THE DOOM and gloom hovering over Sixways was finally lifted on Saturday as Worcester Warriors produced a rousing second half display to see off Oyonnax 20-13.
Centre Max Stelling scored the decisive try with ten minutes to go as Warriors went on to end their 11 match losing streak at home.
The victory may not have won Worcester a place in the knock-out stages of the Amlin Challenge Cup or even stopped them from finishing bottom of Pool One.
But director of rugby Dean Ryan believes it was a win which could prove significant as they attempt to avoid relegation from the Aviva Premiership.
“The changing room is buzzing,” Ryan said. “I was really pleased with Josh Watkins and how well Max Stelling played at full back and those positives would have been there irrespective of the result, but the win is big for us as it just makes the lads feel good about themselves.
“We have got a big week training now, followed by two LV Cup games and then we have got the biggest challenge of our lives, so we want to make sure we are in the right space to take that on and today was a nice step to taking that on.”
However, the Warriors boss is likely to be without the services of Ben Howard, who hobbled off with a hamstring problem, and Leonardo Senatore, who suffered a blow to the ribs.
Both injuries came within the opening ten minutes as Worcester got off to a disappointing start, while a long-range penalty from Jonathan Bousquet gave the French outfit the lead in woeful conditions.
Ignacio Mieres missed the chance to cancel it out moments later as his effort cannoned off the upright before Warriors fell further behind. Nicolas Vuillemin and Mahamadou Diaby combined well to close in on the try-line before hooker Salim Tebani powered over in the corner to give his side a 8-0 lead with a quarter of the game gone.
But the try turned out to be a wake-up call for Worcester as they hit back four minutes later. Referee Claudio Blessano awarded a penalty try after Oyonnax illegally hauled down Warriors’ rolling maul, which allowed Mieres to dispatch the points.
Suddenly, Worcester were on top as Dean Hammond, Josh Matavesi and Josh Watkins went on the attack. The home side seemed to hold the edge in the scrum, but they were unable to make the most of it as Mieres sliced his penalty attempt wide.
The break appeared to come at the right time for Worcester as they wiped themselves down and then came bursting out of the traps.
Oyonnax were struggling to get out of their own 22 as Warriors battered away at their try-line, while the visitors also had Ruaan Du Preez yellow carded.
With every minute that went by, frustrations grew around Sixways as fans feared they would once again watch their side suffer an agonising defeat.
But Warriors remained composed and got their reward with a superb five minute spell.
Mieres landed two penalties in quick succession before Worcester finally crossed the whitewash when Stelling pounced on Hammond’s offload and sprinted clear.
Mieres added the extras to open up a 20-8 lead.
There was still enough time for Oyonnax to bounce back with a try from Bousquet, but this time Warriors refused to let it slip.
Geoff Berkeley reporting from Sixways
