Coventry Come Away with the win
RGC 35–47 Coventry
Saturday 29th August 2026
RGC continued their pre-season preparations with an entertaining contest against English Champ side Coventry at Stadiwm Eirias.
The visitors struck early when they found space out wide and raced in for a try, which was converted.
RGC responded quickly, with Daf Thirsk powering over for the score. Billy McBryde added the extras.
The Gogs picked up the pace, with Tudur Jones orchestrating the attack with quick ball, which was proving effective.
RGC then took the lead when winger Jac Williams collected the pass, stepped his way through and somehow stayed in touch before putting the ball down in the corner. McBryde made no mistake with the conversion.
Coventry hit back to level the scores when fly-half Bruce Houston went over for a try, before converting his own score.
RGC took the lead, with a step, a run and a finish from Jac Williams as he burst through to score his second try. McBryde added the conversion.
Both sides continued to play with ambition, looking to move the ball and exploit space, making for an entertaining contest for the Stadiwm Eirias crowd.
Tudur Jones chased a couple of deep kicks, but the ball refused to bounce his way despite some excellent effort.
The breakdown was lively, with both sides competing hard while trying to stay on the right side of the officials.
RGC extended their lead before the break when Dion Jones swung his hips, moved his feet and created a gap to race through for the score. McBryde was on target once again with the conversion.
Second Half
The second half saw a raft of substitutions from both sides, and the game struggled to kick on in the early stages after the break.
Coventry had the best of the ball and took advantage, scoring two tries and adding the conversions to level the game on the hour mark.
Without possession, RGC were being tested around the breakdown as the visitors looked to build pressure.
Coventry then took the lead from a lineout, with the pack doing the rest to power over the whitewash. Once again, the conversion was on target.
RGC responded by getting over the line, only for the ball to be knocked on. That sparked a spell of possession for the hosts, which eventually resulted in a try for Tal Taylor. McBryde was once again on point with the boot to level the scores.
The scoreboard continued to tick over, with Coventry changing it next after a couple of offloads created the space for another try. The conversion was again successful.
It remained a fiery contest as the clock approached 80 minutes, with both sides determined to finish with the result.
Coventry extended their lead with a try on the final whistle to complete the scoring.
Delwyn Jones post game - “We competed, and the score wasn't a reflection of the game, especially that opening 50 minutes. I thought we played some good rugby, created some good chances – and took them as well.
“For us at this stage in pre-season, it is about building for that first league game, and we can build on today. It was another step up from Chester, and we did improve our performance.
“We have a couple of weeks back in training, and a few things to work on, but we can take today's performance and work on the improvements.”
Head Coach Jon Callard "We’ve been working on a lot of things throughout pre-season, and with the work Nathan and Ash have put in from an S&C perspective, you could see today that our strength and physicality were good.
“For 50 minutes, I thought we played really well. With the number of changes we made, it’s understandable that some of the rhythm was lost as the game went on.
“Today was about seeing what we have as a group, because this is the squad we have going into the season ahead. We know the challenge that awaits us in the Super Rygbi Cymru, and we’re really looking forward to it.”