Plymouth Albion 10 Worcester Warriors 22
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Geoff Berkeley reports from Brickfields
THIS FIXTURE was supposed to be a breeze for high flying Worcester Warriors as Plymouth Albion languished at the foot of the table.
But in the end it needed a try from Tom Biggs late on and some resilient defending on their own line to stop their winless opponents pulling off a sensational comeback at Brickfields.
Plymouth looked all at sea in the first half as Warriors’ forwards drove them back at will while a brace from skipper GJ Van Velze and a Sam Betty try put them 17-0 in front.
However, the hosts, who had not won a league game in more than six months, never gave in and looked like snatching something before Biggs’ 70th minute score settled a hard-fought contest.
The maximum point win may have kept the pressure on leaders Bristol, but director of rugby Dean Ryan said he was less than pleased with his side’s second half showing.
“We are a bit disappointed that we lost momentum,” he said. “I thought we did everything right in the first half, but in the second half we went off theme and allowed them back in it.
“We talked about making sure that our individual desire to do well did not take away from what was possible here and I felt that happened in the second half.
“They were all trying to be positive, but they were losing their cohesiveness as a team.
“We were never in danger of losing it, but we could have made it easier for ourselves.”
The signs that things might not work out as well as Warriors would have hoped were evident within the opening few minutes as Ignacio Mieres went wide with a relatively simple chance for three points.
Plymouth were also working hard in defence to keep Worcester at bay in the opening stages, but when the visitors’ pack began to march their opposite numbers back the gap in quality became clear to see.
A well-constructed catch and drive saw GJ Van Velze power through to score before another big surge ended up sending Betty over the whitewash.
Mieres converted the second of those as Warriors moved 12-0 ahead inside 20 minutes.
Albion seemed unable to cope with Worcester’s driving maul, which was well marshalled by Van Velze. But it was a slick move between the backs which led to the visitors’ next try.
This time, number eight Van Velze found himself on the wing to receive Andy Symons’ pass before crashing over in the corner. Mieres once again failed to hit the target.
But Worcester, who were leading 17-0, appeared to be in complete control as Plymouth’s only chance to score came in the final minute of the half. Symons produced a try-saving tackle to deny Sam Simmonds before Lawrence Rayner sent a penalty wide.
However, it did not take long before Plymouth got on the score-sheet in the second half as Simmonds barged over from close range after his side mounted heavy pressure on Warriors’ line.
Rayner added the extras and suddenly it was all to play as they trailed Worcester by just ten points.
Ryan’s men tried to find a response, but as the conditions worsened so did their rugby as a series of misplaced kicks and handling errors allowed Albion to clear.
Even when Thomas Jubb saw yellow, Warriors could not demonstrate the form they showed in the opening period. A penalty from Rayner then put further pressure on Worcester as their lead was cut to 17-10.
But any fears that they might lose the match were eased with ten minutes left. Ben Howard made the decisive break before brilliantly offloading to Biggs who simple touched down.
Although Worcester’s fourth try all but sealed the tie, Albion fought until the very end. And they should have come away with at least a point, but Warriors, who had prop Ofa Fainga’anuku sin-binned, produced a series of last-ditch tackles to see out the match.
Caption: GJ Van Velze scored two tries against Plymouth Albion. Picture by Andy Baldwin.