FRUSTRATION was a word which cropped up quite regularly during director of rugby Dean Ryan’s post match press conference on Saturday.
Although Warriors ensured a 23-7 victory over local rivals Moseley thanks to a superb showing from Charlie Mulchrone, who scored two tries and set up another, it was not the performance the Sixways faithful would have been hoping to see. Countless handling mistakes and individual errors made for a scrappy affair.
But it was the officiating of the scrum which caused most of Ryan’s frustration as similarly to last week at Bristol the Warriors boss felt his pack did not get rewarded for their dominance.
“I don’t understand why we have to have so many scrums when we were running at a million miles an hour towards the try-line and we get called back,” Ryan said.
“Frustration is probably the easy word for it as I don’t understand why we are not allowed to either play an advantage or get a penalty try. You do not need three scrums before you give a penalty try.
“But frustration with refereeing, the contact area and the law will be part of the next nine months. I am not going to lose any sleep over it. We have got a dominant scrum, so we just need to work out how we get rewarded for it.”
Worcester’s supremacy in the scrum was made clear within the opening two minutes as a powerful drive led to a penalty, which Ignacio Mieres dispatched.
But Moseley proved they were going be no push overs as they defended stoutly and could have found themselves on level terms or even in front. Ollie Thomas’ first effort from the tee hit the crossbar before his second penalty attempt drifted wide.
Warriors’ error count, meanwhile, continued to rise as they desperately tried to find a way through Moseley’s defence. The sin-binning of Tom Biggs gave the visitors a further confidence boost, but it was Worcester who got on the score-sheet with a Mieres penalty.
The fly half was in fine form with the boot and it was his 40-metre kick into touch which set up Warriors’ first try. After claiming the resultant five-metre line-out, the ball was recycled and Mulchrone slipped through to score and give his an 11-0 advantage at the break.
Worcester’s fans did not have to wait long to see try number two after the interval – and it came in some style. Mulchrone picked up the ball inside Warriors’ half before darting through a gaping hole in Moseley’s defence and sprinting to the line.
This defensive lapse was a rare moment for Mose who had frustrated Worcester for long periods and continued dig in despite going down to 13 men.
Greg Charlton and Anthony Carter were sin-binned as Warriors’ mounted heavy pressure on the visitors’ line. Like last week, Worcester failed to secure a penalty try despite referee Tim Wigglesworth penalising their opponents several times in the scrum.
But unlike at Bristol, Warriors did not let it affect them as a powerful drive forced Moseley on the back foot before Mulchrone found Ravai Fatiaki who crashed over. Mieres added the extra to put his side 23-0 clear with ten minutes left.
The Birmingham side still refused to not give in, though, and their spirit was rewarded moments later when Scott Tolmie drove over from close range, which Caolan Ryan converted.
This sparked life into Mose as they threatened to score a second late on, but man of the match Mulchrone demonstrated his defensive abilities as he ripped the ball from Moseley’s grasp.