Saturday, March 17, 2001

THEY say that the mediocre can only stay at the same level all the time.

That particular description surely cannot be levelled at Worcester who, on Saturday, once again showed their ability to frustrate and exhilarate in equal doses when they disposed of Manchester.

At the final whistle they had beaten a desperately poor side 27-8 at Sixways but as news of Leeds' 81-20 win over Orrell filtered through, there was a feeling of despondency among fans.

And once again this season, Worcester had taken supporters to the very heights and then brought them down to earth with a bump all in just 80 minutes.

However, the very fact that the side had won, collected the bonus point and in the process notched up 100 points for the season in National One was something to celebrate on St Patrick's Day.

On a day where you would quite naturally come into contact with a pint glass, it became an ever more pertinent question to, while pondering the championship race, wonder whether you were a half empty or a half full person?

Worcester can only beat what is in front of them. To their credit, they have done that this season but when they show the natural flair they are capable of in scoring tries - it is something you want to see over and over again. That did not transpire on Saturday but Worcester must be praised for some fine tries and individual, if not collective, excellence.

And they were quickly out of the blocks. Sateki Tuipulotu, reverting back to his former full-back position, put the home side in front after just a minute and 20 seconds when he burst through the paper-thin Manchester defence to touch down.

Fifteen minutes later, the Tongan was at it again as Worcester eased into a 10-0 lead. The lively Tuipulotu was revelling in his 'new' role as was Spencer Bromley who once again looked bright on the left wing.

And it was Bromley, the hat-trick hero of Bedford last week, who stole the show again on 23 minutes when, after a Manchester knock-on, he kicked the ball forward and ran 70 metres to touch down. It was a superb sprint from the former Harlequins man who gave the full-back a good 10-metre start before out-sprinting him and leaving the whole of the Manchester side in his wake.

This time, Tuipulotu converted to give Worcester a comfortable 17-0 lead at half-time. Marcus Barrow's penalty just after the break put a few smiles on Manchester faces and the grins got bigger soon after as Neil Lyman was sin-binned for a punch.

However, the visitors were soon frowning again as Tuipulotu completed his hat trick on 61 minutes. The former World Cup star took advantage of good work from Chris Simpson-Daniel to claim the try.

Three minutes later, Tuipulotu thought he'd scored his fourth before the ball was forced out of play at the last minute.

The visitors were boosted with five minutes to go when Philip Graham scored a consolation try. The score was greeted with ridiculous over-celebration by the Manchester outfit which gave a insight into their ambition for the contest.

To cap the day, there was even a chance for the fans to enjoy a Nick Baxter try on the final whistle. It was one of the few times the winger actually got chance to touch the ball such was the insistence of halves and centres to run forward with the blinkers on.

That was the biggest problem for Worcester on the day. With a game plan which dictated that the ball should be moved wide at every opportunity, the wingers hardly got their hands on the ball. However, at the final whistle, Worcester were worthy winners over a dreadful Manchester side. Alex Keay described Worc-ester as the greatest underachievers in rugby earlier in the season. As the league leaders begin to focus their minds on the Headingley trip in two week's time, you sense then and only then will we see the real Worcester.

Worcester: Tuipulotu, Baxter, Murdoch, Keil, Bromley (Back 62), Yapp (Va'a 41), Simpson-Daniel (Pellow 73); Windo (Collins 17), Moretti, Lyman, Sims (Webster 62), Zaltzman, Evans (Mather 62), Carter, Fryday. Subs not used: Hall.