Worcester v Bristol - The Basement Battle
The last time Bristol visited Sixways in a league fixture, they were battling to secure a place in the Premiership, in the second leg of the Championship playoff. It turned out to be an evening to forget, as they were robbed of their promotion in the dying seconds, as Worcester claimed a one point aggregate victory with the last play of the game. This time league survival was at stake, with both sides battling for their Premiership lives.
Worcester showed their intent straight from the kick off, as strong counter rucking from wing Bryce Heem forced a penalty. The attacking intent continued as the Warriors opted to kick to the corner and set up a solid and powerful driving lineout. As they advanced towards the line, Dan Tuohy came in at the side, collapsing the mall, resulting in Wayne Barnes awarding a penalty try. The best possible start for the home side with a score within the first minute. Things got worse for Bristol as Tuohy was sent to the sin bin for his troubles.
The lack of weight in the Bristol second row immediately showed, with Worcester forcing a penalty at the scrum. Ryan Mills duly slotted the kick to add to Bristol's woes, as they found themselves 10-0 down within the first 10 minutes.
The yellow card count was evened up shortly afterwards, as Heem was sent to the sin bin for a tip tackle. Henson, who was so impressive against Bath last week, made no mistake, slotting the penalty to open Bristol's account.
Francois Hougaard was singled out as the 'one to watch' in the pre-match build up, and he certainly lived up to the hype! The South African scrum-half capitalised on an overthrow at the lineout, collecting the ball and outpacing Tom Varndell to score. With Mills converting, the game was already starting to slip away from Bristol in only the first quarter.
In an action packed first half, Bristol did manage to finally get into their stride, working their way up-field and gaining territory. Lively full back Jason Woodward eventually picked a great line off Alby Mathewson's pass to score under the sticks. However the Bristol revival turned out to be short-lived, as lock Will Spencer forced his way over from short range to extend the Warrior's lead.
Bristol headcoach Mark Tainton must have been wondering if his side had left their defence at Ashton Gate, as another devastating break by Hougaard split Bristol open. Heem was again in close support and had an easy run in, securing Worcester's bonus point by half time in a very satisfying first period for Gary Gold's men.
With the half time score at 31-10, Bristol had a mountain to climb - they won the battle of the breakdown against Bath a week before, which set the foundation for a crucial victory. This week, it was Worcester who were winning the key turnovers and reacting quicker to the 50/50 balls. Every time Varndell received the ball, the Premiership's all time record try scorer was met by blue shirts and bundled into touch, he was well marshalled all game.
Worcester on the other hand were finding the space, and as Heem went over for his second try and Worcester's fifth shortly after the interval, the game was all but done. Bristol responded by ringing the changes, with Rhodri Williams providing some much needed spark and tempo into their play. It paid off, as replacement hooker Max Crumpton squeezed through a gap in a ruck to score. The away side were starting to show some fight, and when Tom Varndell picked off a stray pass to run in from long range, a bonus point was now in sight.
That hope didn't last long, as Worcester scored a breakaway try of their own through Wynand Olivier, which took Bristol out of bonus point range and perhaps took away their survival hopes at the same time. The game finished 41-24 with Worcester now opening up a seven point gap at the bottom of the league table.
Overall, Worcester thoroughly deserved their victory and looked in control throughout. The Premiership run looks very tough for Bristol, with away fixtures at Saracens and Exeter. Taking any points from those games is unlikely, so they will look to get as many as they can from their three remaining games at Ashton Gate, and hope that Worcester slip up. Not an ideal situation to be in by any means, but as Tainton commented post match, they can still survive mathematically and will not give in.
Worcester on the other hand have three tricky away games, but based on today's showing they have enough quality to ensure they remain a Premiership side. Next season Bristol will have a new head coach in Pat Lam, but at this point it's looking increasingly likely that he'll be taking charge of a Championship side.
Worcester showed their intent straight from the kick off, as strong counter rucking from wing Bryce Heem forced a penalty. The attacking intent continued as the Warriors opted to kick to the corner and set up a solid and powerful driving lineout. As they advanced towards the line, Dan Tuohy came in at the side, collapsing the mall, resulting in Wayne Barnes awarding a penalty try. The best possible start for the home side with a score within the first minute. Things got worse for Bristol as Tuohy was sent to the sin bin for his troubles.
The lack of weight in the Bristol second row immediately showed, with Worcester forcing a penalty at the scrum. Ryan Mills duly slotted the kick to add to Bristol's woes, as they found themselves 10-0 down within the first 10 minutes.
The yellow card count was evened up shortly afterwards, as Heem was sent to the sin bin for a tip tackle. Henson, who was so impressive against Bath last week, made no mistake, slotting the penalty to open Bristol's account.
Francois Hougaard was singled out as the 'one to watch' in the pre-match build up, and he certainly lived up to the hype! The South African scrum-half capitalised on an overthrow at the lineout, collecting the ball and outpacing Tom Varndell to score. With Mills converting, the game was already starting to slip away from Bristol in only the first quarter.
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| Hougaard was outstanding for the Warriors |
In an action packed first half, Bristol did manage to finally get into their stride, working their way up-field and gaining territory. Lively full back Jason Woodward eventually picked a great line off Alby Mathewson's pass to score under the sticks. However the Bristol revival turned out to be short-lived, as lock Will Spencer forced his way over from short range to extend the Warrior's lead.
Bristol headcoach Mark Tainton must have been wondering if his side had left their defence at Ashton Gate, as another devastating break by Hougaard split Bristol open. Heem was again in close support and had an easy run in, securing Worcester's bonus point by half time in a very satisfying first period for Gary Gold's men.
With the half time score at 31-10, Bristol had a mountain to climb - they won the battle of the breakdown against Bath a week before, which set the foundation for a crucial victory. This week, it was Worcester who were winning the key turnovers and reacting quicker to the 50/50 balls. Every time Varndell received the ball, the Premiership's all time record try scorer was met by blue shirts and bundled into touch, he was well marshalled all game.
Worcester on the other hand were finding the space, and as Heem went over for his second try and Worcester's fifth shortly after the interval, the game was all but done. Bristol responded by ringing the changes, with Rhodri Williams providing some much needed spark and tempo into their play. It paid off, as replacement hooker Max Crumpton squeezed through a gap in a ruck to score. The away side were starting to show some fight, and when Tom Varndell picked off a stray pass to run in from long range, a bonus point was now in sight.
That hope didn't last long, as Worcester scored a breakaway try of their own through Wynand Olivier, which took Bristol out of bonus point range and perhaps took away their survival hopes at the same time. The game finished 41-24 with Worcester now opening up a seven point gap at the bottom of the league table.
Overall, Worcester thoroughly deserved their victory and looked in control throughout. The Premiership run looks very tough for Bristol, with away fixtures at Saracens and Exeter. Taking any points from those games is unlikely, so they will look to get as many as they can from their three remaining games at Ashton Gate, and hope that Worcester slip up. Not an ideal situation to be in by any means, but as Tainton commented post match, they can still survive mathematically and will not give in.
Worcester on the other hand have three tricky away games, but based on today's showing they have enough quality to ensure they remain a Premiership side. Next season Bristol will have a new head coach in Pat Lam, but at this point it's looking increasingly likely that he'll be taking charge of a Championship side.
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