Saturday, September 14, 2002

POWER, pace and finishing prowess were enough to see off Otley at Cross Green but Worcester must suspect that tougher challenges await.

The Sixways side ran in 10 tries against a team which, palpably, had no answer to intelligent running from midfield and the half-back pairing of Werner Swanepoel and Craig Chalmers.

At times Worcester were breathtaking as they systematically took apart their semi-professional opposition orchestrated beautifully by Swanepoel and Chalmers.

The pair may have only played two games together but they complimented one another superbly as, time after time, they unlocked Otley's porous defence.

The only concerns for coaches John Brain and Andy Keast would have been a sloppy start and end to the match which enabled the Yorkshiremen to steal three cheap tries. The penalty count will have also been a worry.

It was a day to remember, however, for outside centre David Officer whose energetic support play brought him a hat-trick of tries. The 29-year-old has made a significant impact in his first two games for Worcester and looks not only to have the running power to trouble teams but also the guile to outmanoeuvre defences. And within a backs unit which is showing promising levels of cohesion, Officer is already rising through the ranks.

"We're getting it together," said Officer. "We are stringing some good plays together considering it is only the third league game of the season and we've got a few new players in there. The crispness through the hands is good and we're scoring a few tries between us. I'm obviously dead happy to get the three tries."

"We played some nice stuff in patches," he added. "But we need to tighten up in certain areas and we know that. What we want is to stretch out our good periods during matches but I'm sure that will come. The main thing is that we've come to Otley, done a good job, taken five points and put some scores on the board."

The opening score, however, came from a defensive lapse from the visitors as Andy Brown sneaked in with little opposition to put Otley in front. The try was converted and Worcester looked unsettled until Chalmers steadied the ship on 14 minutes. The former British Lion made the most of skipper Swanepoel's quick tap penalty to touch down before slotting the extra points. Up until that point, the Warriors' lineout had failed to function but, seven minutes later, it found its target to telling effect.

Debutant Craig Gillies collected and Ben Hinshelwood and Swanepoel set up Mark Gabey who nipped in for his second try in successive games to put Worcester ahead. The former Bath man stood out in the back row with a number of crunching tackles and looks a shrewd acquisition.

The next 20 minutes saw Worcester blow Otley away as they eased through the gears. Chris Garrard put in Nnamdi Ezulike for his first Worcester try before the Australian winger - scourge of Otley last season with five tries - set up the rampaging Duncan Roke for the bonus point try on 25 minutes. Chalmers then sidestepped the Otley midfield to make Officer's first score, closely followed by his second after Swanepoel's 30-metre burst. In between, Simon Binns punctuated the barrage with a drop goal, but, in truth, Otley had little answer to Swanepoel and Chalmers' artistry as Worcester led 36-10 at the break.

The second half was notable for the sheer pace of the visitors' counter attacks after withstanding an opening surge. Hinshelwood sprinted 75 metres to outpace the Otley rearguard for his first try of the season before Officer completed his treble, finishing a lovely move involving Chalmers, Roke and Garrard. After Dan Zaltzman's yellow card, the Aussie finally got on the scoresheet himself, with six minutes left, before an extraordinary passage of play.

Jason Oakes dived over following a drive and winger Mark Kirkby made the most of a Hinshelwood error to make it try number three for Otley and give them a sniff of a bonus point. Worcester, however, duly went up the other end for their 10th score of the day but not without some controversy.

Gary Trueman ran in the corner, touched down, only to be throttled by Peter Hall as tempers spilled over. Referee Mark Wilson, after talking with his touch judge, amazingly then chalked Trueman's effort off and awarded a penalty try.

It was a bizarre finale to an entertaining performance. But this was never a truly competitive outing once Worcester's backs were given the stage to perform. The secret now is to start the show without the prompt.

Worcester: Roke 7; Garrard 8, Officer 8, Hinshelwood 7, Ezulike 7; Chalmers 8, NSWANEPOEL 9; Windo 7, Pearson 6, Olver 7, Zaltzman 6, Gillies 6, Gabey 8, Nias 5, Evans 7.

Replacements: O'Reilly, Trueman (Roke 80), Higgins 6 (Chalmers 63), Davis (Windo 72), Hall 6 (Pearson 63), Bates 6 (Evans 63), Pfister 7 (Nias 23).

Man of the match: Werner Swanepoel -- another fine all-round display from the South African.