Confidence, resilience, strength in depth
Early doors sees Worcester Warriors clearly heading the Elior Championship with a points difference of +120. Having witnessed numerous slow starts to the season in years gone by it is an unfamiliar position to be in as a Warriors fan. "Pre-season matches frequently belie what is to come"; after an unimpressive showing at Ampthill and in the first half against Cardiff we were all trying to convince ourselves that this saying rings true.
To be honest I was worried in the run-up to the Bedford game. Last season they looked the least likely team for us to beat until that magnificent performance in the Play-off Final. I thought they would be so fired up that we would struggle in the re-match but this couldn't have been further from the truth. With a fully functioning line-out and a solid base for our backs to run off, Warriors turned on the style and cruised to an easy win; Bedford came away lucky to get a single score on the board.
Rotherham Titans were promoted from National One with a reputation for consistency in defence
and efficiency in the backs playing behind a physically dominant pack of forwards. With Worcester:Rotherham rivalries peaking around the turn of the millenium there wasn't quite the edge to this fixture that we might have witnessed back in the day. However, despite periods of parity in the first and third quarters, Titans just couldn't live with the pace and skill of a multi-faceted Warriors back division. By the end the score had become something of an embarassment with six tries in the final twenty-five minutes.
I didn't make the trip down to the RAG, with family matters taking precedence, but did manage to watch the majority of the game on the excellent ClubberTV live-stream (after the inevitable initial problems with our WiFi). The determination of the whole team to come away with a maximum five points was outstanding. Siva Naulago has seen it all in a long and illustrious career but when he tapped-and-went from deep inside his 22 with the clock well into the red it seemed unfeasible that a front row forward would be scoring under the posts at the other end in a matter of moments. Nevertheless, Austin Wallis was there to back up Lloyd Williams and waltz past Richmond's replacement outside centre to bag his second score of the season (although he's been nominated for at least two Hallam Chapman scores by the media!)
So what has made our start so convincing this year when others like Ealing, Coventry and Bedford have all struggled in varying degrees?
CONFIDENCE When you play as the team did in the second half v Chinnor, the first half v Ealing and the whole final v Bedford, you can only come away brimming with confidence. The team have managed to carry that over a long-hot summer, a bleary-eyed trip to Ibiza and what Matt Kvesic called the most brutal of pre-seasons he has ever faced. The realisatioin that, if they play at their highest level, they will beat any other Champ team has sunk in and stuck. To play every game at their highest level requires:
RESILIENCE This doesn't just mean having a strong defence and being difficult to beat but these are clearly important features. The mindset of the team appears to have had a gear change during the playoffs and the early season games. Nothing seems impossible when you win the match against the undefeated reigning champions despite being down on the scoreboard with a single play left in the game. Likewise on Saturday when it seemed distinctly likely that Richmond would score again to clinch a losing bonus point, having already seemingly deprived Worcester of a TBP. Instead we forced a turnover on our 5m 'line' and instead of kicking the ball out in relief, took a quick tap and the rest is history.
STRENGTH IN DEPTH Recruitment has been savvy. At times last season our set-piece struggled - particularly in the line-out but also at scrum time. We also appeared to lack active leadership at times and were overly reliant on a few names to make the powerful short carries necessary to make ground and create the openings for our "piano players." The front five has been massively boosted with the arrival of Tom Savage, John Hawkins and Jack Dickinson plus the permanent deal for Cam Miell. Our backrow - which looked strong last season has been further improved with the likes of James Cherry, Owain Evans and Hallam Chapman providing more (and differing) options to those we fielded in 25/26. For the plethora of young signings to break into our backline is looking well-nigh impossible but we already have so many options and the (perhaps enforced) decision to play Naulago at 13 has been absolutely inspirational. It is a shame that two of our higher profile signings in Joe Jones and Charlie Chapman have been sidelined by injury thus far.
AWAY TRAVEL
Let's hope the team manages to keep up with the high standards they have already set. Nottingham @home and Hartpury @away are next up - both of whom beat us last season, with Hartpury being the only team we are yet to beat since returning. Coaches for the next 3 away games (Hartpury, Doncaster and Coventry) have already been advertised so add them to your diaries and book up here.
Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, there has been little appetite generated for a coach -trip to Penzance on the New Year weekend. That's not to say we won't have decent travelling support - just that logistically the vast majority seem to favour organising their own travel arrangements. Hence there will be NO SUPPORTER COACH FOR CORNISH PIRATES AWAY ON 2ND JAN 2027.
WRFC EVENT
A reminder that local band Blank Kanvas are playing at the amateur club on Saturday 17th
October at a special fundraising evening for the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, helping to raise vital funds for MND research. Expect an evening packed with great music, food, drink and plenty of dancing; please help support this very worthwhile cause. Click Pic for tickets.
Doors open at 7pm
Food from 7.30pm
Charity auction at 8.30pm
Music starts 9pm
Marcus Mulcahy 8/10/26
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