Coventry clear-out: The 19 players exiting Championship club

Skipper Jordon Poole, long-serving Fijian giant Tiki Nayalo and leading try-scorer Jimmy Martin head a list of 15 players retained by Coventry Rugby for the 2025/26 season.

But following a disappointing second half of the current campaign head coach Alex Rae has opted for a major facelift in a number of areas and as a result 19 members of the current squad depart the Butts Park Arena after the final game of the season against London Scottish on May 31st.

This major surgery is perhaps unsurprising following an injury-hit league campaign which began with an unbeaten seven-match bang but faded badly after Christmas.

After losing the services of almost an entire back-line including several key figures at the end of the 2023/24 season Rae’s most recent recruits largely failed to hit the heights previously reached by the likes of Pat Pellegrini, Will Chudley and Will Wand.

With the return of Worcester to next season’s Championship Cov also now face the challenge of another fully-professional outfit in the wider West Midlands and as a result have lost the influential Matt Kvesic plus James Tyas to the Warriors.

With the addition of eight players to a newly-established senior academy Cov have also launched a long-term campaign which they believe will ultimately see 70 per cent of their playing staff become local products.

The club is also set to unveil a number of senior signings who will bring their senior squad back to a similar level to that with which Rae has worked during the current campaign.

Returning Players:

Jordon Poole: The inspirational club captain and try-scoring hooker enters his sixth season at the Butts Park Arena.

Toby Trinder: Another BPA stalwart, Cov’s popular loose-head prop and stand-in skipper became the first player in almost five years to pass the 100-cap mark during late 2024.

Senitiki Nayalo: The Fijian-born British Army no.8 extends his stay in Coventry into an eighth season.

Tom Ball: The workhorse back-rower has been almost ever-present in 2024/25. Approaching the century mark in Cov colours since graduating from the club’s academy, Ball’s durability and reliability mark him out as a player of the highest quality.

James Martin: Cov’s leading try-scorer this season is approaching the 50 career try mark for his club while also closing in on his 100th cap for his father’s former club.

Suva Ma’asi: A hugely popular figure with fellow players and fans, the all-action hooker has also filled in as a back-rower during the course of the current season.

Josh Barton: Cov’s only ever-present this season, the scrum-half who is in his second spell at the BPA recently passed the 50-cap mark.

Matt Johnson: Another player in his second stint in blue-and-white, the tight-head prop will be the cornerstone of Cov’s scrum for another year.

David Opoku-Fordjour: A product of Coventry’s Bluecoat School, the pacy winger has produced some stand-out displays this season.

Tommy Mathews: This season’s leading points scorer has a strike rate of nearly 80 per cent from the tee.

Eliot Salt: The young tight-head prop enters his third season at the Butts Park Arena with almost 50 appearances to his name.

Oli Morris: The exciting midfielder has scored four tries since returning from injury in the second half of the season.

Dafydd-Rhys Tiueti: Another player following in his father’s footsteps at the BPA, the powerful centre joined Coventry from Nottingham in 2024.

Chester Owen: The exciting no.8 has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign during which he has featured on 19 occasions.

Dan Green: The 20-year-old West Midlands product has impressed in the second row during his first season in professional rugby.

Leavers:
In a statement on their website Coventry expressed “gratitude” to the players who depart at the end of the current campaign and wished them every success with their future lives and careers.

These players will receive an official send-off after the final home game of the season.

Aaron Hinkley (27 appearances to 16/5/25), Charlie Robson (19), Daniel Okeke (11), Fin Ogden (19), Jake Henry (5), James Tyas (80), Jevaughn Warren (21), Liam Richman (14), Matt Kvesic (38), Obinna Nkwocha (40), Rhys Anstey (35), Ryan Hutler (46), Steff Davies (4), Theo Mannion (11), Tom Hitchcock (27), Vilikesa Nairaiu (33), Will Biggs (40), Will Lane (54).