First half defending costs Bears dearly

A four and a half hour coach journey up the M6 is not the ideal way to prepare for a tough game of Rugby League, but that is very much part and parcel of life in League 1.

The Bears once again struggled to find form in a first half littered with defensive mistakes and ineffective tackling.

Predictably, Whitehaven were the first on the score sheet after a penalty close to the Bears line. This was easily converted and soon the ‘Haven were over again, following a Bears fumble putting the score at 10-0.

Then the hosts also gave away possession and Medforthcrossed over on the right for a deserved try, converted by Delaney, it was now 10-6.

There then followed an error strewn patch for the Bears, which allowed the hosts to extend their lead to 16-6, with 20 minutes on the clock.

Bears gamely tried to come back after a succession of three more Whitehaven tries giving a disappointing half time scoreline.

Half time Whitehaven 34 Coventry Bears 6

The second half was better for the Bears. Despite the home side extending their tally to 38, and then 44 points, the Bears continued to battle and once again, thanks to some good half back play were the equal of a long established side who were plying their trade in the Championship last season.

In what was arguably the try of the match, Bears switched the ball along the line eventually getting it to Joe Prior whose pass sent Jason Bass over the line.

Delaney was again able to convert and that was the final points of the game.

Once again it was too little too late, but yet again the Bears were the equal of their opponents for long spells and hinted at better results to come, especially when they return to Butts Park after their travels.

Final score Whitehaven 44 Coventry Bears 12

Tom Tsang, Bears Head Coach commented

It was another week where we left it much too late. I thought we were more than a match for Whitehaven when we were in attack, the problem was we didn't allow ourselves to have enough possession to really build any pressure. We just werent at the races in the first half and our discipline again let us down as Haven scored their first 3 tries directly from penalties.

In the second half we cut the penalties and with an even share of the ball, we gave ourselves a lot of good field position and played some good rugby.

Bears Line up:

Bass

Hunte

Medforth

Reid (c)

Freeman

Delaney

Prior

Morrison

Gaylor

Johnson

Barratt