LIVE updates from our man at Sixways, Geoff Berkeley, where Worcester Warriors go up against London Scottish in the Greene King IPA Championship play off semi-final second leg.
The live updates have now finished.
MATCH SUMMARY: Worcester Warriors secured their place in the play-off final thanks to a dominant forwards display at a rain-soaked Sixways.
The hosts did fall behind to an early try from Matt Williams, but they soon turned the tie around. Sam Lewis helped himself to a brace, while GJ Van Velze got the other as Worcester’s pack turned the screw.
Ryan Lamb also showed a cool head as he landed a number of kicks to finish with an 18 point haul. Warriors will now take on either Bristol or Rotherham in the play-off final later this month. Thanks for following.
WORCESTER WARRIORS SECURE THEIR PLACE IN THE PLAY-OFF FINAL
FT: WORCESTER WARRIORS 38 LONDON SCOTTISH 15
78min – Worcester Warriors 38-15 London Scottish – PENALTY – Ryan Lamb
77min – Huge cheer as youngster Jamie Shilcock comes on to make his Warriors debut.
Attendance – 6,558
75min – Worcester Warriors 35-15 London Scottish – PENALTY – Ryan Lamb
74min – YELLOW CARD – Scottish’s captain Mark Bright gets sin-binned
72min – Worcester’s forwards have really been the difference this evening as they pushed the Exiles back down field before securing a penalty.
69min – Warriors currently under pressure here as Scottish try to come back. They will need 23 unanswered points to edge in front, though.
– It’s chucking it down here at Sixways, but the conditions don’t seem to be bothering Worcester as they remain on the front foot.
More on try: Scottish are really struggling to contain Worcester’s forwards as another surge pushes the visitors back before Lewis touched down for his second. Lamb landed the conversion. They now lead 59-27 on aggregate.
59min – Worcester Warriors 32-15 London Scottish – CONVERSION – Lamb
58min – Worcester Warriors 30-15 London Scottish – TRY – Sam Lewis
More on try: For a moment Scottish looked dead and buried, but a mistake from Ryan Mills has given them a lifeline. The centre kicked straight at Lydon who scampered through to score before converting his own try.
52min – Worcester Warriors 25-15 London Scottish – CONVERSION – Lydon
51min – Worcester Warriors 25-13 London Scottish – TRY – Lydon
More on try: Another driving maul lays the platform for Warriors as skipper GJ Van Velze powers over from close range. Lamb was unable to add the extras.
47min – Worcester Warriors 25-8 London Scottish – CONVERSION MISSED – Lamb
46min – Worcester Warriors 25-8 London Scottish – TRY – GJ Van Velze
More on try: Superb start from Warriors as Cooper Vuna bursts through a gap before offloading to Dean Hammond who goes in under the posts. Lamb slots home a simple conversion. The try came at a price through as Hammond limped off.
43min – Worcester Warriors 20-8 London Scottish – CONVERSION – Lamb
42min – Worcester Warriors 18-8 London Scottish – TRY – Dean Hammond
SECOND HALF UNDERWAY
HALF-TIME SUMMARY: Warriors have increased their advantage in the tie to ten points after edging London Scottish in a competitive opening period.
An early Exiles try coupled with an injury to Ben Howard was not the start Worcester would have hoped for.
But they turned it around thanks to two penalties from Ryan Lamb and a push-over try from Sam Lewis. The visitors are still in the encounter, though, as Peter Lydon cut back the deficit with a penalty and they came close to scoring just before the break.
HT: WORCESTER WARRIORS 13-8 LONDON SCOTTISH
39min – Warriors fortunate not to fall behind just before the break as Keiran Moffat bursts through a gap. But Scottish failed to make it count as Worcester managed to tempt them back inside before the visitors knocked on.
– Cooper Vuna looks completely at ease in his unfamiliar position of full back as he picks the ball out of the air before unleashing a fine kick into touch
37min – Worcester Warriors 13-8 London Scottish – PENALTY – Lydon
More on try: A 15-metre driving maul sees Warriors power over the try-line, with Sam Lewis touching down. Lamb adds the extras.
34min – Worcester Warriors 13-5 London Scottish – CONVERSION – Ryan Lamb
33min – Worcester Warriors 11-5 London Scottish – TRY – Sam Lewis
30min – The home side’s forwards are also on top as they won a scrum against the head and are now inside Scottish’s 22.
26min – Warriors gaining in confidence as London Scottish find themselves pinned in their own half, with Bruzulier looking sharp in the number nine jersey.
-Warriors battling well as JB Bruzulier and Sam Lewis combined to gain their side ground before Tom Biggs was stopped in his tracks.
22min – Worcester Warriors 6-5 London Scottish – PENALTY – Ryan Lamb
16min – Worcester Warriors 3-5 London Scottish – PENALTY – Ryan Lamb
14min – Warriors have already been forced to make a change as Ben Howard goes off and Tom Biggs replaces him, with Cooper Vuna moving to full back. Not what Dean Ryan needed.
13min – Tempers flare up as Ryan Lamb appears to get pushed over off the ball which Worcester reacted to.
More on try: We are now back level in the tie as London Scottish’s Matt Williams goes over in the corner. This came after Warriors’ Ben Howard was forced into the dead ball area, leaving a five-metre scrum.
9min – Worcester Warriors 0-5 London Scottish – CONVERSION MISSED – Lydon
8min – Worcester Warriors 0-5 London Scottish – TRY – Matt Williams
4min – Concern for Warriors who have been decimated by injuries as Ben Howard goes down, but fortunately he has returned to his feet.
KICK OFF
Teams
Warriors:
Howard, Hammond, Grove, Mills, Vuna, Lamb, Bruzulier, Rapava Ruskin, Creevy, Schonert, Percival, Thomas, Williams, Lewis, Van Velze
Replacements: Annett, Fainga’anuku, Rees, Cox, Shilcock, Fatiaki, Biggs
Scottish:
Lydon, Williams, Moffat, Gidlow, Doneghan, Newton, Stevenson, Lilley, Kwansnicki, Prescott, Phillips, Brown, Gillanders, Best, Bright
Replacements: Rae, Stephenson, Ludlow, Chisholm, Walker, Heeks, Millar
Welcome to Sixways where Worcester Warriors will be hoping to secure a place in the play-off final with victory over London Scottish. Dean Ryan’s men currently hold a five point advantage in the tie having defeated the Exiles 27-22 at the Athletic Ground.