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Worcester’s miserable run continued as they fell to a ninth successive defeat with Wasps putting their recent woes behind them and running out 17-13 winners.
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Wasps had surprisingly lost their last two fixtures, at home to Harlequins and Northampton, but disjointed and aimless Warriors allowed them to get back to winning ways in a poor match at Sixways.
James Gaskell and Tom Willis scored their tries with Jimmy Gopperth converting both. Charlie Atkinson added a penalty.
Worcester’s response was a try from Nick David with Jamie Shillcock adding a conversion and two penalties.
However they struggled to overcome the absence of Ollie Lawrence, Francois Hougaard and Melani Nani, who may have been able to provide some spark to their play.
Worcester, playing with the advantage of a strong wind, came close to scoring in the eighth minute. A well-judged cross-field kick from Shillcock saw Perry Humphreys race to collect.
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The wing looked set to score but as he was challenged marginally early by Wasps full-back Matteo Minozzi the ball escaped his grasp. Surprisingly the TMO made no representations to the referee for replays of the incident to be played.
However two minutes later Warriors took the lead when Shillcock kicked a penalty but it was short-lived as the visitors immediately responded with the first try after Gaskell finished off a series of forward drives by crashing over.
Gopperth converted before Shillcock’s long-range penalty rebounded back off a post so Worcester’s dominance of possession and territory wasn’t rewarded and they were made to pay.
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Wasps were always the more dangerous side and three minutes before the interval they scored their second try. A neat off-load from Malakai Fekitoa gave Willis the opportunity to brush aside some poor tackling on a 45-metre run to the line. Gopperth converted to give his side a 14-3 interval lead.
Humphreys was replaced at half-time by Oli Morris as the wing failed a head injury assessment. This coincided with an upturn in Worcester’s fortunes as they pressurised the opposition line for the opening period of the second half.
However they continued to be clueless in attack so the endeavour of their pack came to nought as the Wasps’ defence held firm which resulted in a scoreless third quarter.
Gopperth was replaced by Michael Le Bourgeois so up stepped Atkinson to extend Wasps’ lead with a straightforward penalty.
It was a long wait but eventually Worcester created something to score a try and bring them back in contention. Francois Venter chipped forward before Michael Heaney hacked on and collected to send David over.
Shillcock converted and then kicked a penalty as his side totally dominated the second half but Wasps just survived to take the four points.
Comments on RugbyPass
One tough SOB!
15 Go to commentsI’ve put on 4/5 kilos since the beginning of the season too. Not good kilos. Bad kilos.
1 Go to commentsSurely there’s a ‘no knobheads’ policy ?
2 Go to commentsWallaroos have no chance of beating the Black Ferns unless Canada upsets them in Christchurch tomorrow but I doubt that as well!
1 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Could the victim do a course to reverse the long term CTE damage from the cheapshot?
2 Go to commentsTruely great player. In social media and opinion pieces he was held up and flogged for the results. People wanted someone to crucify, and he was the captain. He was still an immense presence respected by his peers. His battles with Siya Kolisi belong up with with Collins vs Burger in my opinion. Unlucky to be carded in the final, but I don’t agree that his red card was the defining moment. Not when you look at the dominant performances of the Springboks (PSDT in particular.) I think Cane should be remembered for the spirit and physicality that is special to test rugby.
15 Go to commentsSam was the man until he got injured .
15 Go to comments_Crusaders versus Leinster _at the moment might be a rout! But I would like to see the Blues play Toulouse, the Hurricanes front up against Stade Francais, and the Chiefs go against Toulon.
157 Go to commentsLove it when we overlap! Promise it was not forethought.
18 Go to commentsjfc can this guy plz stay out of the news for one week
2 Go to commentsIf stormers aren’t available. Based on form and likely availability at the time of the wales Test, you’d think Masuku would be a no-brainer to start. But starting Jordan also makes sense having Masuku come off the bench to close out the game.
2 Go to commentsGlad Tom Curry not playing needs time to recover such a great player also his brother Ben how well is he playing now .
1 Go to commentsLet’s examine what might be irking the brainless E: Up until 20 years before this coming Julys tests: 16 games: 14 wins for SA; 1 win for Ire; 1 draw From 20 years until July’ tests Ireland V SA: 13 matches Ireland won 8; SA won 4; 1 draw Points scored Ireland 261; SA 189 Ave Winning Margin: Ireland 11 points; SA 4 points (away 3, home 6) Away win record: Ireland 33.33%; SA 25% Neutral matches 1: Ireland win RWC France 2023. Last SA win June 2016 (8 years ago) They boast 3 World cups in that period (they do boast). The above record is not good, probably not much better than theirs against NZ for same period. That’s why the dopey E is starting fights in his head. He will probably ship a yellow when things don’t go their way in the first test.
127 Go to commentsGoode is like a wet fart on The Rugby Pod and should be shoved aside. Jim knows what he is on about and can get on better without Goode’s nasty little cheap shots.
127 Go to commentsBrumbies will win, crusaders are pretty awful this year
1 Go to commentsThis has the makings of a good match. That’s Leinster’s second team but its a good one (stronger than the teams in SA recently). Ulster are really turning a page. Ryan back is huge, and Keenan too. This could be a cracker.
1 Go to commentsThe Farrells are one of the great father and son combinations. Andy was an RL great, and had he played Union as his first sport, I would be sure he would have been avery significant forcewas in League. And Owen, a Union great, who had he played League, would could have been a great there too i all probability. I feel my attitude to Owen has mellowed as he has aged, and in the post Jones era, evolved and shown his full range of talents. He really is an all round player, and I have wold hope his move to France will be successful. He may even be the piece in the jigsaw that Racing need to rise to challenge Toulouse and LAR. He is ofc now approaching 33 years of age but should still have enough left to make a big contribution in France for at least2/3 years.
45 Go to commentsI reckon it may be Jordan at 10 and Nohamba at 9, both players have played together alot and both have been on the Radar for a long time. After Pollard got injured in 2022 with Elton sidelined on a path of self destruction Erasmus and Nienaber indicated that the other options in the country at the time were thin but that Jordan and Manie were the 2 they were looking at. In the end Frans steyn played flyhalf, Willemse slotted in there on the end of year with Libbok as back up. Jordan was right there in the thinking back then so expect him to take the Jersey either as the starter.
2 Go to commentsHaha did he also* say it in a sarcastic teacher sort of manor or was it the petulant English snob sort of wail?
45 Go to commentsWell said Mils. It is a big boost at last having Fergus Burke back at 10 for the Crusaders. Had a great season last year as the article says. Mils is also right about captain Codie Taylor’s performance in his return to the Crusaders last week. He was all class.
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