WING Josh Drauniniu says relegation-threatened Worcester Warriors will refuse to let table-toppers Saracens ‘steam-roller’ them as they bid to keep their survival hopes alive.
Warriors will make the journey to the Allianz Park knowing only a victory will do and hope rivals Newcastle Falcons fail to beat London Wasps to avoid being relegated on Saturday.
They face a Saracens side, though, who are on a crest of a wave having thumped Clermont Auvergne 46-6 in what some have described as the best performance by an English club in the Heineken Cup.
However, Drauniniu insisted Warriors will not be overawed by their opponents who are set to field a side packed full of internationals, including England stars Owen Farrell, Chris Ashton and Billy Vunipola.
“Yes, they played well against Clermont, but we can only focus on ourselves and what we do on the day,” he said. “We have been doing a lot of training and I hope that all the off-field work will pay off. But we are definitely not going to lie down and let them run over us.
“Every team that has been relegated has fought until the end and that is what we are going to end. We are looking forward to Saracens and hopefully we can cause a shock.”
Director of rugby Dean Ryan has named the same starting line-up in back-to-back games for the first time this season ahead of the clash against Sarries.
And Drauniniu said the unity of the squad was beginning to shine through, while he believed Warriors’ back-line could cause havoc at the Allianz Park.
“We are a very hard working team and you could see that against Bath and Exeter,” he said. “We have worked around some issues, but we are now a lot closer and we just need to continue to show that.
“I also think we have got one of the best back-lines in the Premiership. If you look across the team we have got Ryan Lamb, who is one of the mavericks of the game, David Lemi, who has got great feet, Grovesy, Andy Symons and Chris Pennell, who has been playing well all season, so we are very strong in that area and I think we can shake things up at Saracens.”
Warriors’ side to face Saracens: Pennell, Drauniniu, Grove, Symons, Lemi, Lamb, Arr, Fainga’anuku, Creevy, Murray, Percival, Galarza, Williams, Betty, Thomas (c)
Replacements: Shervington, Andrew, O’Donnell, Taulava, De Carpentier, Hodgson, Warwick, Fatiaki