Match Preview: Cov Rugby Machine Ready To Stretch Allstar Saints

Butts Park Arena - home to the Rugby Championship leaders 

Words: Benedict Ferraby

Coventry face-off against Northampton Saints looking to add to their unbeaten start.

Coventry Rugby have been pulling out all the stops so far in the 2024/25 campaign, and Alex Rae’s side will look to add yet another scalp to their collection on Saturday when reigning Gallagher Premiership champions, Northampton Saints, visit Butts Park Arena in the Premiership Cup.

The competition has already seen a number of shocks so far in 2024/25, with Coventry at the forefront of that, defeating Leicester Tigers 33-19 at Welford Road on November 9th.

Premiership Rugby Cup Pool B

Pos. Points Points Difference

1. Coventry 10 33

2. Northampton 10 21

3. Nottingham 2 -21

4. Leicester 2 -33

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Coming into this clash with the Saints in CV1, Coventry currently sit top of Pool B alongside their upcoming opponents, having accumulated a higher points difference in victories over Leicester and another comprehensive 34-15 success over Nottingham.

“Mental difference” has given Coventry a new edge in 2024/25

Much has been made of Coventry’s immaculate beginning to the new season as they look to edge out the likes of Ealing Trailfinders and Cornish Pirates, who finished nine and two points ahead of the West Midlands outfit last campaign.

Jordon Poole in his element of a Premiership face-off

Speaking in the lead-up to yet another big encounter for his side, Cov captain Jordon Poole believes the difference in results and performances in the early stages of 2024/25 has been through mentality.

“I think it’s more of a mental difference,” he stated.

Last year we slipped up at Ampthill away, Harptbury at home, Caldy away, Pirates home and away and Ealing away, they were our slip-ups.”

“We’ve got a big test coming up in December. We’ve got Doncaster, Ealing and the Pirates coming up, but we’ve also got Ampthill away, which is bleak.”

“We addressed that in pre-season. We spoke about how we get up for those games when they do come around,” Poole continued.

“We like to think that we’re a team that rises to the big occasion. That’s any game at home but also these top teams away. We get up for those and they look after themselves, but then it’s about how we get up for the games against the lower sides in the league.”

Leicester success showcased “Cov Dog” spirit

Obinna Nkwocha - one of Coventry’s brightest young stars 

As well as showcasing the shift in mental edge, second-rower Obinna Nkwocha believes the win in Leicester highlighted the “Cov Dog” spirit which embodies the values of the city.

“There’s been a reference to the Coventry mentality. Obviously, I’m not from Coventry, but we speak about it and I’ve learnt to understand how Coventry people are by nature or by history.”

“It’s a bit of motivation. The Championship and individual teams are overlooked and people may write you off, but it comes back to mentality, and there’s a big reference to the ‘Cov Dog’ mentality of being gritty and resilient, which is a testament to the City and the people,” he added.

One to Watch

Whilst Coventry’s focus on becoming an even-more succesful side than last season stems from a collective effort and mentality, it has been hard to look past the impact of Liam Richman and Tommy Mathews since joining from Heriots and Harptbury respectively.

Whilst Richman sustained an ankle problem in the opening game of the competition two weeks ago, Mathews’ ability to control the game in favour of Coventry has been endorsed by Nkwocha, after scoring eight of the team’s 33 points against the Tigers on debut.

“It was his first official game for the club, but he stepped up, spoke loudly, was very clear and concise and was able to lead us to a very good win.”

Ben’s Prediction

It’s clear that Coventry are brimming with confidence and a strong mentality to boot, which is something that the Saints players will be all too aware of in the lead-up, given the events which unfolded at Welford Road.

North also referenced how his side’s kicking game, exemplified by the trio of Josh Barton, Will Lane and Fin Ogden has had a massive impact throughout games, and is to be expected to be a key factor in deciding a potentially narrow encounter on Saturday.

Given their recent exploits, although they are facing off against the reigning Premiership champions, a Coventry win perhaps wouldn’t be as big a surprise as people think.