Warriors look to seal quarter-final spot - The Worcester Observer

Warriors look to seal quarter-final spot

Worcester Editorial 5th Dec, 2014 Updated: 19th Oct, 2016   0
WORCESTER Warriors will be looking to secure their place in the quarter-finals of the British & Irish Cup when they make the trip to Cork tonight (Friday, 7.45pm) to face Munster.

JB Bruzulier returns to skipper the side who have won all four of their matches in the competition so far and know a victory in Ireland would be enough to progress from Pool Three.

The scrum half is also among eight changes to the starting line-up which beat local rivals Moseley 31-12 last Saturday.

Experienced duo Chris Pennell and Jonathan Thomas have both been rested for the encounter, while academy wing Josh Watkins has been given a starting berth after impressing off the bench last weekend.




Warriors have struggled to put teams to the sword in recent weeks after producing strong first half showings and head coach Carl Hogg insisted his players would need to step things up against Munster to stand a chance of extending their 11-match winning run.

“We’ve put ourselves in a position to win games and win them reasonably comfortably but we seem to have taken our foot off the gas in the second-half and that’s something we’ve looked to address,” he said.


“It was a good contest over 80 minutes when we played them at Sixways and they might be looking for some sort of revenge but that just adds to the spice of the competition.

“It’ll be a great occasion to play Munster away from home and the boys are really excited about it.”

Ben Howard replaces Pennell at full-back while Ignacio Mieres comes in for Tiff Eden at stand-off. The centre partnership of Ravai Fatiaki and Alex Grove remains while Dean Hammond has been given the nod on the wing.

Tongan international Ofa Fainga’anuku will start in the front-row on his 32nd birthday next to Ben Sowrey and Rob O’Donnell.

Richard de Carpentier starts in the back-row and is accompanied by Mat Gilbert and Matt Cox who return to the side.

Hogg added: “This weekend is an opportunity for those who have played in the B&I Cup to face challenging competition in a challenging venue.

“There is a balance between experience and the players that have got us to this place in the competition.

“They’ve earned the right to be out there and see where they are in a difficult environment.

“It’s an opportunity for them to show their worth this Friday night.”
Warriors’ side to face Munster: Howard, Watkins, Grove, Fatiaki, Hammond, Mieres, Bruzulier (C), Fainga’anuku, Sowrey, O’Donnell, Percival, Sanderson, De Carpentier, Gilbert, Cox

Replacements: George, Bower, Rees, Kerry, Mulchrone, Lamb, Stephenson

Caption: JB Bruzulier will captain the side in Cork. Picture by Andy Baldwin

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