Taken, taken so easily
To pass into glass reality
Transform, to transfer, to energy

I am a camera, camera, camera

And you, may find time will blind you
This to just remind you
All is meant to be

Yes – Into the lens

Many thanks to everyone who took part in the Man of the Match poll for the game against Ampthill at the weekend.

There are a couple of things worth mentioning before divulging the winner…

First, it’s the most popular of the polls this season (thank you).

Secondly, only five players really featured in the poll, this despite the comments from many supporters immediately after the game that it was hard to single anyone out given it was very much a whole team performance.

The results, then, are as follows

Name                  %

Ben Nutley          23
Rob Knox             19
Luc Jeannot        18
Will Flinn             13

Congratulations Ben.

Luc Jeannot finished above Will because although the percentages are the same, he actually polled a couple more votes.

An honourable mention, too, to Dan Lewis who achieve 11% of the total vote.

It’s one of the closest results there’s been and all four players have been mentioned many times on various social media/internet platforms since the game. It one of those where you pays your money…

Ben Nutley had looked as if he’d been frozen out of the side until recently (thanks, Sam!), making only a couple of appearances in the Championship so far this season. There’s been no word on any injury as far as I’m aware so presumably it was felt that others were ahead of him at 6. However, he clearly impressed against Ampthill and with the added bonus of a couple of tries to his name, confidence will surely be on the up.

He was a tour de force at times and his support play was exceptional, that being a factor in both tries.

He also won a lot of the ball at the back of the lineout:

And his distribution at times was particularly effective in ensuring Cov kept the ball alive. Indeed, Cov’s willingness to keep the ball moving caused Ampthill all sorts of problems all afternoon:

It was a performance worthy of the Man of the Match award, but the closeness of the result shows that he was not alone in producing a standout display. Hopefully, we’ll see more of Ben in the next few games – he came with a big reputation and has struggled a little to consistently produce the form that many expected of him.

BN’s experience is just what we need as we look to break into the top four this season so for him to have such a strong all-round game is  a big plus for the coaches as we approach the resumption of the Championship in 3 weeks time.

Congratulations, Ben Nutley.

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John Coles, one of the photographers who covers Cov games, has been kind enough to once again forward me a link to the photos he took at the BPA on Saturday. I always really enjoy his looking at his photos not simply because they are so extraordinarily good, but also because invariably he catches moments in the game which either I miss or from an angle that is very different from where I sit in the main stand.

Take Henry Purdy’s debut try, for instance.

Now I saw it side on, whereas John witnessed it from the goal line. The try was one of the standout moments of the game for me, not least because it showed just what a potent threat Purdy is going to be for us over the remainder of the season. And through John Coles’ lens  you see just how much he had to do to get himself over the line:

The opening couple of shots again show Nutley in support, and doing his bit to ensure the tackler doesn’t get too close to HP! After that, it’s all about his pace and ability to break though the tackle. The 5th photo in the sequence shows the Coventry winger with his sights very much on the try line…no one was going to stop him from there.

I love the last but one photo where, in the distance, you can just make out Nutley, job done, watching on as Purdy makes for the line.

A view of the try then that I would never have seen without John’s photos.

I thought the Owen/Knox combination at centre worked particularly well; although it’s difficult to determine just how well given the quality of the opposition. However, both caused Ampthill a ton of problems:

Every time I see Will Owen I’m invariably reminded of Derek Eves – similar build, carries the ball in much the same manner and not dissimilar facially as well.

Or at least as I remember him!!!

Like Knox, he’s exceptionally strong but he is also very fleet-footed as the 3 photos above clearly demonstrate – the 2, 10 and 6 are all lined up in a defensive wall but Owen has the agility to beat all three…

And just to show what a good finisher Owen is, here he is going over for his try, despite the best efforts of former Cov winger Kwaku Asiedu…

And Rob Knox, well he had a stormer of a game. The next 3 photos show how much damage Rob can do on a one-on-one situation as he brushes off the attempted tackle of Ampthill’s fly half. And who’s in support to Rob’s right? It’s that man Ben Nutley again.

Finally, I mentioned earlier about what how good Nutley was his support play against Ampthill…the sequence below shows him alongside  Dan Lewis as he breaks clear, takes the pass, carries one-handed carry (!) and then dots down for the try (much to the pleasure of DL by the look of it). I imagine that David Halaifonua might have felt he was going to get the pass initially, but as it was the inside pass was the better option, giving the kicker far more of a chance of adding the extra points…

Many thanks to John Coles for sharing these with me and allowing me to include them in the blog…

…it is greatly appreciated!

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Yes – more my brother’s taste than mine, but I do at least remember this…

Thanks, John.

Taken, taken so easily
To pass into glass reality
Transform, to transfer, to energy

I am a camera, camera, camera