Old Christmas brings his sport again

Festive Fixtures

England was merry England, when Old Christmas brought his sports again.

'Twas Christmas broached the mightiest ale;

'Twas Christmas told the merriest tale;

A Christmas gambol oft could cheer

The poor man's heart through half the year.

Walter Scott (extract from Marmion 1808)

It makes a change for the perhaps eponymous Scott to be talking of the Auld Enemy in such fond terms rather than solely waxing lyrical about his homeland. The word "sport" had a very different meaning when he penned Marmion in the early 19th century. It is somehow fitting that this stanza is as relevant today, in these Christmases of wall-to-wall sporting fixtures, as it was when George 3rd was on the brink of falling into utter insanity.

Aside from hoping that many a mighty ale may indeed be broached at Sixways over the next few weeks, we can also look forward to some cracking Christmas fixtures:

HOME FIXTURES

13/12/25: Worcester Warriors v Richmond KO 2pm

27/12/25: Worcester Warriors v Chinnor KO 3pm (Sold out)

AWAY FIXTURES

20/12/25: Bedford Blues v Worcester Warriors KO 3pm

3/1/26: Ealing Trailfinders v Worcester Warriors KO 3pm

The home game against Chinnor becomes the third sell-out at Sixways Stadium since the club's return in September but there are plenty of seats available for the Richmond game this coming weekend. Richmond have had a solid start to their season with 3 wins against Chinnor, Hartpury and away at Cambridge. They have also garnered 3 losing bonus points, away at Nottingham and Caldy and, in perhaps their most disappointing Champ rugby result thus far, losing 20-25 at home to Ampthill. This result was amongst last week's fixtures and it will have been a painful loss to Rob Powell's men who would have climbed above Ampthill in the table if the result had gone their way.

Warriors meanwhile will be hoping to put a bit of distance between themselves and their nearest rivals for 2nd place, Bedford and Nottingham. Both have tricky fixtures with Bedford away at Pirates and Nottingham home to runaway leaders, Ealing. With these two matches taking place under the Friday night lights, Worcester will know what they need to do to keep hold of that second spot.

If you are coming to the game do please call in and say hello at the WWST Cabin in the NE corner of the ground, adjacent to the Club Shop entrance. Any members who have not yet picked up their pin badges please come along and get yours. It's also an opportunity to buy some WWST merch for the family Christmas stockings. We've just had a new delivery of the excellent Noggin Caps and still have T-shirts, Mugs & Fridge Magnets in stock. A big thank-you also to Matt Nicol of Nicol Estate Agents for donating a surplus of heavy-duty plastic pint-pots which we are selling off for £2 each. All profits raised from our sales is going towards supporting accommodation costs for two young players at the club. We have also pledged to financially support the planned Warriors Academy when it too rises from the ashes.

WWST Merch stocked in our cabin or in our online store on this website

Squad addition

New signings have always caused a bit of a stir amongst Warriors fans. This season it has been hard to keep up with all the comings and goings at the club what with trialists, loan players and the ongoing injury situation. One player who has already made a significant impact is Tom Hendrickson who was announced last Friday and was already lacing his boots the next day, playing the full 80 against Pirates and laying down a marker at Outside Centre with a comprehensive performance. This earned him a 9/10 in the Rugby Paper write-up; a score which failed to win him the MOTM award with Khalik Kareem excelling in the back row (and on the wing!) to earn a 9.5/10 score.

Tom Hendrickson will be no stranger to Warriors followers, having played against Worcester many times during his stint with Exeter Chiefs. His last outing at Sixways prior to the Pirates game was a start at Inside Centre for Chiefs in the thrilling 35-31 win for the home team in 2022. Although born in New Zealand to a Cornish mum and a Kiwi dad, Tom came to England at the age of 5 and played for the Pirates minis before signing for Exeter. He also played many a game for both Cornish Pirates and Plymouth Albion on loan from Sandy Park so last Saturday must have felt like a fitting return to elite-level English rugby.

Welcome Tom - we hope your stay at Warriors is a happy one.

Premiership Ambitions

Many of you will have seen the story doing the rounds this week about the old chestnut (Christmas pun intended) of Promotion from The Champ to The Prem. The club has released an unambiguous statement about its intentions and the immense progress already made under our new management. All at WWST remain 100% behind the team at Sixways and are certain that their business acumen and ambition for the club will ensure that the club grows according to both its means and aspirations.

From the Warriors website:

At Worcester Warriors, we are committed to our ambition of returning to the Prem, and we have the facilities and fanbase to meet the minimum standards necessary to be a success at that level.   

Having recently re-established ourselves as a professional club, we have been clear and steadfast in our intention to use this season as a stabilising introduction to professional sport. We have grown exponentially from the start and it is a surprise to no one that we have the intention of seeking an early return to the Prem in the near future. 

Our first year back as Worcester Warriors has seen record season ticket and hospitality sales, a strong performance on the pitch, rave reviews of the match day experience, and we are on track to exceed the financial business plan we have in place.

There are well documented ongoing conversations about the future structure of the Prem and Champ Rugby and what promotion, relegation or expansion will look like, both this season and going forward. We are actively engaged in these conversations. 

Naturally, it is not ideal that the Champ clubs are in a situation where we are well into a season with no certainty of what the outcome will be, and as such we have to plan sensibly. We have promised that prudent ambition to our supporters, sponsors and players.

Whilst conversations between both leagues will take place in the new year, we have all read the speculative articles and suggestions on what might happen. 

What won’t change though is our determination to meet our financial and resilient  business plan objectives, and to be promoted to the Prem, at the earliest opportunity.

Exile over

No - not a comment on the much-vaunted return of London Irish. Instead a quick explanation of the relative lack of comment coming from your WWST chairman. Having been forced to cancel a planned visit to see family in Australia in 2024 due to family illness, my wife and I embarked on our postponed trip a few days after the glorious win against Coventry on October 4th. We are now happily re-ensconced in Worcestershire following our travels, with only the mental scar of the Perth Ashes Test Day 2 (yes - the Final Day!) causing any unsettling memory. I am pleased to report, though my wife less so, that Clubber TV streams effectively down under so, if you also have a trip planned, you can be reassured that there is no need to miss any Warriors' games.

If you haven't already caught it, do have a read through the excellent Warriors weekly newsletter and read all about the Christmas plans for tomorrow's fixture including an appearance by the big lad with a beard.... and I'm not talking about Ashley Challenger.

I hope to see many of you at the games over the coming weeks but, if not, have a peaceful and Merry Christmas - and don't forget about broaching those mighty ales....