WORCESTER Warriors claimed an all-important first away victory in dramatic fashion against Caldy.
Warriors didn’t lead all game until the final seconds when Jake Garside flew over for his second of the match to confirm a 15-17 win on the road.
Here are our key takeaways from the dramatic victory.
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A win on the road
Warriors finally found that win away from Sixways at the third time of asking.
Narrow, three-point defeats had come against Hartpury and Doncaster, as the side lost out largely due to the kicking game of fly-halves Harry Bazalgette and Russell Bennett.
The side faced arguably an even harder challenge away at Caldy – a high-flying, top-of-the-table side, known for how hard it is to go there.
Tom Cruse admitted it was important to get off the mark on the road, ahead of kick-off, while saying it wasn’t something the players were viewing as a ‘big thing’. Head coach Matt Everard also revealed after the final whistle that the importance of winning on the road wasn’t something the side discussed ahead of the game.
Either way, even if it wasn’t something huge in the minds of the players, three losses on the road would have made it more and more of a narrative and the victory away from home alleviates the pressure going forward, particularly with a trip to another leading side in Bedford Blues coming next month.
Warriors almost left to rue basic first-half errors
Caldy walked off for the break enjoying a promising eight-point advantage.
In truth, it should have been just one. The moment that summed up the errors came as Owain Evans broke the line moments before the break. He raced through but put his final pass over the shoulder of Will Lane, as Warriors gave up what almost seemed like a clear try.
That was a large part of the first half’s story – Warriors made a string of errors which Caldy were prepared for and capitalised on.
Whether it be cohesion, or the way Caldy disrupted the rhythm, it nearly came back to haunt Warriors but for a stronger second half display, slowly inching closer before grabbing the win at the last.
Superior fitness pays dividends
On the flipside of that, the second period almost all ran the way of Warriors.
Caldy noticeably tired more and more as the game ran its course and it was clear to see the visitors had the deeper lungs, with the most obvious example coming in the second-half Warriors scrum-dominance.
An onslaught of Warriors attacking phases came in the second period as Caldy were forced to repeatedly defend runners and drives.
It took the full second half to get there, but the game opened up for Warriors and they were able to instil that expansive style they aim for to a greater degree, ultimately creating the space out wide for Garside to cross over twice.
Open play attack
On that attacking style, Warriors looked the stronger side in open play almost throughout. Caldy’s tries came from capitalising on mistakes and breaking quickly, while the Warriors tries appeared to come from more well-worked offensive play.
However, Caldy worked hard to slow the game down and disrupt the Warriors rhythm and were able to water down a lot of that attacking play for much of the match.
Speaking after the final whistle, Everard admitted that build-up was impressive in the match but the execution wasn’t there and this – in my opinion – was largely a result of Caldy’s rhythm-breaking play.
The fullest we have seen that exciting, expansive style in play was at home against London Scottish in round five – should Warriors be able to emulate that performance, and periods of the performance against Caldy, it could be really troubling for their upcoming opposition.
Never say die
In truth, my last takeaway isn’t so much about rugby as it is mentality.
To be on the back foot all game score-wise and keep up the pressure before winning with the final play of the match speaks volumes for the side.
Narratives are often derived from the final score and admittedly had they lost, this could have been a different reflection.
But with that mentality, along with the cohesion coming together more and more every week, it does feel like the side are becoming a really threatening Champ outfit.
It will take some doing to challenge Ealing Trailfinders for top spot however, who look at their best off the back of a 0-71 away win against Ampthill…
