Otley 23 Worcester 40

THERE were a few eyebrows raised when Ben Clarke was brought to Worcester in the summer.

Few thought the former England powerhouse would have the stomach for rainy days in Yorkshire, squelching around in the mud.

Many questioned the appetite within a man who has achieved all there is to in the sport.

If the jury was out, the case was unquestionably dismissed in the picturesque town of Otley on Saturday as Worcester, captained by Bath's favourite son, came away with a 40-23 victory.

The win not only took the Sixways club back to the top of National One, it sounded out a clear battle cry that they were still very much alive and kicking in the race for promotion. True, the points were not won with the ultimate fluency - there is still much to be done in the defensive department - but there was plenty to build on for coach John Brain, not least the absolutely compelling desire of Clarke.

Come 80 minutes, far from finding himself behind play, there was the 33-year-old attempting the cheekiest of chip and runs such was the hunger to stay at the heart of the action. And it was his try - his first for the club - with 14 minutes left which finally floored the Otley recovery and his captaincy which steadied the ship in such dangerous of waters.

Leading 25-11 at half time - following tries from Winston Stanley, Jim Jenner, Chris Garrard with Craig Chalmers kicking two conversions and two penalties - Worcester were suddenly in desperate danger of losing their second league match of the season. Otley, buoyed by their passionate following, brought the scores back to 25-23 with early second half tries from Matt Walker and Mark Kirkby, converted by Simon Smith. Otley's first half efforts - a Tim Foster penalty, Andy Brown's try and Ian Shuttleworth's penalty - looked to have more of a consolation ring about them until the second half explosion. And with Worcester rocking, it was Clarke and Chalmers who took the game by the scruff of the neck and refused to let the slide continue. Backed up by some gritty forward play and, once again, the constant threat of their backs' pace and invention, the visitors made sure Otley was not to become their promotion graveyard.

Ben Hinshelwood, looking every inch one of the signings of the season for his sheer versatility, continued his fine form with a try on the hour to calm nerves and, with Chalmers' conversion, put some welcome daylight between the two sides again.

Six minutes later, it was all over as a contest as Clarke won the ball from a lineout, drove on and dived over for a well-worked try and a healthy dose of relief all round among Worcester's supporters. Chalmers' penalty, with three minutes left, made sure Worcester hit the 40 mark and added a gloss to the score which could so easily have been stripped from the players' faces had there been less experienced artisans on the field.

From sitting quite hopelessly on the canvas three weeks ago, the brushstrokes of recovery are well on the way to creating a portrait of something special this season. And with Clarke as artist in chief, the masterpiece of promotion is still very much a work in progress.

Worcester: Hinshelwood 8, Garrard 7, Barrow 6, Yates 7, Stanley 8, Chalmers 8, Smith 7; Windo 7, Ross 6, Moreno 6, Zaltzman 7, Morgan 6, CLARKE 9, Carter 7, Jenner 7.

Replacements: Pellow, Yapp (Chalmers 78), Hall 7 (Ross 61), Evans (Jenner 61) 7, Davis 6 (Windo 67), Soper 7 (Morgan 67), Lyman 6 (Moreno 67)

Man of the match: Ben Clarke.