CO-OPERATIVE RUGBY LEAGUE CONFERENCE PREMIERSHIP, MIDLANDS DIVISION
Semi Final – 9 August 2008
COVENTRY BEARS 58 – 10 BEDFORD TIGERS
A dominant first half performance eased the Coventry Bears into the Midlands Premier Grand Final as they crushed Bedford Tigers 58-10 at Tile Hill.
Both sides were hit by injuries prior to the game as the Bears lost player-coach Ty Watson while the Tigers were forced to play without top scorer Zander Peden and prop Jamie Goss and the absences hit the Tigers harder.
The Bears made a whirlwind start and Mark Hyslop put Phil Molloy in for the first try after just two minutes. Four minutes later, the Bears attacked the Tigers’ right flank again and Hyslop sent Josh Boothby through a hole to score. Graham Healey converted both from the touchline.
After Jack Wigglesworth made a fine break down the middle for the Tigers, Sam Richbell drove to the line and offloaded for Gary Flook to score. Rob Ashton converted but the Bears soon hit back.
From close range, Alex Brown found Hyslop unmarked out wide for an easy try converted by Healey. The Bears dominated the rest of the half. A break by Chris Brown came to nothing before Tim Stevens’ pass out wide found touch. Scott Clendenning-Fenton then skipped through only for the ball to go to ground and Matt Cooper’s bust should have resulted in a try but the Bears over-elaborated.
It was a matter of time before the next score came and after a long break when Chris Bygraves was treated for a knee injury, Kasiano Raturaga dived over after a clever switch of play by Alex Brown. Before the break, Cooper broke some tired defence to score and from the restart, Healey exchanged passes with Hyslop for a fine long-range try.
Healey was immaculate with the boot converting all six tries giving the Bears a 30-point half time lead and a firm grip on the game.
The Bears underlined their superiority early in the second period. First, Tanaka Chaunukara finished a scrum move when Clendenning-Fenton and Chris Brown combined to free him and four minutes later Alex Brown and John Nicholls put on a runaround for Brown to stroll through the huge gap it created to score.
The Tigers then created a great try, Rich Sinclair latching on to Jack Wigglesworth’s neat chip to outpace the Bears defence to the line.
However, it was a mere consolation and the Bears passed the half century as Alex Brown crossed from dummy half for his second try before John Nicholls claimed the Bears’ tenth try after Richbell’s kick was grabbed by Raturaga who began a sweeping counter attack that Nicholls finished to send the Bears to Nottingham for next week’s division final.
Teams:
COVENTRY BEARS: Mark Hyslop, Tanaka Chaunukara, Chris Brown, Josh Boothby, Phil Molloy, Graham Healey, Scott Clendenning-Fenton, Aaron Jarvis, Alex Brown (Capt.), Rhiddian Booth, Tim Stevens, Matt Allsopp, Matt Cooper. Replacements: Tom Watts, Kasiano Raturaga, Mitch Todd, John Nicholls.
Scorers: Tries; Phil Molloy (2), Josh Boothby (6), Mark Hyslop (16), Kasiano Raturaga (31), Matt Cooper (37), Graham Healey (39), Tanaka Chaunukara (49), Alex Brown (53, 65), John Nicholls (69). Conversions; Graham Healey 9 from 10.
BEDFORD TIGERS: Rich Sinclair, Ollie Francis, Rob Ashton, Chris Bygraves Chris Aubrey, Dan Sharp, Jack Wigglesworth, Gary Flook, Chris Potts, Sam Richbell (Capt.), Jack Brown, Dan Baroux, Matt Hughes. Replacements: Ali Vatchi, Darren Pickard.
Scorers: Tries; Gary Flook (13), Rich Sinclair (61). Conversions; Rob Ashton 1 from 2.
Referee: Stuart Marshall (Wakefield), Touch Judges: Danny McNiece, Marty Baker
Penalties: Bears 3, Tigers 6.
Scoring sequence: 6-0, 12-0, 12-6, 18-6, 24-6, 30-6, 36-6, (HT), 42-6, 46-6, 46-10, 52-10, 58-10, (FT).
Man of the Match Award winners
Bears: Matt Cooper (loose forward)
Tigers: Rich Sinclair (full back)
MIDLANDS PREMIER DIVISION LEAGUE TABLE
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts |
| Nottingham Outlaws | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 584 | 122 | 462 | 22 |
| Coventry Bears | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 586 | 211 | 375 | 22 |
| Bedford Tigers | 12 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 404 | 282 | 122 | 14 |
| Gloucestershire Warriors | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 312 | 383 | -71 | 10 |
| Derby City | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 281 | 416 | -135 | 8 |
| Birmingham Bulldogs | 12 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 336 | 487 | -151 | 6 |
| Leicester Phoenix | 12 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 146 | 748 | -602 | 2 |
(NB: If tied, final positions decided by scores between tying teams not overall points difference)
TOP SCORERS (Including playoffs):
Tries:
17– Paul Calland (Nottingham Outlaws)
17 – Matt Cooper (Coventry Bears)
17 – Zander Peden (Bedford Tigers)
15 – Ben Powis (Coventry Bears)
13 – Ben Thornton (Nottingham Outlaws)
11 – Will Thomas (Nottingham Outlaws)
8 – Stephan Fourie (Gloucestershire Warriors)
8 – Mike Jones (Birmingham Bulldogs)
8 – Adam Smith (Birmingham Bulldogs)
7 – Tanaka Chaunukara (Coventry Bears)
7 – Martin Edwards (Nottingham Outlaws)
7 – Ian Gilmore (Derby City)
7 – Tom Howley (Nottingham Outlaws)
7 – Ben Radford (Nottingham Outlaws)
Goals:
65 – Graham Healey (Coventry Bears)
52 – Ben Thornton
21 – Chris Gilmartin (Birmingham Bulldogs)
19 – (incl 2 field goals) Paul Worthington (Derby City)
16 – Scott Clendenning-Fenton (Coventry Bears)
16 – Rob Ashton (Bedford Tigers)
Points:
156 – Ben Thornton (13 tries, 52 goals)
146 – Graham Healey (4 tries, 65 goals)
84 – Paul Calland (17 tries, 8 goals)
84 – Zander Peden (17 tries, 8 goals)
64 – Matt Cooper (16 tries)
60 – Ben Powis (15 tries)
56 – Scott Clendenning-Fenton (6 tries, 16 goals)
54 – Chris Gilmartin (3 tries, 21 goals)
52 – Stephan Fourie (8 tries 10 goals)
52 – Paul Worthington (4 tries, 17 goals, 2 field goals)
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Chris Wilson
Media Manager, Gloucestershire Warriors RLFC
Tel: +44 (0)1684 850903
Mobile: + 44 (0)7905 931033
Email: gloswarriors2004@aol.com
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