Saturday, December 18, 2004

WORCESTER have provided some exhilarating moments at Sixways this season.

This wasn't one of them as they slipped out of the Powergen Cup with a whimper.

In front of the Warriors' lowest crowd of the season, the game was probably a dream come true for the Sixways club's main sponsors as the quality on show only served to ridicule the competition.

Ultimately, after a match bereft of attacking flair, Worcester could be satisfied with their set piece work but their wit in the business end of the park will need some tweaking if they are to overcome the Irish on New Year's Day.

At the death, all Worcester had to show for their efforts was a penalty try, awarded in stoppage time, following two Mark Mapletoft penalties and a 79th minute drop goal from Mike Catt for the Irish.

On a day where the home side's penalty count went through the roof in a first-half which saw Chris Horsman and Thomas Lombard sin-binned for the most blatant fouls you are likely to see, referee Hugh Watkins made few friends at Sixways.

But, sometimes, players actually have to help themselves and Horsman's cynical act of knocking the ball from Mapletoft's grasp, when Irish looked set to break away for the opening try of the contest, set the tone.

Then, Thomas Lombard kicked the ball away in front of the referee, giving Watkins little choice but to sin-bin the Frenchman. It put Worcester out of the game for much of that first-half and the visitors went in at the break 6-0 up thanks to Mapletoft's boot.

Worcester's best moments came from their outstanding full-back Thinus Delport who, once again, looked a class above most on the field. However, apart from a few bursts from the Springbok, some nippy play by wing Giscard Pieters and a couple of bulldozing runs from Dale Rasmussen, Worcester looked short on ideas.

It was all the more disappointing because the Sixways forwards, via an impressive line-out and scrum platform, gave Worcester enough ammunition to gun down the visitors.

Supporters will, no doubt, point to James Brown as they begin the witch-hunt. The fly-half, however, cannot be blamed in what was his first start for two months.

Saturday saw a collective failure to take opportunities handed to them by an impressive pack. However, the Irish defended as if their lives depended on it, especially in the second-half, and sometimes that effort has to be applauded.

Even Irish's head coach Gary Gold admitted afterwards that he was "dreading New Year's Day" because he understood just how hard Worcester had worked his side.

The hope is that, after their visit to Welford Road on Monday, Worcester return to Sixways with the kind of intensity which did for Wasps last time around in the Premiership.

The old cliche of concentrating on the league can now be rolled out but, in that respect, Saturday's exit may not be the worst thing in the world for the Warriors.

Cup competitions have undoubtedly hindered Worcester's Premiership survival bid and the suspicion remains that defeat against the Irish may not have been a tragedy for their season after all.

Worcester: NDELPORT 8; O'Leary 6 (Sampson 53, 6), Rasmussen 7 (Hayes 66, 6), Lombard 6, Pieters 5; Brown 6, Powell 6; Windo 6 (Fortey 63, 6), Van Niekerk 6, Horsman 6, Collier 7, Gillies 7, Vaili 6, Hickey 6, MacLeod-Henderson 6.

Man of the match: THINUS DELPORT -- One silver lining in an otherwise grey game.

Attendance: 2,517.