By Paul Smith 
Coventry’s squad has been boosted by a couple of new arrivals and the return of two familiar faces ahead of Saturday’s trip to Oxfordshire to face Championship new boys Chinnor.
With back five forwards Matt Kvesic and Obinna Nkwocha still sidelined and Senitiki Nayalo’s annual involvement in the British Army’s inter-services campaign drawing closer, head coach Alex Rae has turned to Premiership leaders Bath for support in the form of 21-year-old academy forward Mackenzie Graham.
Cov’s three-quarter line could also include Glasgow’s Logan Trotter who last month arrived at the Butts Park Arena on loan from the URC outfit. A minor hamstring strain suffered in training prevented the 27-year-old from making his Cov debut during last weekend’s win over Cambridge but he is now back in contention to face Chinnor.
Stirling County product Trotter who has Scotland Sevens squad experience moved back to the Warriors following the collapse of London Irish in 2023.
Two familiar faces who missed last weekend’s win over the Championship’s basement club are also in contention to make Saturday’s trip down the M40.
Winger Jimmy Martin who has 45 tries from 83 Cov appearances has returned to training from a spell of paternity leave while on-loan Exeter Chiefs scrum-half Sam Maunder has recovered from illness to compete for a sixth appearance in Cov’s no.9 shirt.
Ahead of Saturday’s first visit to Chinnor’s Kingsey Road home the Blue-and-Whites prepared by moving Thursday’s training session to Broadstreet’s grass pitches.
According to head coach Alex Rae this will simulate the conditions they will face in their round 14 Championship clash with opponents who already this season have beaten Bedford, Doncaster and Caldy at home.
“It’s good sometimes to change your day-to-day routine as a change of scenery helps keep you mentally fresh,” Rae said.
“We’re also playing on grass at Chinnor and it is good to give the boys a run-out on the same surface although in all honesty I don’t pay much attention to people who make a big thing about that.
“We train on a fast surface at the Butts all year round so in the middle of winter when it’s a bit muddy on grass it might feel different but at this time of year on a firm pitch it doesn’t.
“We’re expecting a really tough game this weekend as they have done really well at home this season. They are a really physical team who are well coached by Nick Easter and they are also really well supported, sometimes getting crowds of over 2000.
“No doubt they’ll be talking about taking the scalp of one of the teams towards the top of the table this week – we’re expecting them to come out of the blocks at 100 miles per hour and have a good go at us and that’s what we’ve prepared for.”
Match tickets for Cov’s next home game against Caldy on Saturday April 5th can be purchased at https://www.coventryrugby.co.uk/tickets/matchday-tickets/
