kicking like an absolute dream—we looked totally clinical. When Houston sliced through again in the second half, it really felt like we’d weathered their storm and had it in the bag.
To see it slip away at the death—losing 38–35 after Mitchell Lacey-Babalola slipped in with two minutes to go—stings like hell. And don’t even get me started on the final play deep into injury time! Seeing the lads pile over what looked like the winning try, only for the ref to blow for an infringement in the build-up… absolute heartbreak. My head was in my hands!
Fair play to the Titans, they’ve waited years to get back to this level and they threw the kitchen sink at us in the second forty. But look at the bigger picture: scoring 35 points away from home on day one, grabbing a bonus points, and playing running rugby that has your heart in your mouth until the 82nd minute? That’s Cov rugby all over.
Yes, the discipline and game management in the second half will give Alex Rae and the coaches plenty to chew over this week. But if that’s the firepower we’re starting the campaign with, we are going to be an absolute nightmare for anyone to face this season. Dust ourselves down, fix the leaks, and bring on round two—Cov till I die! 🔵🏉