Coventry Bears
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coventry Bears are a rugby league club, formed in 1998. They play in the Rugby League Conference West Midlands division and the Rugby League Conference Premier League.
| Coventry Bears | |
| {{{image}}} | |
| Full name | Coventry Bears Rugby League Football Club |
| Emblem | The Bear |
| Colours | Light and dark blue |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Sport | Rugby league |
| League | TRL Rugby League Conference |
| Ground | Old Coventrians, Tile Hill Lane, Coventry |
| Official website | www.coventrybears.co.uk |
Contents |
[edit] History
Coventry Bears were formed in 1998 by a group of University students led by Alan Robinson, Great Britain Student Rugby League captain and full Irish International. They made an approach to Keith Fairbrother, the Coventry Rugby Union club’s Chairman and one time League player, with a plan to form a team to play from Coundon Road Stadium.
Coventry Bears were admitted into the RL Conference for the 2000 season and were unbeaten by any club within their division. The Bears then won their ‘quarter-final’ against Manchester before being narrowly defeated by only one point in the semi-finals at Superleague club Warrington Wolves’ Wilderspool Stadium.
Further success followed in 2001 with the Bears reaching the Grand Final at Webb Ellis Road, Rugby, only to lose out by a very narrow margin in a pulsating match against the now defunct Teesside.
This was topped when the team won the TotalRL.com Conference Grand Final in September 2002 when they beat Hemel at Cheltenham.
Following on from this success the club applied for, and won, elevation to the newly-formed National League Three. This proved a trying time, but also proved that it was possible to run two sides, even though a good number of the successful 2002 side had left the club.
The Bears went from strength to strength in 2004; not only reaching the National League Three Grand Final but winning comfortably in what proved to be a memorable match.
Sadly, 2005 was equally as memorable – but for the wrong reasons. After a spell of very mixed fortunes, Coventry Bears RLFC made the difficult decision to resign from the National League to take time to rebuild and regroup. Since dropping out of the National Leagues the club has concentrated on building the club up from the bottom and 2006 sees the return of the Bears as a TotalRL Conference premiership side.
The club, having moved from Counden Road to Butts Park Arena, has a new home at Old Coventrians RFC and runs two open-age sides as well as a Ladies’ team and a selection of youth teams. 2006 saw the club compete in the Total RL Conference Premier Division, the TotalRL Conference South West Division, the London Ladies League, Under 13’s level, Under 11’s level and is developing a side to play merit league matches at Under 17’s level.
[edit] Key Personnel
Head Coach: Ty Watson was unveiled at the AGM as the new Head Coach of the Coventry Bears. Ty played for the Bears during the 2004 championship winning season.
Club President: Pop mogul Pete Waterman, a former Director of Salford City Reds, has accepted the position of Club President. Coventry-born Waterman is a staunch rugby league follower and his late son was a regular supporter of the Bears.
Club Patron: Widnes Vikings Chairman Tony Chambers, also from Coventry, has accepted the position of Club Patron and lends his full support to the Bears.
[edit] 2006 Season
[edit] Midlands Premier
Coventry Bears first team claimed second place, despite having to play a strong South London Storm team in their cross-conference fixtures. They went on to beat Leicester Phoenix in the qualifying semi-final to set up a Midlands Grand Final with Nottingham Outlaws, which ended in defeat.
| Position | Club | Games Won | Games Drawn | Games Lost | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nottingham Outlaws | 12 | 0 | 2 | 24 |
| 2 | Coventry Bears | 10 | 0 | 4 | 20 |
| 3 | Leicester Phoenix | 9 | 1 | 4 | 19 |
| 4 | Derby City | 6 | 1 | 7 | 13 |
| 5 | Telford Raiders | 5 | 0 | 9 | 10 |
| 6 | Birmingham Bulldogs | 4 | 0 | 10 | 8 |
| 7 | Wolverhampton Wizards | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
[edit] TotalRL.com Rugby League Conference: West Midlands
| Club | Games Played | Games Won | Games Drawn | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gloucestershire Warriors | 10 | 9 | 0 | 18 |
| Somerset Vikings | 10 | 8 | 0 | 16 |
| Plymouth | 10 | 6 | 0 | 12 |
| Burntwood Barbarians | 10 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| Oxford Cavaliers | 10 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| Bristol Sonics | 10 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Redditch Ravens | 10 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Coventry Bears A | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
