By Spencer Morris
THERE was an air of optimism among the near 4,500 crowd at Sixways on Saturday as Warriors’ home season in The Championship kicked off.
Many were expecting a 50 point thumping of Moseley – and of other similar teams over the next seven months – following the last-minute defeat at rivals Bristol last weekend. However, things don’t always go to plan.
There were some real highlights on the day. Some bone-crunching hits from GJ Van Velze and Mike Williams could be heard from the opposite end of the ground.
Youngsters such as Christian Scotland-Williamson didn’t look out of place at all and Charlie Mulchrone was razor sharp, scything his way through the Moseley defence. He deserved his two tries as well as man of the match.
Questions will be asked though. Why, with such a dominant scrum, could Warriors not put the game away until after half time? How could Moseley claw themselves back into the game? Will every other team in the Championship treat their match against Worcester as a ‘cup final’?
Worcester only need to finish in the top four for the end of season play-offs, but a more comfortable victory than Saturday’s one will be needed to illustrate to the fans that this squad can cut it if they reach the Premiership next season.
Caption: Flanker Mike Williams tries to find a way through Moseley’s resilient defence. Picture by Andy Baldwin.