By Coventry Rugby 
Coventry staged a stirring second-half fightback to salvage two points in defeat against Hartpury at the 4ED Hartpury Stadium.
Hartpury appeared to be on course for a bumper home victory when they moved 28-0 ahead shortly after the break but Coventry came roaring back as Tommy Mathews, Jimmy Martin, Oli Morris and Sam Maunder all crossed the whitewash to set up a grandstand finish.
Coventry had a last-gasp Suva Ma’asi try chalked off for a forward pass as Hartpury hung on for the bonus-point win that sees them replace their opponents in the table.
Hartpury got off to the best possible start, scoring a converted try inside the opening three minutes. A chip by fly-half Harry Bazalgette was gathered by Coventry on the five-metre line only to be turned over and James Short burrowed over. Bazalgette did the honours from the tee to open up a 7-0 advantage.
Hooker Jordon Poole was prominent in attack for Coventry, carrying superbly in midfield but he had to leave the field after taking a blow to the head. With the wind behind Hartpury, Bazalgette was testing Coventry with a series of kicks out of hand.
Coventry suffered a further blow on 19 minutes when Hartpury were awarded a penalty try after the maul was illegally pulled down, with Rhys Anstey sin-binned for the infringement.
Bazalgette missed the chance to add to that score as he pulled a penalty wide but errors were costing Coventry who conceded a third try moments before the break. Sam Lewis charged down a Josh Barton kick before chasing the ball down and crashing over with Bazalgette adding the extras.
Coventry had it all to do at 21-0 down but they were the masters of their own downfall as they gifted another try. This time, Liam Richman threw the ball straight into the hands of scrum-half Mike Austin who breezed through for the bonus-point score which Bazalgette converted to make it 28-0.
Looking to respond, Coventry came within a whisker of getting on the scoreboard when Mathews was stopped just short of the try-line before a few minutes later, Coventry’s persistence paid off with Mathews barging over before adding the conversion.
Coventry scored a second try two minutes later as Morris made a break down the left-hand side before feeding Martin who sped over in the corner to cut the deficit to 28-12. Mathews was unable to convert.
Bazalgette dispatched a penalty but the momentum was with Coventry who notched another unconverted try. Tom Hitchcock was making a superb impact off the bench as he assisted for Morris to cross out wide.
It was a stunning fightback from Coventry who got a fourth try when replacement Maunder produced a brilliant sniping run down the blindside to score. Mathews landed the conversion to close the gap to 31-24.
With 13 minutes to go, Bazalgette saw his long range penalty come off the post, adding to the tension.
Coventry had opportunities to score as Martin almost got on the end of Maunder’s chip in the corner. Then, in the dying moments, Coventry strung together a brilliant passage of play and appeared to score in the corner through Ma’asi but it was chalked off for a forward pass from Will Lane.
Hartpury: Matt Protheroe (Kieran Clark 76): Brad Denty, James Short, Robbie Smith (Josiah Edwards-Giraud 64), Ollie Halliday; Harry Bazalgette, Mike Austin; Aristot Benz-Solomon (Archie McArthur 58), Ethan Hunt (Will Crane 58); Jon Benz-Solomon (Alfie Petch 55), Dale Lemon; Jack Davies (C), Sam Lewis; Harry Short (Josh Gray 75), Cameron Cobbett (Will Jeanes 58)
Unused: Dylan Coetzee
Coventry: Logan Trotter; Jake Henry (Will Lane 71), Oli Morris, Tommy Matthews, James Martin; Liam Richman (Tom Hitchcock 44), Josh Barton (Sam Maunder 44); Toby Trinder (Ralph McEachran 67), Jordon Poole (C) (Suva Ma’asi 14), Eliot Salt (Tye Raymont 55); Mackenzie Graham, Rhys Anstey (Dan Green 61); Chester Owen (Jack Bennett 67), Tom Ball, Senitiki Nayalo
Referee: Richard Gordon
Half-Time: Hartpury 21–0 Coventry
Scorers
HartpuryTries: James Short (2), Penalty Try (19), Sam Lewis (38), Mike Austin (42)
Conversions: Harry Bazalgette (2, 39, 43)
Penalties: Harry Bazalgette (55)
CoventryTries: Tommy Mathews (49), Jimmy Martin (54), Oli Morris (56), Sam Maunder (62)
Conversions: Tommy Mathews (50, 63)
Penalties:
