The Coventry 'appeal' that won over ex-England back row Matt Kvesic

Former England international flanker Matt Kvesic has explained why he has signed for Coventry ahead of the 2023/24 Championship season. Despite more than 200 Gallagher Premiership appearances to his name, the 31-year-old was left clubless at the start of last season’s top-flight when Worcester financially collapsed.

That saw him embark on an Italian adventure with Zebre Parma in the URC, but England is now home again for Kvesic after he decided to join Coventry. “I wanted to be close to home after being in Italy for six months without my wife and family which I found really tough,” he explained.

“When Coventry reached out and said they were interested on the back of what the club did last year when they finished third in the Championship, I thought it would be a good opportunity to get my teeth into something and enjoy my rugby again.

“I know (Coventry scrum-half) Will Chudley well – he is a good friend of mine – and he was in my ear to try and persuade me to come up here. The style of rugby that Cov play really appeals to me. It’s an exciting brand that tries to keep the ball alive and play with plenty of pace, which is what comes with such a young playing group.

“The 3G pitch is really helpful as you know exactly what you are going to get and it’s well-suited to an open game. Hopefully, we can use that to our advantage and make more progress from last year. Coming back into a family club environment like Cov has been great; everyone has been really welcoming and the training has been good.

“What happened at Worcester still rankles with me – it was equally tough for London Irish and Wasps – and it has been especially difficult not to see the club bounce straight back. But that is all in the past now and I am looking to the future here at Coventry.”

Despite his Premiership debut coming in 2011 when Martin Johnson was the England boss and Marcus Smith was still at primary school, the back-rower has admitted to secretly enjoying the gruelling physical demands of pre-season training. “I’m a bit weird as I actually enjoy it,” he said.

“I had a bit of a nightmare this year as I tweaked a calf and missed a fair bit of training in the first two weeks to do rehab. As a result, I have taken a fair bit of stick about missing the tough bits and coming back in when it started to get a bit easier!

“We started in June about a week after the Premiership teams finished last season, so it feels like we have had a long pre-season and we have certainly got through lots of hard work.

"The boys have trained really well and after gradually doing more and more rugby content in recent weeks we are all desperate to play now so the friendlies against Leicester Lions and Moseley and then the Saracens cup game can’t come soon enough.

“With the playing group we have got if we produce the sort of rugby of which we are capable we can beat anyone,” he continued. “Jersey will be full of confidence after winning the league last year and having them first game will be a good test for us.

"It seems like plenty of clubs will be stronger than last year and, in particular, Doncaster seem to have made some good signings. We have also seen how Ealing have recruited plenty of outstanding players including some internationals, but we will stick to our mindset and focus on ourselves and we have the potential to move forward from last year.”