Rampant Warriors return to the top - The Worcester Observer

Rampant Warriors return to the top

Worcester Editorial 9th Feb, 2015 Updated: 19th Oct, 2016   0

Nottingham 3 Worcester Warriors 58

Greene King IPA Championship

Geoff Berkeley reports from the Lady Bay

DEAN Ryan and Andy Robinson may continue deny that their sides are involved in a ‘two-horse’ race for promotion.




But last weekend once again proved how big of a gap there is between Worcester Warriors-Bristol and the rest in the Greene King IPA Championship.

With the top four facing each other, it should have been an exciting couple of days of rugby as London Scottish and Nottingham looked to close the gap on their rivals.


Scottish did put up some resistance, but Bristol eventually ran out comfortable winners on Saturday, while Warriors simply tore apart fourth placed Notts on Sunday.

Ben Howard, Max Stelling and Charlie Mulchrone all bagged braces to secure Worcester a 20th successive victory this season.

The result also leaves Warriors a point ahead of Bristol at the summit, while promotion hopefuls Scottish and Notts trail the top two by more than 20 points.

However, Ryan insisted he was more impressed by how well his side were playing than the league table.

“I am interested in the fact we are scoring more points and we are conceding less all the time which puts us in a stronger position,” he said.

“We are also getting better at solving problems on the field, so I am really pleased.

“We are starting to perform across 80 minutes irrespective of combinations and if people want to take that as a message internal that is a really satisfying for us because we are really working hard towards that.”

Ryan said he was also proud at the way his players coped with the conditions as they played in front of just over 1,000 fans at Nottingham’s training ground.

The home side did get off the mark first as Will Maisey stroked home a penalty, but after that third minute score it was all Warriors.

With their first attack of the game, Leonardo Senatore was sent charging through before being stopped short of the line. The ball was then spread wide to Howard who dived over the line for the opening try.

Howard then turned provider on the seventh minute when he offloaded to Stelling who raced through to score, which Andy Symons converted.

Warriors looked threatening whenever they got hold of the ball, but it was the boot of Symons which extended their lead. His penalty gave his side a 15-3 advantage.

Worcester’s forward pack was also on top in the contest and they laid the platform for try number three. Their surge to the line pinned Notts back before Ryan Mills found Stelling who darted over for his second of the afternoon.

Howard then followed suit as he benefitted from a powerful run from Senatore to wrap up his brace and Worcester’s bonus point before half-time.

Warriors appeared to be scoring in short bursts and this was the case after the break, with Mulchrone notching up a quick-fire double. Symons converted both to move Warriors 46-3 clear.

Despite the deficit, Notts began to come back into the match and looked likely to score as they camped out in Warriors’ half.

But Worcester were refusing to give an inch as Sam Betty and Senatore worked tirelessly at the breakdown while Mike Williams kept the hosts at bay with some big tackles.

The away side seemed to seeing time out as the match approached its final ten minutes, but they made sure they finished with a flourish.

Firstly, Jonny Arr came off the bench to score Worcester’s seventh try before Stelling showboated with a rare cross-field kick which found Tom Biggs to touchdown at the death.

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