IT NEVER rains but it pours for Worcester Warriors at the moment as they sunk to a 21-6 Aviva Premiership defeat at a soaked Sixways on Friday night.
Trailing 9-0 following an impressive kicking performance from George Ford, Warriors thought they had closed the gap on the 24th minute when Dean Hammond slid over in the corner.
But in a cruel twist, referee Greg Garner chalked it off before Worcester’s fans watched on in horror as their side messed up their own line-out and Anthony Perenise powered over to score.
Director of rugby Dean Ryan said the try was a pivotal moment as Bath went on to seal victory with a second half try from Horacio Aguila.
“That was a big swing in the match because if we had got the try we would not have had to chase anything and we could have sat a little bit more and got the crowd involved,” Ryan said.
“But we can do lots of ifs. We just need to get on with what we are good at.”
And despite the result, the Warriors boss was pleased with his side’s showing and believes it was a step in the right direction.
“That was as on-script and as good as I have seen us,” Ryan added. “Things are moving forward as we have got a little bit more consistency with the group and hopefully we can see some of those standards week in week out.”
Ryan said a “masterclass” from Ford ultimately proved the difference between the two sides as the young fly half kicked solidly despite the torrential conditions.
The 20-year-old landed two penalties inside the opening six minutes as Warriors found themselves under pressure early on.
Worcester’s pack was holding up, though, and it was a strong scrum, which brought up the hosts’ first scoring opportunity.
But Paul Warwick could not find the target as his effort fell short and wide, while Ford compounded his misery with a superb long range penalty.
With most of the 9,334 supporters behind them, Warriors still firmly believed they could stun their high-flying opponents as they began to drive forward.
Worcester had Bath pinned on their own try-line before the ball was moved out wide and Hammond crashed over in the left-hand corner.
But what followed was a disastrous couple of minutes for the hosts. The TMO ruled the try out after replays showed the wing had been agonisingly forced into touch. A huge kick from Ford then left Warriors with a line-out on their own five metre line, which went badly wrong as Agustin Creevy threw it straight into Bath’s hands before Perenise burrowed over from close range.
Warwick managed to get Worcester on the board with a penalty, but with a 16-3 deficit to overturn in the second half the hosts looked to be on the verge of another defeat.
Ryan’s men had most of the possession in the final 40 minutes, but they squandered numerous chances to close the gap. Notably, Creevy fumbled Rob Webber’s overthrown line-out with the try-line at his mercy, while Warwick could only add three further points to his tally.
Bath then wrapped up the win on the hour mark when Aguila ripped the ball from Hammond and sprinted clear to score before Chris Jones saw yellow late on to cap off a disappointing evening for Warriors.