Newcastle Falcons 16 Worcester Warriors 16 (From Worcester News)

Newcastle Falcons 16 Worcester Warriors 16

5:40pm Sunday 6th November 2011 in Match Reports By Tom Guest, @tomguestWN #WENsport

THEY say a change is as good as a rest — and, boy, do Warriors fans need a break from these gut-wrenching last-gasp turn-arounds of recent weeks.

As if the sickening home defeat to Wasps two Fridays ago, when the visitors’ veteran flanker Richard Birkett burst over the Sixways try line with virtually the last play of the game to snatch victory for his side, wasn’t bad enough, the Worcester supporters were given a repeat dose seven days later.

As Warriors tried — and ultimately failed — to protect their 16-9 lead over basement boys Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park, the air of the inevitable grew heavier with every passing minute.

With three minutes left on the clock, the tired Warriors bodies, who had given their all throughout a hard-fought encounter, could withstand the black and white tide no longer and replacement hooker Michael Mayhew burrowed over for a try to make it 16-14. Ice-cool fly-half Jimmy Gopperth stepped up and nonchalantly stroked over the tough conversion to snatch two points for his side and plunge a dagger into Worcester hearts.

While two points from your fiercest rival’s back yard is not necessarily a bad result, the manner in which they were garnered would have made the draw feel more like a defeat.

Having played with fierce commitment and single-minded composure for 70 minutes — against both Wasps and Falcons — the pressure appeared to be too much to handle on both occasions.

Well-drilled exit strategies were ditched in favour of panicked kicks to touch and rash decisions began to creep into Worcester’s play.

It is as though the importance of closing out these tight games and helping the side climb the Aviva Premiership table weighs too heavy on the players’ shoulders.

However, Worcester now have a two-week break from league action as the European Challenge Cup gets under way.

That could be just what the doctor ordered — the opporunity to take weary minds off the Premiership for a fortnight and tackle teams from around the continent. The European adventure begins on Thursday night with a home tie against famous French club Stade Francais on home soil.

While the star-studded Parisians will no doubt present tough opponents, it is a change of focus for Hill and his players and, hopefully, will serve to reinvigorate the squad so they can hit the ground running when Bath visit Sixways for the return to Premiership rugby on Friday, November 25.