Saturday, December 6, 2003

STRENGTH in depth has not always been easily associable with Worcester over the years.

This season, however, it is a commodity which looks more and more likely to smooth their passage to the Premiership.

Neil Mason is a prime example of just why Worcester are able to change their personnel while having little or no effect on the result. Granted, he was a rough diamond a couple of years back but the 21-year-old is fast becoming one of Sixways' jewels in the crown.

On Saturday he was all over the field, making tackle after tackle as Penzance were run ragged. It was the type of performance which put his name to front of the queue as the league leaders prepare for the forthcoming clash at Pertemps Bees.

Of course, a certain Gavin Pfister - Worcester's top try scorer - may get the nod for the openside slot but the form of Mason and fellow young gun Matt Evans is more than bolstering this promotion bid.

"We're not in the market for any players," said Worcester's director of rugby John Brain. "We're happy with the guys that we've got and certainly the strength in depth this season has been a big help to us."

The Penzance game was always going to be a case of just how many points could be accumulated and so it proved. The Sixways side were 33-3 ahead at half time with bonus point already wrapped up thanks to tries from Drew Hickey, Wes Davies, Tony Windo, Richard Bates and Mason. Three came on the back of Worcester domination up front while Bates and Davies' tries were thanks to some silky skills through the backs. Tommy Hayes - playing at inside centre - produced another encouraging display and hit four out of five conversions. All this after Penzance went in front after four minutes when Marc Scrivener slotted a penalty.

They also began the second half in style as Matt Jess sprinted to the line and Scrivener added the extra points. It was a nice moment for the visitors but utterly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Evans - a second half replacement - simply took a great blindside pass from the ultra consistent Matt Powell and scorched over the line to cancel out that opening blip.

Two more driven efforts from Windo and Mason took the score over the 50-point mark on the hour but the real story was yet to come. Davies was being cheered on by his legendary grandad Billy Boston for the first time since his Sixways move and he was determined to mark the occasion in style. His second try came as he weaved his way through the Penzance defence ala Boston and the third, after Daren O'Leary touched down for the 10th of the day, was even better.

Taking the ball after a well executed set move, Davies simply blew away the defence with his surging pace to cross and begin the family celebrations in stoppage time. Hayes couldn't add the final conversion but his eight for the day continued his strong kicking percentage this season.

It was one of those days where just about everything went well for Worcester as they recorded their biggest win of the campaign. Sharmans Cross Road on Saturday will be a different challenge all together but, with the amount of talent available at Sixways, you couldn't back against them.

Worcester: Roke 6; O'Leary 7, Hinshelwood 6, Hayes 8, Davies 8, Brown 7, Powell 7; Windo 7, Daly 6, Fortey 6, Zaltzman 6, Gillies 7, Bates 6, LMASON 9, Hickey 6.

Replacements: McAtee, Trueman 6 (Brown 54), Hylton 6 (Roke 22), Hall 6 (Daly 52), Lyman 6 (Fortey 40), Gabey, Matt Evans 7 (Bates 40).

Man of the match: Neil Mason - strong display by the youngster.