WORCESTER WARRIORS 44 HARLEQUINS 13

WHENEVER there is a big game there is one man who Worcester Warriors can always rely on – and that’s Chris Pennell.

Saturday may well have belonged to the retiring Donncha O’Callaghan as the Ireland legend and Warriors skipper bowed out with a stunning seven-try win over Harlequins.

But his emotional farewell should not overshadow what was another special day in the career of Pennell as he played an instrumental role in guiding Warriors to safety – once again.

During his 11 seasons at Sixways the long-serving full-back has endured numerous relegation scraps in the Aviva Premiership.

But Pennell has so often been a beacon of hope during those dark times and shone brightest when it has mattered most.

Warriors needed a point to beat the drop and Pennell, who was making his 200th appearance for his boyhood club, was pivotal in making sure they got the job done by half-time.

The 31-year-old teed up Bryce Heem for the first try before scything through Quins’ defence and delivering a sublime pass for Ben Te’o to secure the bonus point that clinched survival.

His excellent performance underlined his importance to Warriors and if he remains injury free there is no reason why he can’t continue to make a telling impact in years to come.

One player who will be leaving the club, though, is Bath-bound centre Jackson Willison.

Head coach Carl Hogg once described the unheralded New Zealander as the “glue” within the side.

And at the weekend he stuck his name on the scoreboard with two well-taken tries to remind Worcester what they will be missing next season.

Will Spencer and David Denton will also be off in the summer, but Darren Barry and Marco Mama both stepped into their shoes with barnstorming displays against Quins.

Francois Hougaard also showed no signs of an ankle injury that had troubled him for the past two months as he starred in a magnificent performance from Warriors.

Prior to kick-off O’Callaghan, 39, received a standing ovation when he walked onto the field for the final time before Pennell was greeted by an equally impressive reception from the Sixways faithful.

But once that was over Warriors quickly got to work with Dorian Jones slotting home a penalty just two minutes in.

Quins hit back with a three-pointer from Marcus Smith before Warriors scored their opening try on 14 minutes when Heem cut inside Mike Brown and used all his strength to cross the whitewash.

The visitors responded once again when Danny Care took a tap penalty and found the fleet-footed Walker who sped through to score which Smith converted to give Quins a 10-8 lead.

But Warriors had the bit between their teeth and with Hougaard looking to get things moving they struck for the second time. Gerrit-Jan van Velze made a powerful surge before Hougaard offloaded to Willison who drove over in the corner.

Josh Adams came within a whisker of adding to his tally when Walker stopped him from grounding the ball.

But with Care sin-binned for barging Hougaard off the ball Worcester soon made the numerical advantage count. Barry smashed his way over from close range and Jones added the extras.

Smith cut back the deficit with another penalty but Te’o then notched Warriors’ fourth try after Barry made ground and Pennell set up the England ace.

Warriors were 25-13 in front at the break but they refused to take their foot off the gas as Hougaard exploited a large gap in Quins’ defence to score.

Jamie Shillcock then converted his own try when he exposed further weak tackling to wriggle his way through.

And with two minutes remaining Willison touched down for his second which Shillcock converted to wrap up an emphatic win.