Newcastle game is win or bust, says Ryan - The Worcester Observer

Newcastle game is win or bust, says Ryan

Worcester Editorial 29th Mar, 2014 Updated: 19th Oct, 2016   0
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DIRECTOR of rugby Dean Ryan says he expects an afternoon of high drama at Kingston Park on Sunday (2pm) as Worcester Warriors go head to head with relegation rivals Newcastle Falcons.

Warriors’ hopes of survival currently hang by a thread as they remain rooted to the foot of the Aviva Premiership table.




Last week’s gut-wrenching 13-11 defeat to London Wasps along with Newcastle picking up two points away to Gloucester has left winless Worcester 12 points adrift of Falcons with just five games left.

However, Ryan said his players were not giving up and he believed a victory at Falcons on Sunday would still give Warriors a chance of avoiding the drop.


“The pressure is on us because we are going into a game where we can’t afford to lose because if we do that’s pretty much it,” he said.

“I know maths can still be applied but Bath and Saracens are difficult places to come away with five points from, so we need to make sure we are in the right space to fight hard for our Premiership survival.

“I would have liked to have seen Newcastle come off the back of a heavy defeat rather than see them come back to 40-33.

“They would have gained a lot of confidence from the last 15 minutes, so it will be interesting to see how they approach the game.

“But whatever happens there is going to be a lot of drama and it is going to be about who copes with that and who reacts under that sort of pressure.”

Ryan has made just one change to the side which was denied victory in the dying seconds against Wasps at Sixways last week, with Rob O’Donnell replacing Euan Murray, who misses the game due to religious reasons.

David Lemi has also kept his place in the team despite suffering a hamstring problem, while loan signing Jerome Schuster has been included on the bench.

Ryan added: “Schuster has been great around the squad. We lost John Andress and we always knew Euan Murray would be called-up for international action and that he wouldn’t be available on Sundays.

“The 23 that you see are pretty much going to be in the 23 every week. We just have to get them fresh enough and in the right space to give each game a go.”

Warriors’ side to face Newcastle: Pennell, Drauniniu, Grove, Fatiaki, Lemi, Lamb, Arr, Fainga’anuku, Creevy, O’Donnell, Percival, Galarza, Williams, Betty, Thomas (C)

Replacements: Shervington, Andrew, Schuster, Taulava, de Carpentier, Hodgson, Mieres, Symons

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