PRE-SEASON preparations got underway in Dublin on Saturday, as Coventry Rugby pitted themselves against Pro14 side Leinster at Donnybrook Stadium.
The Irish side were good value for a 47-17 victory, despite being without a number of their international stars, to give Coventry a good run-out in their opening friendly.
Vakh Abdaladze gave the hosts the lead on 15 minutes, while Josh Murphy and Adam and Harry Byrne added further scores to give the Dubliners a commanding lead, despite James Stokes converted effort before the break.
Coventry were powerless to prevent Abdaladze adding a second, while Max Deegan also crossed the whitewash, as normal service resumed after the interval.
Junior Bulumakau and Dan Lewis reduced the deficit with two unconverted tries within minutes of each other, but were unable to build further on their second-half progress.
Ronan Watters had the last say with his unconverted try, capping off a comprehensive victory for the hosts, to leave Coventry searching for a response when visiting Birmingham Moseley on Friday (7.30pm) and Blackheath on Saturday (3pm).
