Dunlop Coventry 13, Spartans 11.

For the third time in as many weeks Spartans had to face some hostile opponents in very difficult conditions, but this time lady luck failed to turn up and the Men In Black were edged out by the narrowest of margins. The home side knew their facilities intimately and from the first kick off bagged a penalty, only for Spartans to reply in kind minutes later to level things. From then on the game became a slow, grinding mudfest and Dunlop were able to prove that size really does matter in those conditions, as they inched forwards at snail pace but kept the ball well. Spartans were forced to defend against the trudgery, but eventually a very large and muddy Dunlop 'prop flopped over the line. Adding the conversion and a penalty, the home side were in control at half time.

The second half started with the pitch in tatters but out of the swamp Spartans won a lineout and somehow found enough traction to drive over, but crucially the conversion attempt from wide out struck the post and bounced away. Two contrasting styles of play saw Dunlop keeping things very tight and Spartans searching for gaps, but the scoreboard stayed unchanged until a penalty from Tom Hardy closed the gap to just two points. Both sides continued to slug it out but neither could find a knockout blow, and eventually the Men In Black had to settle for a hard earned bonus point as a just reward for their considerable effort.

Spartans take a break over the Christmas period but return to action in the new year with a tough encounter at Earlsdon.