Saturday, November 6, 2004

THE cracks began to show as wretched Worcester failed to fire at the Madejski.

The Warriors have suffered worse defeats than this so far in their debut Premiership campaign but, by some distance, this was the most disappointing performance.

Six penalties and a try were laid on a plate for a grateful Irish side who scarcely had to play in order to rack up the points.

They simply worked hard, applied the pressure and lapped up the rewards. The Warriors will have left Reading feeling numb after a desperately inept display which did nothing to suggest they could rise further up the table. Indeed, unless they get back to the form which pushed Gloucester and Bath to the limit, they will find November an utterly unforgiving month.

Too many players simply didn't perform. Andre Van Niekerk had a stinker, missing his men almost every time in the line-out, while Tommy Hayes -- rushed back because of James Brown's injury -- just couldn't spark his backs into life as the Irish rearguard held firm on the few occasions that Worcester enjoyed possession.

That it was so lean came down to a non existent platform and their perpetual indiscipline. The Irish were already nine points to the good after 18 minutes, following Mark Mapletoft's hat-trick of penalties, before the centre took full advantage of Matt Powell's X-rated pass for the unlucky Hayes. All the fly half could do was to fumble the ball on and, after Mapletoft's kick ahead, Scott Staniforth dived in under the posts for a converted try on 26 minutes.

The score summed up Worcester's panicky display and Hayes' solitary penalty coupled with Chris Horsman's withdrawal because of a cheekbone injury would have done little to enhance spirits during the half time team talk.

However, Mike Catt's almost identical fumble -- just seconds into the re-start -- finally gave the impressive travelling support something to cheer about. The ball was gobbled up by Hayes who, via Dale Rasmussen and replacement Ben Daly, set up skipper Pat Sanderson for Worcester's only highlight of the day.

The trouble was that 20 minutes later, Mapletoft had added another three penalties to put the Irish out of sight. While Worcester's lineout improved marginally, with the introduction of Daly, they still failed to feed their backs with anything resembling decent ball.

Indeed, it was somewhat ironic that new boy Giscard Pieters -- making his first start since his move from South Africa -- stood out on the few occasions he managed to get his hands on the ball.

Pieters' new team were given late hope when Ryan Strudwick was yellow carded for an over zealous challenge on substitute Mark Gabey but, in truth, they were never likely to mount any sort of comeback.

Ultimately, they were awarded a penalty try at the death -- which replacement Ben Gollings converted -- but 15 points actually flattered them on a day which the Warriors will be keen to forget.

In performance terms, they hit rock bottom here at the Madejski. And if they keep this form up, that's exactly where they'll end up.

Worcester: LDELPORT 7; Pieters 6, Rasmussen 5, Trueman 6, Hinshelwood 6, Hayes 4, Powell 5; Windo 6, Van Niekerk 3, Horsman 6, Collier 5, Murphy 5, Greeff 5, Sanderson 5, Hickey 6.

Replacements: Sparks 5 (Horsman 44), Daly 6 (Van Niekerk 40), MacLeod-Henderson, Gabey 5 (Collier 56), Stuart-Smith, Gollings 5 (Rasmussen 56), O'Leary 5 (Hayes 69).

Man of the match: Thinus Delport -- another solid display by the full back.