AS DEPRESSING as it sounds Worcester Warriors are used to losing – having suffered 20 defeats in the Aviva Premiership last season.
However, Sunday’s loss is likely to feel more painful than most as Ben Mosses went over in the dying seconds to secure Bristol a dramatic 23-19 victory at Ashton Gate.
For most parts of what was an enthralling contest Worcester dominated, but when it counted it was their Greene King IPA Championship rivals who took their chances.
Bristol recovered from a 10-3 deficit at half time with tries from former Worcester players Andy Short and David Lemi before Mosses scored at the death after a Ignacio Mieres penalty appeared to have won it for Warriors.
“To lose in the last minute is pretty hard,” director of rugby Dean Ryan said. “On reflection we probably missed two or three opportunities in the first half to really put the game away.
“I thought we dominated quite large areas of the game, but we were not clinical enough to impose that.
“We kept ourselves in the the match with Cangu (Mieres) kicking well. But if you have missed chances then you expose yourself to what happened in the final moments.”
The opening 20 minutes will be one of the periods Ryan will most be disappointed with as his side failed to turn their territorial advantage into points.
As soon as Andy Symons latched onto Mieres punt from the kick off, Bristol were forced to withstand heavy spells of pressure, with Mike Williams notably driving Worcester forward.
But they could only muster a penalty from Mieres as the home side survived and they almost scored against the run of play. Worcester stopped Mosses in his tracks after Anthony Perenise broke away down the left.
Warriors eventually got the try their dominance deserved on the half hour mark. After Sam Smith was tackled short of the line, the visitors continued to hammer away before Williams squeezed over. Mieres added the extras to give Worcester a 10-0 lead.
Williams’ try came after a hugely impressive opening 30 minutes from the talented back row. But in a matter of minutes he went from hero to villain when he was sent to the sin-bin following an off-the-ball incident.
This seemed to turn the tide as Matt Morgan opened Bristol’s account with a penalty before the hosts scored their first try just after the break. Morgan’s cross-field kick found Short on the right before the wing brushed off a tackle from Chris Pennell and touched down in the corner.
Mieres and Morgan then traded penalties as Warriors held a slender 13-11 advantage. The fly half did fail to extend his side’s lead on the 53rd minute when his attempt from the tee clattered the upright.
But Warriors will be most disappointed by what proceeded it as they had Bristol pinned inside their 22 for ten minutes. A penalty try seemed imminent as the hosts struggled to cope in the scrum.
Once again, though, it came to nothing as Bristol survived before inflicted another blow. Four minutes after Mieres slotted home a penalty, the visitors struck, with Lemi darting through to score. Morgan converted to put his side in front for the first time in the match and set up a thrilling finale.
Morgan failed to dispatch his next attempt and when Mieres fired over a penalty to give the away side a 19-18 advantage with a minute remaining Worcester seemed to have snatched it.
But in the final play of a pulsating contest, Ross Johnston passed inside to Mosses who sprinted clear to score and break Warriors’ hearts.