I stepped into the shoes of a scout at the Championship opener – here is what I saw

On a mild September evening under a bright orange moon, the 2024-25 Championship season opened with London Scottish hosting Coventry. The hope is that it will be a significant campaign, culminating in a promotion play-off for the club that finishes top.

But while that could provide the league winners with a route to the Premiership, several players can fight their way into the top flight thanks to their performances across the campaign. With that in mind, a trip to the Richmond Athletic Ground gives us an early look at the action.

Contrasting resources

Even with some understandably scratchy moments in round one of the league schedule, Coventry were convincing on the way to a 45-19 victory that did not flatter them. They won the laptop count as comfortably, sharing seven between their coaches, analysts and media personnel, allowing them to scrutinise footage in real time.

Scottish work on a skinnier infrastructure. Their staff numbered just one laptop between them. A trite observation maybe, but this epitomises the nature of a competition in which only a few teams – including Coventry as well as Ealing Trailfinders and Doncaster Knights – run fully professional set-ups.

Squads are assembled differently as well. Coventry featured just one Premiership loanee in Bath hooker Jasper Spandler. Meanwhile, seven Harlequins dotted the 23 of Scottish, who share a strategic partnership with their neighbours.

There is talent that catches the eye.

An imposing presence at 6ft 6in tall, Coventry lock Obinna Nkwocha was among the most prominent individuals on the field. Having represented England Under-18s, he joined Alex Rae’s side from Saracens a year ago and has blossomed in the Championship. Nkwocha scored two of Coventry’s six tries, twisting over cleverly from close range before surging through off the shoulder of sniping scrum-half Will Lane.

The former carried with bristling intent around the fringes and was part of an effective line-out operation. Defensively, the 21-year-old was mobile and aggressive, dipping low to make dominant tackles and rag-dolling smaller backs when opportunities allowed. Nkwocha was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on, yet ended well in credit. It was unsurprising to hear that Bath and Northampton Saints were keen on recruiting him this summer.

“He’s got physical attributes that not many people have,” Rae explained at the final whistle. “He’s a young man who seems to be getting better and better. It’s a credit to the rugby programme here that he was willing to turn people down because he thought it was the right thing for his career.

“That’s a really brave decision as well, because you could think those opportunities might not come again. I think he knows they’ll come and he’s in a good spot to keep progressing.”

“I don’t think they play enough, some of these young lads,” added the Coventry head coach, suggesting that Nkwocha was “maybe not ready” to break through at Saracens. “Suddenly, you’re part of a [Premiership] first-team squad when there’s responsibility and pressure with points on the line and you’re learning like that.

“It’s time as well. We can’t sign the ready-made player. As coaches, we have to put time into them. It’s a different process, but it’s enjoyable and rewarding. They come to us because we’ve got a good rugby programme. Unless we go to the Premiership, we’ll push them on.”

Nurturing young talent

As Rae hinted, Coventry feel justifiably proud of how they develop players. George Smith (Northampton Saints), Will Wand (Leicester Tigers) and Will Rigg (Exeter Chiefs) are three to pick up top-flight deals recently, with Pat Pellegrini heading to Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby.

Other burgeoning talents were on show against Scottish. Tom Ball, previously attached to Saints, is a resourceful back-rower who slips through contact with balance and deceptive power. Jimmy Martin, slightly older at 25, was influential on the wing. As well as bagging a simple try, he roamed in-field to pick gaps and kept attacks alive by offloading off the floor. His work in the kicking exchanges was polished as well, which will be a plus if Premiership recruiters come calling.

Quality always shines through. With more luck, Matt Kvesic would own far more than four England caps. He was the official player of the match, popping up to spur Coventry with trademark jackals and carrying powerfully. What a bonus for Rae’s charges to have the 32-year-old, who arrived via Worcester Warriors and Zebre, as a mentor.

It was a match of scrappy passages, not helped by blustery wind and customary September rust. Still, there were plenty of impressive flashes. Will Talbot-Davies, the Scottish full-back and a Coventry old boy, struck a superb 50:22 in the first half. Archie White, the senior Harlequins representative, battled at the breakdown. Noah Ferdinand, a strong runner, boosted the hosts with two late scores.

Suva Ma’asi flew into tackles with total commitment and, on the back of a solid set-piece performance, Coventry produced some eye-catching tries. Senitiki Nayalo, their British Army No 8, peeled around a line-out and scattered bodies for the first. Nwocha’s second was nice. Its architect, Lane, had scorched through for the best of the night just before that.

Following a fumble from Scottish, Coventry sparked into life collectively. Oli Morris, the ex-Saracens and Worcester Warriors centre, played a delightful flick to Aaron Hinkley and another long pass opened up the field. Lane burst on to the ball and had the speed to go over from 60 metres.

A world champion and international names

Ben Waghorn, the England U20 outside centre for the World Championship final against France two months ago, was a late call-up to start for Scottish after Jonah Holmes withdrew. One of the Harlequins cohort, his impact was rather mitigated by Coventry’s control of the game.

Elsewhere, figures such as Vilikesa Nairau and Liam Richman added an international flavour to Coventry. The former, a stout tighthead, represented Fiji U20s. Richman, meanwhile, made his club debut on a week’s notice. The well-travelled Australian fly-half directed matters calmly and kicked 15 points.

The second tier is a place where coaches cut their teeth while improving young talent, though squad turnover poses an obvious challenge – whether that is with loanees coming in and out or because of players leaving.

Despite this, Coventry looked tough and well drilled. Steve Boden, previously of Jersey and Doncaster, is now overseeing the forwards alongside Rae and James Scaysbrook is implementing a swarming defence. Gordon Ross, the ex-Scotland fly-half, is another recognisable figure on the backroom team.

‌Underneath director of rugby Bryan Redpath, Joe Gray is Scottish head coach. The one-cap hooker – himself an old Harlequins favourite – has coached Wimbledon and Barnes in the lower leagues. More recently, Steve Borthwick seconded him to work with England on line-out throwing. Scottish are in good hands with such an upbeat presence.

Of course at this level and below, the game is kept alive by volunteers and perhaps the real star of the show was John Macdonald-Brown, a player for Scottish in the 1990s who was on announcing duty. He greeted kick-off by booming: “Put your sun cream back in the cupboard and strap yourselves in!”

Such enthusiasm made it easy to be optimistic about rugby’s return.