Coventry Bears: Bears battle through to Grand Final

Bears battle through to Grand Final

Carvell Coventry Bears V Carlisle Centurions

Carvell Coventry Bears won through to the Co-operative Rugby League Conference Grand Final next week with a win in Rochdale on Sunday.

An early try by Centre and leading try scorer for the Bears Stuart Lee was converted from the touchline by Stand Off Half Graham Healey. Carlisle responded with a try in the corner to cut the Bears advantage to just two points.

The Bears were looking convincing and Coventry’s most improved player of the season Second Row Tim Stevens broke down the left and ran 35 metres to again score in the corner.

The Coventry outfit were rocked when in the 16th minute Bears founder Alan Robinson was sent off for what looked like an innocuous shoulder charge. The Bears were going to have to “do it tough” from then on in. it was the Bears however who troubled the scorer next when Healey was adjudged to have been on the receiving end of a high tackle. Healey took the penalty himself and gave the Bears a 12-4 lead.

On 29 minutes the Carlisle team finally made their extra man advantage tell. A neat worked move saw them score in the corner. Then came an incident that swung the match back in the Bears favour. Tim Stevens was the victim of a high tackle and was walking away from the action when a Carlisle player ran up behind him and punched him in the back of the head!. The referee was left with no alternative but to send the attacker off and suddenly the teams were equally matched in numbers. The resurgent Bears profited when Healey went in under the posts just before half time to take the score to 18-10 at the interval.

Carlisle came out and started the second stanza in the way the Bears had started the first half. A try in the corner took the score to 18-14.
From then on in it was all Coventry. Too often the Coventry team dropped the ball and were failing to complete their sets of 6. Ill discipline by the Carlisle squad kept them from profiting by the Bears mistakes.

The deadlock was broken by winger Mike Whetstone who benefited by some great work by sub Matty Allsopp to score in the right-hand corner. Healey added a further try and then scored a penalty to take the game beyond the Centurions reach. The Bears however were not finished for the afternoon. Scrum Half Scott Clendenning- Fenton did a super dummy, slipped the ball to Healey who put Full back Mark Hyslop in to score under the posts. Centre Iestyn Pratt broke from half way and ran in the last points of the afternoon.

Final Score: Carvell Coventry Bears 40 Carlisle Centurions 14.

The Bears will now face St Albans Centurions in the Grand Final at Broadstreet RFC next Sunday (4pm) St Albans defeated Bridgend Bulls by 46 points to 14 in the other semi Final.

Speaking after the game coach Ty Watson said “This result just goes to show the great spirit we have in the camp now. When we were down to 12 men we dug in deep and kept ourselves in the game, when we other teams would have folded. That is 16 wins on the bounce, just one more win next week will complete a great season for us”

Carvell Coventry Bears Team: Mark Hyslop, Tom Shaw, Stuart Lee, Iestyn Pratt, Mike Whetstone, Graham Healey, Scott Clendenning-Fenton, James Howitt, Alex Brown, Rhydian Booth, Tim Stevens, Lee Ashford, Ty Watson©, Alan Robinson, Ryan Jenkins, Aaron Jarvis, Matt Allsopp.

Carvell Coventry Bears Scorers: Lee, Stevens, Whetstone, Hyslop. Pratt, Healey (2) Conversions Healey (4) Penalties Healey (2)

J & S Landscapers Man of the Match: Graham Healey