Maynard hails Cov's fighting spirit.

Showing three changes in the backs through injury, Cov lost experienced fly-half Ben Russell with a head injury three minutes into Saturday’s game which saw them come back from 24-13 down midway through the final quarter to snatch victory in injury-time.

A Brett Daynes try closed the gap and, with Tynedale buckling in the scrum, referee Terry Hall awarded Cov a penalty try in the 82nd minute with Jack Green – who had replaced Russell – kicking the winning conversion.

“You could say we won ugly but every win in this league is a good one and I’m very pleased with the result,” said Maynard.

“We are coming to the end of a long season with a lengthy list of injuries but full marks to the lads who came in today and fought so hard to get the result. They’ve not played a lot of rugby, but they stepped up to the plate.

“Ben has been a pivotal player in the last few games since moving to 10, but Jack did really well in his first game for us in that position and kept his nerve at the end to get the kick that won the game. There’s a lot of fight in this team and they always had the belief that they could nick it. We are pretty fit as a squad and we came back strongly at the end.”

Added Maynard: “We were putting their scrum under enormous pressure and I’m surprised the referee didn’t go to the posts earlier – a penalty try was definitely the right decision at the end.”