BENEFACTOR Cecil Duckworth beamed with pride last night after looking on as his Worcester Warriors team bounced back to the top-flight of English rugby at the first time of asking.

The Sixways side’s 25-20 victory over Cornish Pirates secured a two-legged triumph and with it they re-placed Leeds in the Aviva Premiership.

The Worcester chairman admitted the nine-point advantage from the 21-12 first-leg win at the Mennaye Field meant he could relax a little and enjoy the game.

He said: “Victory means everything to us, because it would have been huge if we hadn’t won. I’m not sure how we would have taken that — we would have taken it, though, because this is not a two-minute job.

“We are delighted to have achieved what we set out to do at the start of the season. We wanted to win every game, but we did lose one, although we were changing our defence and attack at that stage and were a little at sixes and sevens.

“It wasn’t a difficult game to watch. I was able to enjoy it because we were in front pretty much from the beginning. With the nine-point cushion, it was always secure, although we didn’t play that well in the second-half.

“I’m sure we’ll do well next season, but the hard work starts here and now. It’s a bit like a conveyor belt, you have to keep on moving forward. I have to admit I certainly wouldn’t have looked forward to a repeat of this season though.”

Meanwhile, after the final whistle, man-of-the-match Greg Rawlinson revealed the victory would be his final game of professional rugby as he announced his retirement.

The former All Black international, who played more than 100 games for Warriors and agreed a new one-year deal last season despite the club’s relegation, received a huge ovation when he was replaced late on.

He said: “My body has taken a bit of a hammering this year, so I have decided to hang up the boots.

“It was always going to be a tough game — luckily we managed to keep it quite tight and controlled most of the match.

“It was quite an emotional night for me — I broke down for a little bit in the changing room before the game, but pulled it together and really enjoyed the occasion.

“The crowd here have been amazing and I’ve enjoyed every minute at Warriors. This was a nice way to go out.”