Coventry Bears
| File:Coventrybearslogo.png | |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Coventry Bears Rugby League Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | Bears |
| Colours |  |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) |
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| Chairman |  Alan Robinson |
| Coach(s) | Tom Tsang |
| Competition | League 1 |
Coventry Bears RLFC are a semi-professional rugby league club based in Coventry, England, formed in 1998. They have a proud history pioneering rugby league in the Midlands, their major honours include winning the National League 3 title in 2004 (now called Rugby League Conference National Division) and the Rugby League Conference in 2002.
They play at the Butts Park Arena, and run two open-age sides as well as a women's team and a selection of youth teams.
The "bear and ragged staff" is a traditional symbol of Warwickshire, which could explain the team's name.
Contents
History
1998-2003: Foundation
Coventry Bears were formed in 1998 by a group of university students led by Alan Robinson. They made an approach to Keith Fairbrother, the Coventry rugby union club’s Chairman and one time rugby league player, with a plan to form a team to play from Coundon Road Stadium.
Coventry Bears were admitted into the Rugby League Conference for the 2000 season and were unbeaten by any club within their division. They then won their quarter-final against Manchester Knights before being narrowly defeated by only one point in the semi-finals at Super League 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 match against the now defunct Teesside Steelers.
This was topped when the team won the Rugby League Conference Grand Final in September 2002 when they beat Hemel Stags 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.
2004-2014: Early success and rebuilding
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 concentrated on building the club up from the bottom and 2006 saw the return of the Bears as a Rugby League Conference Midlands premier side.
Coventry Bears first team claimed second place in their division, 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.
2007 was a good season for the Bears defeating old rivals Nottingham Outlaws to win the Midlands Premier and also winning the Kilkenny 9s, The Bears went on to finish as runners-up to St Albans Centurions losing 28-20 in the final of the Harry Jepson Trophy.
In 2008, the Bears finished as runners up in the Midlands Premier to old rivals Nottingham, who comprehensively beat Coventry. The Bears had an up and down season.
The upcoming season sees a few changes at the Bears with the departure of Ty Watson to Leicester and a return to the old school with the introduction of key player and Ireland international Alan Robinson as head coach, The Bears are looking towards the future and will again play in the Midlands Premier. The second grade will fulfil a strong fixture list by playing in the Midlands Rugby League.
In 2010, Coventry linked up with Super League side Wigan Warriors.[1]
2015-present: League 1
They were accepted into the semi-professional ranks of Championship 1 for the 2015 season. [1] Also in 2015 they entered their newly formed reserve side into the Conference League South. They impressed in their first semi professional season finishing 12th.
Stadiums
1998-2004: Coundon Road
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The Bears moved into Coundon Road shortly after their formation in 1998. The ground had been owned and operated by sister rugby union club Coventry R.F.C. They stayed there for six years until the ground was sold and demolished in 2004. Both clubs moved out to the newly built Butts Park Arena at the other side of Coventry.
2004-present: Butts Park Arena
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The stadium was built in 2004 and currently has one stand, the East Stand, which has a capacity of 3,000 and includes a number of conference and banqueting facilities. The West Stand which was a temporary structure holding 1,000 was removed at the end of the 2005–06 season on grounds of health and safety.
2016 squad
* Announced on 18 November 2015:
| Coventry Bears 2016 Squad | |||||||||
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| First team squad | Coaching staff | ||||||||
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2016 transfers
Gains
| Player | Club | Contract length | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
 James Redman |
Central ASA Tigers | 1 Year | October 2015 |
 Jay Lobwein |
Sunshine Coast Falcons | 1 Year | October 2015 |
 Matt Reid |
North Wales Crusaders | 1 Year | October 2015 |
 Trae O'Sullivan |
Midlands Hurricanes | 1 Year | October 2015 |
| Hayden Freeman |
Midlands Hurricanes | 1 Year | October 2015 |
| Elliot Norman |
Midlands Hurricanes | 1 Year | October 2015 |
| Jono Miliszewski |
Norths Devils | 1 Year | November 2015 |
| Charlie O'Mara |
Loughborough Academy | 1 Year | December 2015 |
| Dave Weston |
Gloucestershire Warriors | 1 Year | December 2015 |
| Brett Barlow |
Ossett Trinity | 1 Year | December 2015 |
Losses
| Player | Club | Contract length | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Phillips |
Retirement / Gloucestershire All Golds - Coach | N/A | October 2015 |
| Jack Francis |
Rochdale Hornets | 1 Year | October 2015 |
| Dan Parker |
Newcastle Thunder | 1 Year | November 2015 |
| Morgan Evans |
Gloucestershire All Golds | 1 Year | November 2015 |
| Daniel Poulton |
Gloucestershire All Golds | 1 Year | November 2015 |
| Tom Hall |
Oxford RLFC | 1 Year | December 2015 |
| Dave O'Connor |
Hemel Stags | 1 Year | November 2015 |
Reserves
Coventry Bears runs a reserve team that plays in the amateur Conference League South, the 4th tier of British Rugby League. The Bears were approached to run a team in an expanded Conference League South after the first team were admitted into the Championship 1, turning semi-professional. The reserves act as a pathway for players to make it to the first team and a professional career. The club plays its home matches at the Xcel Leisure Centre. They were coached in their debut season by James Carter. The club in its first season in Conference League South finished 4th.
Juniors
Coventry Bears' junior teams take part in the Midlands Junior League.
Club honours
- RLC Western Division: 2000
- RLC Midlands Division: 2001, 2002
- Harry Jepson Trophy: 2002
- National League 3: 2004
- RLC Midlands Premier: 2007, 2009, 2010
- Midlands Rugby League Division One: 2013
- Kilkenny 9s: 2007
- Midlands 9s: 2008, 2009, 2013
- Women's RLC Plate: 2010
- Women's RLC South Division: 2011
References
External links
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