Match Report
Ampthill 1st XV 17 – Coventry 1st XV 47, Championship Cup
Ampthill welcomed Coventry to Olney Field for their first ever match at Level 2 on a cloudless sunny afternoon with a stiff south easterly breeze in favour of the visitors for the first half.
With the club house doubled in size by the addition of a large marquee bar and major infrastructure changes obvious around the pitch it was clear to both home and away spectators that significant investment had been made in the close season in preparation for the Greene King IPA Championship.
Coventry gain the upper hand from a high kick
(Photo: Iain Frankish, Actuance Photography)
The hosts connections were aware that the visitors had recruited well adding 8 players with Premiership and/or Pro 12 experience to their squad over the summer while their pre-season preparation included 4 games of which the only loss came against Leinster!
Ampthill had plenty of attempts but things never seemed to quite work out…
(Photo: Iain Frankish, Actuance Photography)
Meanwhile the home squad would be having their first run out with 11 players making their debut including forwards coach Dave Ward & backs coach Darryl Veenendahl.
Nana Asiedu takes on James Stokes…
(Photo: Iain Frankish, Actuance Photography)
The game began with a fine line break from home fly half Josh Sharp who sliced through the Coventry defence in mid-field leaving a simple pass to one of two supporting runners for an obvious opening score, sadly the pass went astray and the chance went begging. Little did Amps spectators realise that that flurry would be the last time Amps would threaten to score until the last few minutes of the first half.
Joshua Sharp takes a penalty for Ampthill to open their scoreline
(Photo: Iain Frankish, Actuance Photography)
A demonstration of power and ruthless finishing followed in which the visitors scored 6 unanswered tries capitalising on a series of unforced errors combined with ill-discipline from A’s who were regularly penalised at the breakdown, knocking on and missing tackles. In short the first half was a horror show for the hosts leaving the score 3-40 at oranges, Ampthill’s last kick of the half penalty goal being greeted with cheers.
Joe Bercis crosses the line for Ampthill despite two admirers…
(Photo: Iain Frankish, Actuance Photography)
After an appropriate talking to at half time Amps second half was much better, dominating possession and territory for much of the half. A’s outscored their hosts 14-7 and probably should have had a couple more tries. Coventry’s defence was outstanding, however, despite being on the back foot most of the time.
Alexi Lutui powering through the Coventry defence on the way to the line…
(Photo: Iain Frankish, Actuance Photography)
Amps line out struggled until the last quarter while their scrummage was under pressure. A’s benefited from the first half game time and were much more competitive in the second despite playing the last 15 minutes or so with 14 players after an emptied bench and a subsequent injury to Captain Billy Johnson.
Gavin Williams puts the breaks on Ratu Jonasa Bulumakau
(Photo: Iain Frankish, Actuance Photography)
Next week Ampthill travel to Ealing for what will likely be another stiff lesson.
Final Score
Ampthill 17, Coventry 47
“Firstly I thought Coventry were absolutely fantastic in the first forty minutes demonstrating how to put pressure on the team in possession and then capitalise on the errors of which there were many.
We shouldn’t forget Coventry have only been beaten once in pre-season against the second best team in Europe Leinster so it was always going to be a massive ask today.
In the first half we lacked composure and this led to a lot of errors whilst playing in the wrong areas. Our discipline went and Coventry were clinical in their execution leaving us rightly down 3-40.
The second half was a different story and when you consider that we played 17 minutes with 14 men because our bench had been emptied when Captain Billy Johnson had to go off injured it was a lot more encouraging.
A really good exercise while a number of the starting XV will have to take a long hard look at themselves having plenty to work on while in the second period the bench brought real energy and dynamism to the contest.
We should also remember we have come up against a battle hardened Coventry side and its our first run out so lots of positives and things we can improve.
A’s have very different targets to Coventry this season so we will dust ourselves down and reset this week before we prepare to play the reigning Champions Ealing Trailfinders next week on the road.
I know what your thinking but don’t, its all part of our journey, come on Amps!
Thank you to our army of volunteers who worked tirelessly to make sure we were ready for the weekend and thank you to all the travelling Coventry support for being so patient whilst we dealt with some organisational issues in our first game we have played in the Championship Cup.”
