Blaydon 21 Coventry RFC 16: Cov suffer a second-half shocker
By John Wilkinson, Coventry Telegraph. September 29 2014
Scott Morgan 'shocked' after Cov threw away a 13-0 lead at half-time.
Head coach Scott Morgan admitted that Coventry will have to take a hard look at themselves after Saturday’s 21-16 National League One defeat at Blaydon.
Cov appeared well in control of the game with a 13-0 lead at half-time, but their performance tailed off after the break as the home side came back with three converted tries to take the points.
“We’re all a bit shocked to be honest,” said Morgan. “It’s just really disappointing.
“We were very professional in the first half and should have kicked on and continued in the same way, but it didn’t happen and we need to get some answers quickly as to why.
“I’ll have to have a good look at the game and see what is going on, but you can’t play like that in this league. We showed how capable we are in the first half, but what happened? Where did it go?
"We designed a game plan to come up here and dominate, and we executed in the first half and just didn’t do it in the second for a reason I have no idea why and have to have a close look at.
My gut feeling is that fitness levels are not the problem. Rather, the issue is failure to cope on the fly with whatever change to game plan the opposition comes out with after half time.
With Blaydon it was player changes and a big step up in effort . Wharfedale made 5 player changes, knowing that the new 'interchange' substitution rules would allow them to reverse changes if needed later. Richmond it was more a change in approach.
As the last few weeks have gone on Cov have coped better with the after half time changes made by the opposition, but there is always going to be that point to get through.
One answer would then seem to be for Cov to come up with a change themselves so that the opposition have something to have to respond to as well.
If the first half dominance has been there again it could just be intermittent changes of approach to keep the opposition wondering themselves without Cov risking upsetting the good play of the first half.
As I said many times before, it was Jack Rowell at Bath who used to drill into the team that, whatever the score, whatever the stage of the game, whatever the situation, play as if the score was nil nil. Would it be worth considering that mental approach for Cov, most particularly at the start of the second half?
No Peter. He's definitely from Leeds/Yorkshire/Tykes/Carnegie/Headingley/Roundhay or whatever they call themselves this year.
Quite why he's interested in our early-season 'blip' I have no idea though.
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