Saturday, September 18, 2004

THE frustration etched across John Brain's face at full time said it all.

This was a Bath side for the taking and Worcester missed their chance.

John Connolly's team looked disjointed and panicky throughout but an early interception try ultimately proved to be the difference between the two teams at Sixways.

For Brain -- Worcester's director of rugby -- it was another occasion where his side looked just that bit short on quality when it mattered most.

They were outstanding in the line-out, forced Bath into an horrific penalty count but, again, lacked the subtlety to open up their defence. Only when the West Country side were down to 14 men, due to Mike Tindall's yellow card, did they carve them apart and the game served as another reminder of just how complex it can be to stretch defences at Premiership level.

James Brown tried his best within 40 seconds of the match. However, his long pass -- aimed at Thomas Lombard -- flew into the hands of a grateful Bredon Daniel who scorched to the line for Bath's opener. Olly Barkley, back after injury, added the extra points and Connolly's men, who had opened up their Premiership campaign with two defeats, had been gifted a perfect start.

It proved enough to spark them into life and, with Barkley pulling the strings, they found themselves in control midway through the half. The fly half had already added a drop goal by the time his grubber caught Worcester flat footed and Tindall strolled in for their second converted touchdown. Another three pointer from the England star gave Bath an impressive 20-6 advantage following Tommy Hayes' two penalties but Bath's indiscretion began to get the better of them before the break.

Hayes had added his third penalty by the time Tindall saw yellow for cynically kicking the ball away and the resultant kick sailed over to give Worcester a glimmer at half time.

The pendulum, after Barkley's early second half penalty, seemed to swing towards Worcester five minutes into the second half. Neil Cole's chip was collected by Brown and he had the easiest of jobs to put in Lombard for the Warriors' first ever Premiership try at Sixways.

The 6,348 crowd arose in anticipation and, with Worcester now dominating the line-out if not the scrum, the game was there for the taking. That it wasn't to be was down to too many bad decisions, poor handling and a lack of composure at pivotal moments. The two sides traded penalties to take the score on but Worcester had two golden opportunities, near the Bath line, late on before fluffing both line-outs. It summed up their performance -- they were the nearly men all afternoon.

A serious injury to Hayes in the last few minutes will have done little to cheer the Worcester camp and the Warriors need to acclimatise and quick if they are to keep pace with the rest of the Premiership stragglers.

However, two points from three games hardly paints an apocalyptic picture and, you suspect, with a tad more belief these Warriors can yet prove the doubters wrong.

Friday night at Sale could provide the perfect stage.

Worcester: Delport 6; O'Leary 5, Hayes 6, Trueman 5, Lombard 5, Brown 5, Cole 6; Windo 6, LDALY 8, Fortey 6, Collier 7, Gillies 7, Greeff 7, Sanderson 6, MacLeod-Henderson 6.

Replacements: Sparks 5 (Fortey 67), Van Niekerk 5 (Daly 68), Murphy, Hickey 6 (MacLeod-Henderson 56), Stuart-Smith (Cole 74), Hinshelwood 6 (Trueman 25), Roke 6 (Brown 58).

Man of the match: Ben Daly -- solid display by the hooker. Attendance: 6,348.