Worcester Warriors Season Review 10/11
Being relegated will be seen by many as a disaster, which would include the loss of key players, low-ticket sales and the worry of gaining promotion ever again. But for Worcester Warriors relegation from the Premiership in the 09/10 season looks as though it has done them some good.
This season the Warriors have demonstrated their quality by winning the Championship and gaining promotion back to the Aviva Premiership at the first time of asking. They have also brought through some very promising youngsters and now have the coaching staff to make their presence known in the top flight of English rugby.
It's been an emotional rollercoaster at times for the Warriors but they have achieved what they set out to do and they did it in style. Whether or not you are a fan of Worcester, you have to admire their persistence to achieve promotion and there can be no arguments that they have been by far the best team in the Championship.
The summer of 2010 was an important stage for Worcester and their promotion ambitions. They made three key signings in Alex Crockett from Bath, former England star Andy Goode and winger Tom Arscott who joined from Plymouth. Also holding on to experienced players such as Marcel Garvey, Kai Horstmann and Greg Rawlinson proved very effective as the mixture of youth and experience worked brilliantly. You can't also forget about the appointment of new head coach Richard Hill who joined alongside Phil Davies and a new-look coaching team who's job it was to get the Warriors back to winning ways.
Worcester opened their Championship campaign with a 48-3 bonus point win against Birmingham-Solihull at Sixways. Home-grown Jake Abbott was the first Warriors try scorer of the season, followed up by tries from Garvey, Rob Higgitt, Arscott, Aleki Lutui and a penalty try. It was a fast start from Worcester and this was only the beginning of a very successful season.
The good form continued for Hill's men as they went on to win their next seven league games. There were some close results though, a narrow 26-19 win away at Plymouth was followed up with another hard-fought 32-25 win against Rotherham Titans. A last gasp Goode penalty was enough for the Warriors to also grab victory against the Doncaster Knights with the final score finishing 30-28.
After eight wins from eight, the Warriors were already looking like the team to beat, with all their players looking too strong for the opposition. On October 22 they were finally brought back down to earth, as they tasted defeat to the Cornish Pirates. The Pirates were always expected to be tough to beat, as they were the side being tipped to win the Championship if Worcester didn't.
The game itself, which was played at Sixways, was one of many errors. A poor first half display from the Warriors gave the Pirates a 14-0 half-time lead. Scrum Half Jonny Arr hit back though and a penalty try put the home side back in front. But a late penalty from Rob Cook ensured victory for the pirates, in which the Warriors errors proved to be the difference.
Worcester picked themselves up quickly from the defeat as they continued to show their dominance in the league. A collection of victories soon secured them a play-off place at the early stage of December. In January they also gained revenge over the Pirates in another close tie. This time the Warriors secured a dramatic 33-30 win as Worcester legend Pat Sanderson scored three minutes into injury time.
It was no surprise then that Worcester finished top of the Championship table with a stunning 101 points. In second were Bedford Blues with 82 points and the Pirates took third on 76 points. This didn't mean promotion for Worcester though as the Championship goes into a play-off format. Worcester prevailed through their group though and were joined by London Welsh, Bedford Blues and Cornish Pirates in the semi-finals. A noticeable player was starlet Miles Benjamin who scored two consecutive hat-tricks in the group.
So came the semi-final at home against Bedford Blues and it turned out to be a game of huge drama. It was a nightmare opening for the Warriors as they were down 16-0 after just 20 minutes. Former England fly-half Goode got Worcester back into contention as he touched down and converted along with two penalties, leaving it 19-13 to Bedford at the interval. It stayed this way for most of the second-half as Worcester couldn't find a way through, but the hero was Horstmann as he went over two minutes from time and young Joe Carlisle held his nerve to put Worcester ahead by one point. The drama wasn't over though, Bedford went down the other end and attempted to steal the tie with a drop-goal but Myles Dorrian saw his shot sliced wide much to the delight of the home supporters, it ended 23-22 to the Warriors.
This set-up a two legged final against the tricky Cornish Pirates as they beat London Welsh in their semi-final. The first leg was played at Westholme and Worcester gave themselves the advantage they wanted, as Goode once again gave a top performance scoring 16 points giving the Warriors a 21-12 advantage. 12,000 fans packed into Sixways for the second leg and deservedly Worcester finished the job sealing promotion back to the Premiership. This time they won 25-20, meaning an aggregate of 46-32.
There were great scenes of celebration around Sixways and it was fully deserved after the Warriors had only lost once in the league all season. That is a terrific achievement and even when it got tough in the play-off games they managed to come through with the win. Scrum half Arr went on to win player-of-the-year at Worcester as he was a consistent performer all season. Garvey was named Players' Player of the Year while Warrior of the Year was awarded to Lutui who was phenomenal as hooker.
Now Worcester will entertain us in the Premiership again next season, whether or not they manage to cement a place there will be for all to see. But with the bonus of a strong leader and now some established players, they will be confident of making a big impact.
