Lamb fires Warriors to final day win - The Worcester Observer

Lamb fires Warriors to final day win

Worcester Editorial 12th May, 2014 Updated: 19th Oct, 2016   0

IT HAS been a season which has seen Worcester Warriors produce more spills than thrills as they were relegated with a game to spare.

But they made sure they provided their fans with one final moment in the Aviva Premiership to savour. And it came in dramatic style on Saturday as a Ryan Lamb penalty edged Warriors 28-27 ahead with two minutes to go.

Gloucester could have snatched it at the death, but Freddie Burns went wide from the tee to hand Worcester only their second win of the season.

And director of rugby Dean Ryan said he was delighted to send the supporters home with a smile on their face after a disappointing campaign.




“It was really important that we finished off in the right way to repay the fans,” he said.

“We got relegated last week, but that was a packed stadium which just shows the support base and loyalty this club has, so it is important that we represent that.


“I don’t think we have done well at that in the past, but we are beginning to build that relationship.”

Warriors’ support was clear as they packed out all corners of Sixways, but it was their noisy neighbours which had the most to shout about in the early stages and it was Jonny May who provided the stand out moment in the match.

The England wing collected the ball from inside Worcester’s 22 before sprinting past Josh Drauniniu and Lamb to score a superb solo try.

Gloucester’s backs were causing Warriors all sorts of problems as wing Shane Monahan went over in the opposite corner three minutes later.

But it was their forwards which laid the platform for their next score. A powerful drive saw Ben Morgan crash over, which Burns converted to open up a 17-3 advantage, with Worcester only responding with a Lamb penalty.

But with bragging rights on the line, Warriors showed no signs of giving up and closed the gap with a push over try from departing number eight Semisi Taulava.

Worcester also refused to let up in defence as they held firm which frustrated the visitors who had May sin-binned. And the hosts took full advantage as Lamb crashed through to score under the posts to leave a simply conversion for the fly half to dispatch on the stroke of half time.

All the momentum was with Warriors and they soon moved in front for the first time in the match. This time, Lamb turned provider as he sent over a precise cross-field kick to Drauniniu who then showed great feet to dance his way over the whitewash, which Lamb converted.

It did not take long, though, before Gloucester woke up again and they regained the ascendancy when May went over, with Burns adding the extras.

The lead continued to change hands as Burns responded to Lamb’s penalty to move his side 27-25 ahead despite having Rob Cook yellow carded.

It teed up a dramatic finale, but it was Worcester who took it as Lamb silenced the visiting supporters with a coolly dispatched penalty before Burns fluffed the opportunity to win the enthralling encounter in the dying seconds.

Subscribe

Receive a weekly update to your inbox by signing up to our weekly newsletter.

Public Notices

View and download all of the public notices in the Worcester Observer.

Business Directory

From plumbers, to restaurants, we can provide you with all the info you need.

Announcements

Weddings, Birthdays, Bereavements, Thank you notices, Marriages and more.