5:40pm Sunday 29th August 2010
By Tom Guest
DESPITE kicking-off their Championship season with a six-try demolition of neighbours Birmingham and Solihull, Worcester Warriors were given just an uninspiring four out of 10 by head coach Richard Hill — must do better.
The demanding Sixways chief took charge of his first competitive game since replacing Mike Ruddock as Warriors boss and saw his side rack up six unanswered tries.
Jake Abbott, Marcel Garvey, Rob Higgitt, Tom Arscott and Aleki Lutui all crossed for the hosts, while referee Keith Lewis also awarded a penalty try after the Bees’ pack continually infringed in the shadow of their own posts.
Although Hill was less than fulsome in his post-match praise, the former Bristol boss would have been inwardly pleased to have put down such a confident marker in the opening game of what should be a promotion campaign.
The first scoring opportunity of the game went to the visitors after Warriors went off their feet at the breakdown, but Bees right wing Simon Hunt missed the penalty.
On nine minutes, Bees Samoan giant Semisi Taulava went off his feet and home fly-half Joe Carlisle slotted the ball through the uprights to open the scoring.
Two minutes later and a rush of blood to the head of Warriors skipper Kai Horstmann saw Bees level the score.
The stand-in captain was guilty of swinging a hay-maker and, while he was lucky not to be yellow-carded, the back-rower was punished by three points from Hunt’s boot.
Several of the Bees team had come through the Sixways academy and one of those — outside-centre Ollie Grove, brother of Warriors’ Alex, who is on loan at Edinburgh — made a great tackle on Miles Benjamin to deny the winger the opening try.
The home fans didn’t have to wait long, though, as neat hands down the line from a stolen line-out resulted in Abbott hitting the line at pace to crash over for a score Carlisle improved.
Scrum-half Jonny Arr was the next Warrior to go close to scoring, but his effort was ruled out for an off-the-ball shove on opposite number John Brake as the two chased a loose ball to the line.
Carlisle then extended Warriors’ lead with a penalty after Bees infringed at the breakdown.
Craig Gillies had been in commanding form in the early exchanges, but had to go off with an ankle injury on 24 minutes, to be replaced by England Saxon Graham Kitchener.
The academy lock’s first involvement nearly resulted in a try when he sent fellow second-row Will bowley galloping to the line before again getting hands on the ball only to be hit for holding on with a try beckoning.
The try of the game came on 26 minutes when Garvey showed his predatory instincts to out-strip three defenders down the touchline. Carlisle expertly slotted the tough conversion to make it 20-3 to Warriors.
The gritty visitors refused to give in and enjoyed their best spell of the game, setting up camp on the Warriors line.
As they span the ball wide, full-back Arscott tried to intercept, but knocked the ball on and was fortunate the referee didn’t deem his intervention to have been deliberate. Bees continued to press with two quick tap-penalties within 10 metres of the Warriors line, but a Taulava knocked-on and the chance was gone.
Marauding Bees flanker Jack Preece broke free and skipped round Arscott, but was hauled down 15 metres short before Warriors were penalised.
Another former Worcester youngster, fly-half George Crook, kicked to the corner, but the visitors were driven back and knocked on at the line-out.
Bees number eight Mark Hopley, another of the former Sixways brigade, was sent to the sin bin on the stroke of half-time for a high tackle on Arr after a dummy at the line-out.
The man disadvantage really hurt Bees as Warriors ran in two tries in as many minutes after the break. Within minutes, the score changed from 20-3 to 34-3 as first Higgitt, then Arscott, went over for Warriors — both efforts converted by Carlisle.
Things then got even more difficult for the visitors as Hill brought his big guns off the bench with Andy Goode, Andy Williams, Lutui and Tevita Taumoepeau entering the fray. England stand-off Goode’s first touch was to release Arscott, who found Benjamin. More great work by Grove denied the winger, but Lutui was on hand to crash over. Goode added the extras.
Abbott and Hopley then got involved in a skirmish with the Warriors man being sin-binned and the Bees number eight fortunate not to receive his second yellow of the game.
With Russell Earnshaw’s men now tiring, the Warriors pack began to assert its superiority and referee Lewis soon ran out of patience with collapsed scrums and awarded a penalty try, which was improved by Goode.
Bees kept battling, though, and won a penalty at the breakdown. The visiting fans thought they had a try to cheer, but the touch-judge had spotted a foot over the line.
With a matter of minutes left, Worcester flanker Neil Best was sin-binned for a cynical killing of the ball on his own line.
Bees were nearly rewarded, but Rod Petty was adjudged to have been held up from the final play of the game.
Although the division may have been different to last season, it was great to see the Warriors fans streaming out of Sixways with big smiles on their faces once again.
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