DIRECTOR of rugby Dean Ryan has named a strong squad to face Greene King IPA Championship rivals Bristol tomorrow (Saturday) as Worcester Warriors aim to secure top spot.
With just a week to go before Worcester begin their play-off campaign, Ryan could have opted to rest a few of his key players ahead of the final run-in.
But as Warriors trail the visitors by just three points, a victory would make them the new leaders, so Ryan has vowed to go all out for the win.
“It is one of those titles that don’t really mean very much, but I want to finish top of the pile because I want to think at the end of the season we have managed the matches the best,” Ryan said.
“But we’re going to need to perform well to beat the other form team in the Championship.”
Ryan has made just two changes to the side which cruised to a 69-8 victory over Cornish Pirates as Max Stelling and Jonny Arr both come back into the starting line-up.
Stelling will partner Ryan Mills in midfield, while Chris Pennell, Cooper Vuna and Tom Biggs make-up the back three.
Arr lines-up alongside Ryan Lamb in the half-back combination as Warriors look to end the regular season on a high.
The forward pack remains unchanged as Ryan Bower, Niall Annett and Nick Schonert are named in the front row, while Mike Williams partners Darren O’Shea in the second row.
GJ van Velze skippers the side at number eight alongside Wales international Jonathan Thomas and this season’s top try scorer Sam Betty.
Ryan added: “We’ve said that at this stage we want to be predominantly injury-free, we want to feel we’re in form and we want to have a reasonable idea of the people who are going to play over the next four or five weeks and we’re in that shape now.
“The key is responding to the pressure we’re going to face over the next four or five weeks and playing at our optimum because we’re going to need to. Whichever side finds form in these next few weeks will be victorious.
“To see two squads like we have, you’d expect us to be somewhere near the top. The nature of the play-off competition though shouldn’t be lost.
“It’s a very different dynamic so it’s never been about the league. It’s been about getting to a point where you’re in the play-offs and then it’s about winning it.”
Warriors’ side to face Bristol: Pennell, Biggs, Stelling, Mills, Vuna, Lamb, Arr, Bower, Annett, Schonert, Williams, O’Shea, Thomas, Betty, Van Velze (C)
Replacements: Creevy, Fainga’anuku, Rees, Senatore, Percival, Mulchrone, Fatiaki