HEAD coach Alex Rae praised David Opoku’s five-try performance that rewrote Coventry’s record books – and helped them to a convincing 67-5 win against Nottingham.
The flying winger scored a quickfire double early in the game before running in three more after the break to set a record that looks unlikely to be beaten any time soon.
“Five tries is a brilliant achievement and he’s written his place in history,” Rae said. “Dave may not understand how brilliant it is to have your name written into the history books because someone has to try and take it away from you. There is a long history to this rugby club and he should be really proud.
“I’m glad because last week we didn’t see the best of David. He is a young player learning how to prepare properly but this week he got his reward.
“He was one of the first ones we wanted to nail down for next season. He is a Coventry lad which is important to us and he’s been with us for a few years now. His career path hasn’t been one long straight line. Everyone can see his potential and I think he is a really exciting player. He still has loads to work on but I’m really pleased we have him.”
It was not until the final quarter when Cov finally cut loose against a disheartened Nottingham side and Rae said the entire squad had played their part.
Rae added: “I was really pleased to see some attacking rugby in front of a really good crowd. Everyone needed that because we were on a bad little run.
“It was a real 23-man effort and if you were a sub today it was a game you really wanted to come on for. The foundations were laid by some really smart rugby, Sam Maunder finding gaps and Tommy Matthews doing the simple things well. Once we got on top of Nottingham we stayed on top which was really pleasing.”
And on the back of their 11-try victory, Rae said everyone was now looking forward to their final away game of the season, a trip to champions Ealing Trailfinders.
The head coach added: “Ealing is a game we are really excited about. I don’t suppose anyone will give us much hope with the run of games we’ve had but we’ll be good to go.”
• Coventry will round off the season at home to London Scottish on Saturday, May 31.
