HEAD coach Carl Hogg has urged his side to be more clinical and accurate after Warriors’ comprehensive defeat to Leicester Tigers.
The former Melrose, Edinburgh and Scotland back row admitted his side must do the ‘simple things’ better after being left with a mountain to climb following a poor first-half display at Welford Road, which saw the Worcester outfit trail by 20 points.
“We wanted to come to Leicester and express ourselves. We came with an ambition to play as we didn’t want to sit in an arm-wrestle and set-piece game,” said Hogg.
“But we didn’t manage to get any high field position in the first-half and we didn’t exit as well as we would’ve liked to. We fed a very dangerous Leicester back three who profited from it.
“In the second-half we were more robust. We talked about trying to get field position and playing multi-phase rugby, but ultimately at 20-0 it gives you a mountain to climb.
“We weren’t as accurate and clinical as we could’ve been, whereas Leicester looked sharp when they had the ball. Credit to them as they got opportunities to camp on our line and score tries. They’re very good at squeezing sides.
“But I’m pleased with the character we showed, especially when we were staring down the barrel. Sometimes you need to do the simple things well at a foundation level and that’s what we need to get better at,” he added.
Hogg also reflected on Warriors’ opening block of Premiership games.
“A six-week block is always tough. We would’ve liked converting those draws at home into wins, but we now get a chance to recharge,” he added.
“Over the first six games we’ve shown resilience and that we can be dangerous with ball in hand.
“Against Saracens and Newcastle we showed great determination and spirit to defend for huge periods of time. All the components are there, so now it’s just about knitting that together over an 80 minute window.”