Anything different wouldn’t have been a disaster, but it would have undone a lot of what was achieved at Vicarage Road. As it was, the 5,998 who braved the wet and cold were satisfied with the manner of Worcester’s first back-to-back wins of the season, and so was director of rugby John Brain. The only negatives came from injuries to Gavin Quinnell and Drew Hickey – knee and rib respectively – both of which will be assessed after the weekend.
Warriors’ were robust and direct throughout. Indeed, the game was only a couple of minutes old when Thomas Lombard took time to find his feet after crashing through three tackles. The moments before he rose gingerly sent a few shivers through the Sixways stands, given the French centre’s form at Sarries six days before, and the absence of regular midfield partner Dale Rasmussen with a calf strain. To add to the concern, full-back Lee Best hobbled to his feet after heavy contact as he looked to run from Worcester’s 22 a few minutes later.
Dragons announced their presence with a couple of testing forays into Warriors territory, the second of which foundered for crossing with an overlap begging, but Worcester were just as generous when Brown’s pass missed its target, Miguel Avramovich, and presented the visitors with an unexpected chance to raid down the right. Mark Tucker’s solid tackle quelled the danger.
Captain Kai Horstmann was the next to require attention – for an arm injury – as Warriors started to probe for gaps in the visitors’ midfield. Through the bitty opening exchanges, however, the Worcester lineout was beginning to prosper and, when Dragons deliberately knocked the ball away at a ruck 15m from their line, James Brown opted for a kick to the corner and Warriors’ first catch-and-drive.
With the pre-Christmas crowd baying for an opening try – and Gavin Quinnell on for the departing Drew Hickey – the Warriors pack hammered across and beyond the line, only for referee Tim Beddow to elect for a five-metre scrum. At the second time of asking, Matt Powell swivelled clear and found Aisea Havili as good as unmarked on the right to make amends. James Brown’s kick from the touchline was majestic and the home side led 7-0.
With 15 minutes of the half left, however, the sight no one wanted to see came with Quinnell being stretchered off after his left knee took the weight of a Dragons second row while tidying up on the fringes of a ruck. It gave Academy star Will Bowley the chance to display the form that played such a big part in the A Team’s historic win at Leicester five days before. The opportunity came first in the loose when Dragons spilt the ball 22m out and Matt Powell sent the 22-year-old galloping towards the line. His offload back to Powell, 20m short of glory, fell behind the supporting scrum-half, though, and the visitors were able to clear the danger.
Dragons’ first swift and meaningful attack for 10 minutes came off the back of a 10m drive, nine minutes before the break. Worcester’s wide defence – benefiting from two Phil Larder sessions – was equal to the assault and forced knock-on, but Mr Beddow spotted an infringement in the scrum and provided the Welsh side with an unexpected chance to catch-and-drive. Bowley was lectured for pulling the resulting maul down and the visitors travelled the same route until an accidental offside killed the move with the line crooking a finger.
Dragons played the tighter rugby with more possession in the run up to half-time, but Warriors showed more adventure as Sixways was lashed by a rainstorm and Mark Tucker was unlucky not to make it all the way to the whitewash when the final tackler hauled him down after the winger had taken Brown’s crossfield kick and danced to within 10m of a try.
Once Warriors had claimed the restart ball, the second half opened in much the same vein, only this time with Brown’s preference being for grubbers behind the visitors’ defence. Dragons found it hard to work a way out of their own 22 and replaced two-thirds of their front row – including former Warrior Ben Daly – on 47 minutes in an attempt to Worcester’s growing dominance up front. Their first confrontation suggested little would change, and Welsh international half-backs Gareth Cooper and Ceri Sweeney joined the effort three minutes later to stem the tide.
Their first duty was to watch James Brown attempt to increase the lead to 10-0 from 25m after a ruck infringement, a chance he despatched with deceptive ease.
Dragons had the hint of a scoring opportunity when British Lion Cooper’s box kick bounced badly for Havili and Tom Harding, but Lee Best was first to the kick across the line. The next opportunity to open their account came just a minute later, when Sweeney kicked the visitors to 10-3 after an apparent high tackle 25m out.
Within two minutes, however, Brown returned the compliment from 35m, after Dragons had infringed at the restart. Within another two, Havili had used his speed to scintillating effect after Harding chased down a loose pass and kicked ahead. The Tongan flyer left the Welsh defence for dead, nursed the ball over the line and dropped on it for 18-3. This time, despite the cheers of the East Stand crowd, Brown was adjudged to have missed with his conversion attempt from the right touchline.
Shane Drahm announced his arrival in place of Lee Best with the longest, deepest kick for touch that Sixways has seen all season to put Dragons’ backs to the line once more. Warriors didn’t contest the lineout but powered the opposition beyond the line, looking for a turnover. The visitors refused to yield, however, and kicked the clearance.
The play was still all one way, and Miguel Avramovich’s sparkling run was halted three metres short soon after, with the Argentinian unable to offload to either Tucker or Drahm in close attendance on the left. It would have been due reward for a solid game.
Young Academy starlet Alex Grove replaced double try-scorer Havili with 12 minutes to go for his first team debut, and he was followed on to the pitch by Callum Black – for Tevita Taumoepeau – and Ryan Powell, for his namesake, as Worcester continued their solid, workmanlike domination of the half. Grove settled in at centre with Lombard moving back to his former hunting ground on the wing, while Powell’s tigering presence ensured that the visitors would go on finding time and space as hard to come by.
When they did, they were rewarded for their doggedness as second row replacement Nic Fitisemanu broke two midfield tackles and rumbled to the line on 75m. Ceri Sweeney kept his side within sniffing distance by drawing his conversion inside the right post to leave the game at 18-10.
A late comeback, this time at Worcester’s expense? The visitors’ body language suggested it was on, but Warriors were having none of it. The restart kick was deep enough to force Dragons to attempt a running breakout, but Maule’s dropped pass wasn’t part of the plan and James Brown pounced to kick ahead then win the foot race for a rare touch down.
“I felt we had en edge on them in the scrum,” director of rugby John Brain said afterwards. “The ref took a bit of time to decide who was on top.
“I think defence won us the game. They went for us but Phil Larder, in the two weeks he’s been with us, has done a lot. The players have responded to him and it showed out there.”
Timeline
23m 7-0 Havili t, Brown c
53m 10-0 Brown p
57m 10-3 Sweeney p
59m 13-3 Brown p
61m 18-3 Havili t
75m 18-10 Fitisemanu t, Sweeney c
77m 23-10 Brown t
Man of the Match: Aisea Havili
Team: 01 Darren Morris, 02 Chris Fortey (Gotting 56), 03 Tevita Taumoepeau (Black 70), 04 Tim Collier, 05 Craig Gillies, 06 Kai Horstmann (c), 07 Tom Harding, 08 Drew Hickey (Quinnell 21, Bowley 26), 09 Matt Powell (R Powell 70), 10 James Brown, 11 Mark Tucker, 12 Thomas Lombard, 13 Miguel Avramovic, 14 Aisea Havili (Grove 68), 15 Lee Best (Drahm 56)
Replacement: 16 Callum Black, 17 Ben Gotting, 18 Will Bowley, 19 Gavin Quinnell, 20 Ryan Powell, 21 Shane Drahm, 22 Alex Grove
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