Henley 0 Worcester 31

IT says much about the unbalanced nature of National One that Worcester Rugby Club came away from Dry Leas disappointed with a 31-0 victory.

Henley Hawks have now lost all three of their matches so far this season and sit on the bottom of the division.

That they prevented Worcester from claiming all five points from the game was probably the only positive note they could take from the encounter. Because, in all honesty, this was never a contest.

The match was a damage limitation exercise from the first minute and, aided by referee Stuart Terheege, it was mission accomplished come the final whistle.

It is, of course, neither Henley or Worcester's fault that the game was so overwhelmingly one sided.

It is simply the position both clubs have been placed in by a structure which fails to recognise the need for progression. The game on Saturday was a mere sideshow to the main event this weekend. But the sideshows will not matter if the season is, once again, denied the oxygen of challenge and intrigue. The professional teams have now turned the league into a ritual and ritual is for Sunday morning not Saturday afternoons.

Worcester and Rotherham look set to slug it out this season, smashing teams for 50,60,70 point defeats on their way to a top two finish.

Coventry, after two successive victories, travelled to Clifton Lane in the hope of causing a massive upset. In the end, they came away on the back of a 55-9 mauling.

The bonus point victory was enough to put the Yorkshire side on top of the league for the first time this season but for Worcester, their game ended in pure frustration.

At the final whistle skipper Kingsley Jones slammed his scrum cap to the floor as his team had agonisingly failed to secure that extra point.

There were, though, reasons to be cheerful for the travelling support.

Tony Yapp, back in his favourite fly half berth, enjoyed an impressive day.

His passing and movement was excellent and with some fine tactical kicks, he showed he is rising to the challenge of having Craig Chalmers at the club.

After two penalties, his shimmy and burst put Worcester on the way with a well worked try.

The problem was, though, that 32 minutes had already elapsed and from then on the visitors were always working against the clock if they were to get four tries.

A game disrupted at every chance saw Ben Hinshelwood sin-binned midway through a drab first half before Henley's Ben Pegna received his marching orders for killing the ball.

Yapp then added his third penalty of the day as Worcester led 14-0 at the break. Three minutes into the second half and prop Colm Hannon became the third player to be booked as the disruption continued.

Worcester, however, looked to be squeezing on the accelerator as, after another Yapp penalty, Chris Garrard surged through for a converted try.

And with four minutes left, Jones' converted score put Worcester on course for the coveted extra point.

Intense late pressure saw Garrard go close again and then a forward pass, which would have set up the try, was spotted before the referee blew for full time. It just wasn't to be Worcester's day.

And that sums up the farcical nature of this league. Such a heavy win should always be greeted with the feeling of immense accomplishment.

That the Worcester players slumped to the floor tells it's own story.

Worcester: Hinshelwood 6; Garrard 7, Trueman 6, Yates 7, Wilkes 6, Yapp 7, Smith 7; Windo 7, Ross 7, Lyman 7, Sims 7, Morgan 8, Clarke 7, Jones 7, Jenner 7.

Replacements: Pellow, Cullen, Hall 6 (Ross 71), Evans 7 (Jenner 62), Soper (Sims 78), Collins (Windo 78), Moreno 7 (Lyman 62).

Man-of-the-match: Martin Morgan - absolute domination in the line-outs.