WORCESTER Warriors head coach Carl Hogg has urged his players to be smarter against Exeter Chiefs after giving away 18 points in penalties to Northampton Saints in their last outing.
The former Melrose, Edinburgh and Scotland back row was frustrated with Warriors’ ill-discipline in their 18-17 defeat to Saints on Friday and admitted they must ‘quickly get back on the wagon’ before travelling to Sandy Park this Saturday (4.30pm) in the Aviva Premiership.
A host of infringements across the field allowed Saints fly-half Stephen Myler to kick his side to victory despite Warriors crossing the whitewash twice through Dean Hammond and Kiwi Bryce Heem.
“We gave away a lot of penalties which allowed Northampton to get a foothold in the game. You can’t give away seven penalties in dangerous field position. It’s so frustrating,” said Hogg.
“There were a few positives though. We scored two tries and I thought Jamie Shillcock, in his first Premiership start at fly-half, was outstanding. He was very accomplished and composed against a strong Saints side.
“I was hopeful at the end with the penalty kick on the halfway line, but when you give away that many penalties in a match it was always going to be hard to control the game in our favour.
“Northampton were very robust and resilient on the night but, ultimately, it was a game we should’ve won.
“We know Exeter are a very strong side so we need to quickly get back on the wagon following the defeat to Northampton.
“We can’t afford to give away as many penalties as we did on Friday night. We need to be smart.
“We know we’re a good side and with the return of Ryan Mills, Bryce Heem and Cooper Vuna we have a lot of positivity going into Saturday’s clash against Chiefs.”