Gulliver travels to promoted Warriors

Posted on May 27, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Towering lock Ben Gulliver has today put pen to paper and completed his anticipated move to Worcester Warriors ahead of the club’s forthcoming Aviva Premiership season.

Coventry-born second row Gulliver makes the move from Cornish Pirates after an outstanding season in the RFU Championship which saw him catch the eye of a number of top-flight clubs.

The 30-year-old last season had a three-month loan spell at Leicester Tigers as temporary cover for injured England international locks Geoff Parling and Louis Deacon.

Gulliver’s stature – he stands at 6ft 5in tall and weighs 17st 5lbs – makes him a big threat at line-outs and he was one of the vice-captains at Pirates, leading the side on several occasions.

The lock began his career at Coventry and following a spell at Saracens – where he represented England Students – Gulliver made the move to Plymouth Albion.

Gulliver moved to Albion’s local rivals Cornish Pirates in 2008 and played a major role in the club lifting the inaugural British & Irish Cup in 2010.

Head Coach Richard Hill revealed he has tracked Gulliver for a number of seasons and was delighted to finally get his man.

“I have been watching Ben for a long time and I have twice looked to sign him before, only for him to suffer an injury, so I am pleased to finally sign him up,” he said.

“He first impressed me at Coventry and when Graham Dawe signs a forward (for Plymouth) you know they are a good one because he has a very good eye for a talent.

“Ben was on loan at Leicester last season and he played against in the A League and had a very good game for Tigers.

“Ben also impressed when playing for Pirates against Warriors. He is a very hard, abrasive, combative and aggressive forward that caused us a few problems.

“He is physically very strong and athletic for a big man. I am sure Ben will be able to make the step up to Premiership level next season with the Warriors.”

Gulliver is the 11^th new signing at Warriors and is joined by Shaun Perry, Danny Gray, Ceri Jones, James Percival, Chris Jones, Ollie Hayes, Errie Claassens, Josh Drauniniu, Sione Tu’ipulotu and George Porter.

Coventry joins the Chiefs

Posted on May 25, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

The New Zealand Rugby Union and the Chiefs Investec Super Rugby franchise have confirmed Hawke’s Bay Co-Coach Tom Coventry as the new Assistant Coach for the Chiefs in 2012.

Chiefs CEO Gary Dawson and NZRU General Manager of Professional Rugby Neil Sorensen today welcomed Coventry’s appointment as assistant to new 2012 Head Coach Dave Rennie.

“Tom is a very accomplished coach, who has done some great things with the Hawke’s Bay Magpies. Tom comes from a Chiefs’ background as he has previously been our development coach and we have watched him advance as a Coach in the ITM Cup. We are thrilled he is on board,” Dawson said.

Sorensen said:  “This is a great move for Tom and for the Chiefs.  Both Dave and Tom have a fantastic mix of playing and coaching experience and that will be great for the franchise next year.”

Coventry is currently helping Hawke’s Bay prepare for their ITM Cup 2011 season, which kicks off in mid-July.  In August he will join the Manu Samoa Rugby World Cup side as their forwards coach, before taking up his role with the Chiefs immediately after the Rugby World Cup tournament.

“While I have my hands full this year I do feel very privileged that I will be working with the very talented Magpies, before going into camp with Manu Samoa.

“I’m really looking forward to working with the Chiefs, and working as part of a strong franchise environment and a great style of rugby,” he said.

Knights continue squad rebuild with Toft capture

Posted on May 10, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Only a day after the announcement of Mike Whitehead’s return to South Yorkshire Davey announces another experienced player winging his way into Castle Park. 24 year old Ben Toft, a player who made over 50 appearances at this level in a 3 year spell at Coventry has put pen to paper on a deal to be part of the Knights RFU Championship 2011/12 Campaign.

Toft, a player Davey coached during his time at Coventry, comes to the Knights via French side Oyonnax , having taken time in his career to experience French Rugby.

He developed through the Leicester Academy and signed his first professional contract with Leicester staying for 2 seasons and earning some game time (2002-06). This was a period that saw Toft represent England at U16, U18 and U19 level.

Toft moved on to a successful 3 year period at Coventry , during which time he was coached by Brett Davey. Scoring several wonder tries and winning many “man of the match” awards Ben’s time at Coventry was an undoubted success.

On the player, Davey commented “ Ben is a player I know a lot about and I think he is the ideal complement to the two wingers we already have, Flockhart and Keating. While the two of them have size and power about their game Ben has pace, guile and a few tricks up his sleeve”. He continued “ There is a strong theme running through recruitment at Doncaster and that is balance. It is imperative that we are able to change our game dependent upon the situation and I believe we are building the foundations to enable that.”

A key to Ben’s game is not just his pace but reliability under pressure, although predominantly a Winger Toft is another player who can comfortably fill in at Full Back. He is known for being solid in defence and comfortable under the high ball.

Coventry Rugby: future still uncertain

Posted on Dec 3, 2009 in Rugby News

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) yesterday met with Coventry President and former England fullback Peter Rossborough at Twickenham Stadium about the future of the club and Championship rugby in the City.

The discussions between Mr Rossborough and his advisors and RFU Chief Executive Francis Baron, RFU Management Board Chairman Martyn Thomas and RFU Company Secretary Karena Vleck were productive and will be ongoing.

However, the RFU has yet to hear from Andrew Green further to his statement about his intent to put Coventry Rugby Football Club Limited into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation which is not proving helpful.

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British and Irish Cup round 2 preview – round 1 results and fixtures

Posted on Nov 25, 2009 in Rugby News

BRITISH & IRISH CUP SET FOR ROUND 2

The newly created British & Irish Cup, involving teams from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, kicked-off last next weekend. In this, the second of a series of regular Media Updates that will be issued to keep everyone up to date on the tournament, you can hear from Munster coach Anthony Foley, Bedford Blues coach Mike Rayer and Leinster Academy Director Colin McEntee about their first impressions of the new tournament. Please feel free to use any of this copy ahead of Round 2.

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