Saturday, October 20, 2001

ANY confidence which may have ebbed away with the stunning Coventry defeat two weeks ago, came flooding back for Worcester as they demolished Wakefield 39-8.

It was a thoroughly professional display by the second-placed National One outfit who, with talisman Craig Chalmers fit, oozed class in a one-sided affair at College Grove.

The fluidity of the backs, coupled with the complete control exerted by Worcester's dominant pack, made it a very impressive return to form for John Brain's men who now travel to Otley on Saturday with renewed vigour.

If the Coventry defeat had left their promotion bid in tatters, this performance began to sow the seeds of recovery for a team now beginning to show the cohesion which Brain had warned might take time in the light of so many new summer signings.

One of their biggest captures - Chalmers - showed his immeasurable value to the club with an alert performance which opened up so many options at every attack.

He will be the first to admit his kicking game was off key but his awareness and weight of pass was a joy to watch. It is now a priority, after missing most of the season through injury, that Worcester keep the record breaking Scot fit if they are to progress in this campaign.

Chalmers was inevitably involved in the opening score as, after three minutes, his pass found Chris Garrard who put new full back Ben Hinshelwood in for a fine try and the best possible start.

Just as the backs had shown their guile though, the forwards then exhibited their sheer power to put Worcester further in front. From a line-out 10 metres out, Ben Clarke won the ball before driving on and hooker Joe Ross went over for a well-worked pushover try. The move wasn't quite in the Keith Wood category but it was good enough to give Worcester a 12-0 lead after Chalmers' conversion.

Wakefield did themselves precious few favours and the absolutely dreadful kicking of Ross Winney just added to the doomed atmosphere around the ground. The Yorkshire club, without a league win this season, looked out of sorts and defensively frail, always liable to concede.

And those shortcomings were exposed in the cruellest possible way in the 21st minute as Winston Stanley side-stepped three challenges before sprinting 50 metres for a fabulous score. Ten minutes later, and following a Phil Belgian penalty, Duncan Roke showed a similar turn of pace after a mazy 40-metre run to score one of the tries of the season as Worcester began to expose the chasm in class.

It was a supreme effort by the former Henley man, taking the ball past three Wakefield players before sprinting away from the speedy Bright Sodje to touch down and fully justify his selection. It was a brave move by Brain to leave Sateki Tuipulotu out of the side, make Hinshelwood full back and hand Roke his full league debut but it paid off, spectacularly so.

A minute later, Hinshelwood then rubber stamped the selection when he took a hopeful Belgian punt upfield and after a juggle, ran, 60 metres to score another scintillating try. Chalmers' conversion made it 29-3 but despite a number of other promising moments, including a certain try for Stanley had Kingsley Jones' pass not been forward, Worcester could not add to the score before half-time.

The second half failed to live up to the standard of the first but was notable for the continued excellence of Worcester's forwards. Alejandro Moreno showed his frightening power in the scrum, Ross' timing for the lineouts was superb while Jim Jenner had his best game since his return to Worcester. And it was the number eight who bagged Worcester's sixth try of the game in the 56th minute after another lineout win and drive. Jenner, who was a major influence all afternoon and weighed in with some powerful tackles, dived over for his first try back in Worcester colours since his summer return from Newcastle Falcons.

Another fine Roke try, after a delicious move, with five minutes left ended Worcester's scoring for the day but Wakefield took some consolation, late on, when James Tapster sprinted in for their only touchdown.

Referee Tim Miller capped a poor performance by sin-binning Stanley on the final whistle for an alleged high tackle. It was a dubious decision at best and was greeted by ironic applause by the Canadian as he left the field, shaking his head.

Despite the inconsistencies of the refereeing though, nothing was going to spoil the day for Worcester. And after the nightmare of Coventry, Worcester supporters can again sleep easy on this evidence.

Worcester: Hinshelwood 8, Garrard 7, Roke 8, Yates 7, Stanley 8, Chalmers 8, Smith 8; Windo 7, NROSS 9, Moreno 8, Zaltzman 7, Morgan 7, Clarke 7, Jones 7, Jenner 8.

Replacements: Pellow (Smith 70), Yapp (Chalmers 73), Hall 7 (Ross 56), Evans 7 (Clarke 56), Sims 7 (Morgan 65), Davis 7 (Moreno 65), Lyman 7 (Windo 65).

Man of the match: JOE ROSS - superb ball for the lineout, worked well in the scrum and scored a nice first half try.