Coach viewpoint

A WORK in progress – backs coach Brendan Burke’s assessment of Coventry’s performance in their 54-14 win over Loughborough Students

“It was okay. It wasn’t the standard we’d expected from thelads, but overall it was quite a good result – we got the win that we wanted and were lucky enough to get the bonus point as well,” said Burke.

“We got the ball wide, but we still made some errors. We had a couple of chances and two-on-ones, and didn’t finish them off. I think if we’d finished them off in the first half, as we could have done, the second half would have been a whole lot easier.

“The lads said the ball was greasy, and overall it wasn’t a bad performance. It’s a work in progress.

“At times the balance was right, but at other times, not really. I think we tried to play a bit too much inside our own half, especially in the first half.

“We tried it again in the second half and had a dab when we should have cleared our lines, and it cost us a try. We probably played a little bit too much when it wasn’t on, and I think the lads should have known that.

“It’s the first game and we’ve got a long season ahead of us, so there’s nothing to worry about really. Eight tries is not a bad start, it’s just a bit disappointing we let them in for two when we knew the plays they were going to do and didn’t stop them.

“The last couple of weeks have been hard because we’ve been trialling, swopping and changing, and selection was tough. We could easily have had any of 15 players out there to do the job.

“Week in, week out, Rowland Winter, myself and the coaches have tough decisions to make which is a good problem to have.

“They’re a fantastic group of players to work with, no problem at all, and we are all learning as coaches and as players.

“I have a simple policy – my door is always open, and if they have any ideas they can talk to me and I will always listen.”