Maynard looking on bright side after Rotherham defeat

PHIL Maynard insists there are still positives to take out of Coventry’s disappointing play-off loss at Rotherham. The Blue and Whites were on the wrong end of a 29-3 scoreline and a sound beating in their relegation opener at Clifton Lane. That leaves them facing a must-win game at home to rejuvenated Birmingham & Solihull this weekend after the Bees stunned Moseley for their first victory

in 11 months.

And Maynard maintains Cov did not leave Yorkshire without at least partial consolation.

“The players battled well,” the rugby director said. “Performance wise the last two matches – Nottingham and Rotherham – are both indicators that our performances are still on an upward curve.

“And Dai Maddocks and Richie Bignell were both outstanding and led by example.”

But Maynard also lamented the fact his team could not come away with more than a single Ben Russell penalty.

It was, he claims, because of their poor ball control. “Up there, Rotherham are a difficult side this year but our game management was not as good as it should have been,” he admitted.

“We ran out of patience, we could not string enough phases together to create any pressure.”

To make matters worse, Chris Lewis picked up a knee injury that gives him only an evens chance of facing Bees on Saturday.

The inside centre sat out training yesterday and will be assessed day by day.

Cov are at least boosted by the fact dual registered Worcester midfielder Ollie Grove has returned from international duty.

The Scotland Under-20 centre will train with Coventry this week and could come in for Lewis if he fails to pull through.

Meanwhile Maynard is also hopeful Aaron Carpenter, who missed the game with a shoulder problem, will recover to play in a high-stakes local derby.

The Canadian international, made doubly important because of the broken jaw sustained by back-up hooker Matt Dwyer, picked up the knock in the final regular season match at Nottingham. However, Fangatapu Apikotoa is not ready to return and could be another couple of weeks.