LIVE updates from our man at Sixways, Geoff Berkeley, where Worcester Warriors go up against Greene King IPA Championship’s bottom side Plymouth Albion.
The live updates have now finished.
MATCH SUMMARY: It was perhaps not the one-sided affair we were expecting as leaders Worcester Warriors came up against a Plymouth Albion side battling to survive in the Greene King IPA Championship.
But once again, Dean Ryan’s men got the job done and extended their winning run to 23 this season. Charlie Mulchrone’s try separated then two sides in a dour opening period.
Plymouth edged ahead with a try from Ben Woods, but fortunately for Worcester’s fans this proved as a wake up call as Chris Pennell, Max Stelling and Ben Howard went over to secure the bonus point before Andy Symons completed the scoring with a penalty. Thanks for following.
FT: WORCESTER WARRIORS 29-8 PLYMOUTH ALBION
76min – Worcester Warriors 29-8 Plymouth Albion – PENALTY – Andy Symons
71min – YELLOW CARD – Mike Williams follows the Worcester skipper into the bin leaving the hosts to play the remaining ten minutes with 13 men.
70min – YELLOW CARD – Warriors’ GJ Van Velze
More on try: Warriors clinch the all important bonus point try. Mulchrone was once again the architecture as he jinked his way through before feeding Pennell who rolled the ball outwide to Howard to power over.
65min – Worcester Warriors 26-8 Plymouth Albion – CONVERSION MISSED – Symons
64min – Worcester Warriors 26-8 Plymouth Albion – TRY – Ben Howard
More on try: After a last-ditch tackle stopped Charlie Mulchrone easing through to score, the ball was switched to the left and Pennell found Stelling who finished off Worcester’s third try.
55min – Worcester Warriors 21-8 Plymouth Albion – CONVERSION – Andy Symons
54min – Worcester Warriors 19-8 Plymouth Albion – TRY – Max Stelling
More on try: With Plymouth down to 14 men, Warriors make their numerical advantage count, with Mike Williams finding Chris Pennell who exploited a large gap in Plymouth’s defence to score.
51min – Worcester Warriors 14-8 Plymouth Albion – CONVERSION – Andy Symons
50min – Worcester Warriors 12-8 Plymouth Albion – TRY – Chris Pennell
46min – YELLOW CARD – Plymouth’s Sam Simmonds gets sin-binned as Warriors look for a response.
More on try: A chip over the top was not dealt with by Warriors as Sam Lewis let the ball bounce and find the hands of Ben Woods who crashed over.
43min – Worcester Warriors 7-8 Plymouth Albion – CONVERSION MISSED – Cusack
42min – Worcester Warriors 7-8 Plymouth Albion – TRY – Ben Woods
SECOND HALF UNDERWAY
HALF TIME SUMMARY: With the sun beaming down on Sixways, the conditions looked perfect for running rugby. But Warriors have yet to spark into life against a resilient Plymouth side, who have battled hard in defence. Charlie Mulchrone’s 20th minute try the difference between the two sides, but a series of loose line-outs and handling mistakes have stopped Worcester extending their lead.
HT: WORCESTER WARRIORS 7 PLYMOUTH ALBION 3
39min – Another chance missed from Warriors. Ignacio Mieres intercepted a pass, but his offload to Andy Symons, who could have been put clean through for an easy score, was poor.
37min – Andy Symons drives Warriors forward as they look for another score before the break, but good work from Toby Howley-Berridge alleviates the danger.
36min – Worcester Warriors 7-3 Plymouth Albion – PENALTY – Declan Cusack
30min – Plymouth just about hanging on here. They defended well, but Warriors have also been sloppy, especially at the lineout. A forward pass also stops GJ Van Velze from storming through.
26min – A mistake from Plymouth almost sees Leonardo Senatore burst through, but a last ditch tackle then sees the Argentinian spill the ball.
-Both teams struggling with the lineout, but it is benefitting Warriors more as they close in for a second try of the afternoon.
More on try: An overthrown lineout from Ted Stagg was snapped up by Charlie Mulchrone who managed to evade a couple of tackles to score in the corner. Andy Symons confidently dispatched the extras.
20min – Worcester Warriors 7-0 Plymouth Albion – CONVERSION – Andy Symons
19min – Worcester Warriors 5-0 Plymouth Albion – TRY – Charlie Mulchrone
16min – Warriors having plenty of the ball, but they are not doing much with it as Chris Pennell’s pass proves too strong for Sam Smith who had space on the wing.
10min – Plymouth Albion certainly standing up to the test in the early stages. Mike Williams went close, but Albion dug deep and now have the ball in Worcester’s half. Good work from Eoghan Grace to turn defence into attack for the visitors.
2min – Warriors straight on the front foot, with Leonardo Senatore and Chris Pennell combining well, but a loose lineout allows Plymouth to clear.
KICK OFF
-New signing Cooper Vuna has picked up a knock and will not feature this afternoon. He has been replaced by Sam Smith on the wing, while Ignacio Mieres has taken the place of Ryan Mills.
Team news:
Warriors: Pennell, Howard, Stelling, Symons, Smith, Mieres, Mulchrone, Rapava Ruskin, Creevy, Schonert, Williams, Thomas, Senatore, Lewis, GJ Van Velze
Replacements: Annett, Daniels, O’Shea, Cox, Arr, Fatiaki, Biggs
Plymouth: Rayner, Arnott, Woods, Howley-Berridge, Henry, Cusack, Davies, Fidler, Stagg, Tiedemann, Patrick, Hicks, Grace, Simmonds, Grieve
Replacements: Matavesi, Heard, Chapman, Jubb, Kohler, Setter, Foley
Welcome to a sunny Sixways where Worcester Warriors will be looking to secure a 23rd straight win when they take on Plymouth Albion.