Saturday, December 4, 2004

WORCESTER coach Andy Keast praised his youngsters after the Zurich Premiership newcomers hammered Rugby Rovigo 48-3 at Stadio Communale in the European Shield.

The visitors jogged in seven tries, with fly-half Tommy Hayes adding 13 points with the boot.

"We rested a lot of players so it was good for those guys who have not been getting much rugby to get a run and it was a good all-round team performance," Keast said.

"We scored our first three tries from driving mauls after kicking for the corner and line-outs before we started to mix up our game a bit more. We dominated the game up front, which is always pleasing."

The Warriors had far too much forward power for the part-time Italians and a cricket score may await them at Sixways next weekend.

That is if they can fulfil the return leg as they have a meeting today to decide whether to travel or not. Two of the team walked out last week with a number of full time players not being paid for the last two months.

The Warriors made 11 changes from the side that beat Wasps in the last game and it gave a few fringe players a chance to put themselves in the frame.

It took 15 minutes to break the Italians' defence as they tackled well in open play and got men to the breakdown, but it was the physical forwards that the home side failed to cope with.

A rolling maul saw prop Steve Sparks dive in for the first try before Hayes added the conversion. The same strong forward drive set up the next try and it ended with the impressive Siaosi Vaili touching down.

Neil Mason, recalled from Coventry, added the third after good lineout work from Phil Murphy and Hayes again converted. As the Italians came under pressure out went the discipline and lock Tommaso Reito was sin-binned. Just as he returned to the field, off went number eight Carlos Ayala, but the home side held out with only a Hayes penalty adding to the score before half-time.

The Warriors recalled Clive Stuart-Smith in the second half with Neil Cole moving to the wing. It was the Italians, however, who opened the scoring in the second-half. Fly-half Ettore Boarato kicked a 25-metre penalty which proved to be the only score for the home side.

Cole, now with more room to work, added the fourth try as for once the backs ran the ball along the line. Try number five was again a forward drive as replacement prop Lee Fortey was driven over before Worcester's skipper Ben Hinshelwood, back after international duty, added the sixth.

Cole, again strong going forward, ran the now open defence ragged and the seventh try was awarded by the referee as the home side came under pressure from several Warriors' scrums.

Worcester: Delport 7 (Stuart-Smith 7); O'Leary 7 (Powell 7), Hinshelwood 8, Trueman 7, Roke 7; Hayes 7, Cole 7; Sparks 7 (Fortey 7), Hall 7 (Van Niekerk 7), Lyman 7, Gabey 7, Murphy 7, Vaili 7, Mason 7, MacLeod-Henderson 7.

Man of the match: Ben Hinshelwood -- Good to see him back.