Worcester Warriors 18 London Irish 20
Aviva Premiership
Geoff Berkeley reports from Sixways
DIRECTOR of rugby Dean Ryan was left mystified by what he described as “random refereeing” on Saturday as a late penalty denied Worcester Warriors victory.
Ignacio Mieres appeared to have won it for Warriors when the Argentine went over with less than ten minutes remaining.
But the hosts could not hold on to their slender 18-17 advantage as London Irish fly half Ian Humphreys silenced the Sixways faithful with a coolly dispatched penalty.
The result left Ryan reeling as he believed it was not the first time Warriors had not got the rub of the green from match officials in recent seasons.
“I don’t want to come in here in my second week of being involved and start ranting about referees,” he said. “But that is the second week in a row that there has been some random refereeing. We are at home so you would expect some random refereeing to favour you.
“But there is an element where there is a perception that we are ill-disciplined and that we fuel that.
Ryan added: “I think we need to challenge the perception that we think we are the highest penalised side in the league.
“The penalty decision at the end is the sort of thing which has been hurting us and that is what I want to challenge.”
Ryan was also adamant his side should have been well clear at half time as David Lemi struck to move Warriors into a 10-3 lead before they went on to have the greater share of possession.
But they were left to rue a host of missed chances as two tries either side of the interval from in-form wing Marland Yarde swung the tie.
“Our ability to keep a side under pressure and ability to keep the squeeze on is non-existent and I think we need to learn from that,” Ryan said.
“We are not used to sitting in games and thinking now is the time to put the pedal down and nail this game.”
It has all started so brightly for Warriors after an impressive firework display greeted the players as they ran out for their opening home game of the season.
Mieres edged his side in front with a penalty inside the opening five minutes before Worcester struck the first significant blow in the encounter. Chris Pennell was the creator as he pierced the Exiles’ defence with an arching run before offloading to Lemi to finish off the move.
All the momentum was with Warriors as number eight Chris Hala’ufia was sent to the bin to leave Irish light in the pack.
But the hosts could not turn possession into points, while the visitors took their chances when they came. The Exiles levelled the game just before the break when Yarde scampered through to score, which Humphreys converted.
The tie was then turned on its head on 47 minutes as Yarde notched up his second try following an impressive move down the right wing.
But Warriors were not to be undone as they cut back the deficit with a Mieres penalty before the fly half scored his first try for the club on 73 minutes. He was unable to add the extras, though, which provided Humphreys the chance to steal the show with a match-winning penalty with four minutes remaining.
