Sat 3 Oct 2026
OCs welcomed Peterborough to the ground for their first home game of the league
campaign. After a tough first outing over at Olney last week, the home side were
hoping for better on their home turf.
However, OCs preparations for the game were not helped by some late Player
withdrawals on the eve of the match. And the home side was up against it right from
the off. The first 25 minutes saw the OCs concede 5 tries in rapid succession –
largely the result of a combination of some slick handling from the Peterborough
backline and some poor defensive work from the OCs. A series of missed tackles
and missed touch kicks gave a very well drilled Peterborough attack all the
opportunities they needed to show their attacking moves - which they did in great
style and at pace.
OCs tried hard to get back into the match with their lineouts working really well. But
they were unable to breach a well organised and very committed Peterborough
defence and just couldn’t make any inroads with the few opportunities that they had
in the first half. A couple more tries from Peterborough, late in the first half, saw them
head into the halftime break 43 points ahead of the OCs.
Half-time score: Old Coventrians 0 v 43 Peterborough
Peterborough’s clinical running play continued as, with only 4 minutes on the clock in
the second half, a sharp break through the OCs midfield led to them notching up 50
points. OCs, as they often have had to do in the past, gritted their teeth and the next
25 minutes saw them finally show some signs of getting their game together and
putting some pressure on the Peterborough defensive line. OCs controlled
possession for long periods of the second half but found it hard to find enough space
to make the pressure tell by putting points on the board. Midway through the second
half, OCs finally managed to cross the Peterborough line. A well worked try, starting
from another good lineout on the opposing 22m line, saw winger Ayuk Takang,
looping around the backline to outpace Peterborough’s defence and score out wide.
That was really all the home side had to show for extensive periods of play within the
Peterborough red zone. Peterborough finished off the game as they started it, upping
the pace and physicality to cut through the OCs defence for 3 more times to further
extend their lead.
On a fabulous sunny day the crowd were treated to some excellent running rugby –
disappointingly, mostly from the visiting Peterborough team, who will no doubt be
competing for the League title come the end of the year. If the first two games of the
season are anything to go by, it looks as if it may be another long, tough season for
OCs at Level 6 - in a league that is packed with very strong town sides that always
have plenty of power, pace and depth to their sides. Today was a tough day at the
office for OCs, and it was hard to find too many positives from this performance
although the lineout worked well and the scrum, by and large, stood up pretty well to
a much bigger pack. However, this team is a tight bunch of lads with a history of
never giving up and fighting to the end – something that they will have to bring into
the next league game away to Hinckley. The OCs coaching team will be hoping for
the quick return of a few key players and, I’m sure, will be focusing the mindset of
the lads in training this week on tightening up their defensive structure and
commitment. Onwards and upwards for the boys in red, gold and black.
Full-time score: Old Coventrians 5 v 69 Peterborough
