England U20 were hammered by Coventry in the first half

Coventry taught England U20s a valuable lesson as the club marked their 150th anniversary in style at Butts Park Arena.

Led by a hat-trick from leading try-scorer Jimmy Martin, Coventry triumphed 53-38, scoring eight tries to England’s six in the process.

The home side – buoyed by the efforts of Will Chudley, who pulls back at the break – took a 35-0 lead into half-time, effectively deciding the match in the first period.

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Martin opened Coventry’s account when he finished a flowing move, which Pat Pellegrini duly converted to take his season tally to over 200 points.

The Tongan No.10 from Coventry then set up skipper Jordon Poole’s second try with a neat, offloaded step. Chudley facilitated Martin’s second try, racing from inside his own half after a strong pack performance pushed England’s scrum back five metres.

David Opoku added Coventry’s fourth try early in the second quarter.

No.8 Chester Owen delighted the home crowd with his first senior touchdown which was set up by former England back row Matt Kvesic with an effective carry and offload.

Chudley’s final act as a professional was setting up Coventry’s sixth try for new signing Ryan Hutler, with Theo Mannion adding the conversion.

The second half saw a spirited response from England U20s.

Substitute Arthur Green was denied for a score, converted by Northampton scrum-half George Makepeace-Cubitt. Angus Hall added a second try for England, followed by Owen’s second try for Coventry, sent in by Will Wand.

England’s Connor Byrne scored a brilliant solo try – beating five defenders over 60 meters – with Ben Coen converting.

Coen went on to tuck away Malelili Satala’s try after another superb finish from England U20s.

Coventry were then hit by disciplinary problems, Obi Nkwocha and Suva Ma’asi both being sin-binned, eventually leading to a penalty try for England.

Despite this, Coventry held on and Martin completed his hat-trick with a try and chase, again converted by Mannion.

But England had the last word; with Hall scoring the second try from a Conor Byrne pass.

An excellent crowd of 4,109 stayed to help Coventry bid farewell to season leavers. The final hurray included a ceremony where Chudley received a framed shirt and the man of the match award.

England U20: 15. John Jones; 14. Will Glister, 13. Oli Spencer, 12. Charlie Myall, 11. Alex Wills; 10. George Makepeace-Cubitt, 9. Ollie Allan; 1. Cameron Miell, 2. James Isaacs, 3. James Halliwell; 4. Harvey Cuckson, 5. Tom Burrow; 6. Reuben Logan, 7. George Timmins, 8. Zach Carr.

Substitutes: 16. Jacob Oliver, 17. Ethan Clarke, 18. Billy Sela, 19. Harry Browne, 20. Arthur Green, 21. Archie McParland, 22. Ben Coen, 23. Angus Hall, 24. Malelili Satala, 25. Conor Byrne.

Coventry: 15. Tobi Wilson; 14. David Opoku, 13. Will Wand, 12. Tom Hitchcock, 11. Jimmy Martin; 10. Patrick Pellegrini, 9. Will Chudley; 1. Vilikesa Nairau, 2. Jordon Poole, 3. Eliot Salt; 4. Rhys Anstey, 5. Obinna Nkwocha; 6. Tom Ball, 7. Matt Kvesic, 8. Chester Owen.

Substitutes: 16. Suva Ma’asi, 17. Jevaughn Warren, 18. Ollie Andrews, 19. Senitiki Nayalo, 20. Josh Stone, 21. Will Lane, 22. Theo Mannion, 23. Ryan Hutler, 24. Evan Mitchell, 25. Fin Ogden.