ANY CONFIDENCE which could have been gleaned from the last few weeks of cup rugby was all but shattered on Saturday as Exeter Chiefs ran riot at Sixways, with a 42-3 thrashing.
It was hoped Worcester Warriors’ victory over Oyonnax followed by their warm-weather training camp in Portugal last week would have revitalised them ahead of their return to the Aviva Premiership.
But with less than a week before they host Leicester Tigers, director of rugby Dean Ryan was given an almighty headache as his side were torn apart by Exeter in the LV= Cup.
Gareth Steenson came away with a 22-point haul, while tries from Tom James and Ceri Sweeney as well as a late brace from Haydn Thomas completed a disastrous afternoon for Warriors.
“We were bullied upfront and we were bullied at the end,” he said. “We just did not meet the collision today and there is no way from hiding from that.
“We know come Friday night we will be fighting for our lives, so I am really disappointed that that’s the first chapter going into probably the biggest challenge that any of these guys have faced.”
Having introduced a number of his first team regulars, Ryan would have been hoping to see his players press their case for a starting place against Tigers.
But instead he witnessed his team getting battered and bruised by a bullish Exeter pack who laid the platform for the visitors’ first try. Dave Lewis exploited space on the left as his offload found James who crashed over in the corner.
Warriors had a great opportunity to hit straight back after good work from Max Stelling, but Chris Pennell was just unable to latch on to Josh Drauniniu’s pass.
That was to be Worcester’s best chance of game as they spent the majority of it on the back foot.
Exeter were on top in every department as Warriors struggled to gain territory, while Steenson increased his side’s advantage with two penalties in quick succession.
Pennell finally got the hosts off the mark with a 27th minute penalty, but the task facing Worcester became even greater just before the interval when Steenson crossed the whitewash. Matt Jess took advantage of some slack defending as he marched through the middle with ease before setting up the fly half for a simple score, which he converted.
Things did not get any better for Warriors after the break as Steenson added to his tally with a long range penalty to move Exeter 22-3 in front.
Ryan threw on a number of fresh legs in a bid to inject some life into his side, but they could do nothing to halt their Devon opponents who continued to pile forward.
And the pressure told as Jeremy Su’a was sin binned after preventing Exeter from taking a quick tap penalty before Thomas powered over from close range.
The contest was all but over as Rob Baxter’s men led 28-3 going into the final few stages, but the Chiefs were not finished yet.
The visitors inflicted more misery on Warriors with two tries in as many minutes. Thomas once again crossed the whitewash before Paul Warwick watched on in horror as Sweeney intercepted his pace to sprint home for Exeter’s fifth and final try, which Steenson converted.