Position Profile - Hooker

After the recent article by @AJBails I thought it was a good time to start taking a look at the key positions within the Warriors squad, starting with Hooker. 

When you Google "Hooker" it returns:

Which doesn't really go anyway to help this blog, so I decided to put in a more detailed search "Hooker Rugby".  This didn't really help either so I decided to read a book.

A Hooker - The player who lines up between the props, coordinates the engagement of the pack and is in theory responsible for winning the ball at the scrum by "Hooking" Though in reality this happens very little in the modern game, the position is still seen as a key decision maker, not only do they control the 100's of kilo's behind them in a scum they are responsible for the restart - Line Out.  I didn't bother Googling this term as I figured lots of finishing websites would result, which would play havoc with my internet viewing at a later date seeing fishing adverts all over the cookie filled internet sites I tend to frequent.  Suffice to say the line out is key, as whenever the ball is kicked or carried off the pitch it is the chosen method of restart.

So, our hooker is a key part of the team at set piece and in loose play.  Over the years we have had some good hookers to chose from but for this article I will concentrate on the current and future wearers of the #2 shirt: Ed Shervington and Ollie Hayes.  If you would like to read about Warriors new boy Gus Creevy please take a look HERE 

Aleki Lutui is one of the highest capped Worcester Warriors players in the history of the club.  Born in Tofoa the 34 year old has played 186 games W/D/L 88/10/88.  He has not signed a new Warriors contract for 2013/14 having signed a 2 year deal with Edinburgh. 

That leaves the club with Ed Shervington and Ollie Hayes, both having signed contract extension in 2013.  It is expected that Gus Creevy will arrive at the club around the end of November following his International commitments.  So we have an easy choice at #2 and #16 

Ollie Hayes

Born in Bath in 1990 now standing at 1,83m and weighing in at 105Kg Ollie was signed by Richard Hill from his former club Bristol and has been the "hot prospect" for the last couple of seasons.

Picture: Ollie putting in a tackle on Aleki in his days as a Bristol player.

During the Warriors Championship season Ollie was a regular starter for Bristol and played against us a couple of times.  The later coming in the 81 - 13 Sixways thrashing of Bristol. Ollie's first official run out for Worcester was for the Cavaliers against Exeter United.  As a debut it went very well only making 2 mistakes at the line out in what was a match full of hand bags.  This game sticks in my mind as it was the game that former Warriors 7 Tom Leech had a "coming together" with now Warrior Prop John Andress. 

I think it is fair to say Ollie enjoyed his debut more than Andress did, a broken nose and a defeat for his Exeter United side to his soon to be employers.

Ollie has since gone on to make 14 appearances for Worcester scoring 2 tries and being involved in 7 team victories.  As 3rd choice hooker he is reliant on injuries and players being rested, which after November 2012 hasn't really happened at the club and therefore has played very little rugby in the run up to the end of the season.  

A self proclaimed "Cube Head" Ollie has settled in well at the club and become an integral member of the senior set-up.  His desire to play first team rugby and progress as the owner of the #2 shirt has seen him spend many hours on the training field and in the gym "bulking not sulking" which he will hope results in a regular first team place for 2013/2014.

Ed Shervington

Welsh born 1,80m 110Kg Ed Shervington is 28 years old and has played 65 games for Worcester.

Ed previously played for Neath and Gloucester.  Having played for Welsh age groups at U18, U19 and U21 levels Ed made his move from Ospreys following the 2009/2010 season ready for our drive to get promotion from the Championship.

A very strong and versatile player, I remember once seeing Ed play at #2 for the first half of a game to then spend the second half as a flanker.  Not only did he hold his own in this position he went on to score a brilliant try demonstrating is ability in open play.  A very steady thrower and an exceptionally strong athlete Ed is an extremely reliable and capable premiership hooker always adding power at the breakdown.

Any frequent visitors to the David Lloyd complex at Sixways will know this already, but Ed is an exceptional athlete, putting in a massive number of gym hours both improving his already impressive strength and helping his fellow team mates and back room staff.

One peculiarity of the Hooker stats at Worcester is that the win loss ration for all 3 current players is 50/50.

So what can we expect for next season?  We have 3 very capable rugby playing hookers available, though at the moment it would appear only 2 will be in contention for the first couple of months of the Premiership season.  There would appear to be not much difference between Ed and Ollie in terms of pace, strength and throwing but it is clear that Ed has much more experience of top flight rugby and has been preferred ahead of Ollie in the race for the shirt so regularly held by Aleki Lutui.

This season our line out has been criticised many times and be it through coaching, poor throwing or the limited use of our line out legend Craig Gillies, this is an area of our game that must improve under Dean Ryan next season.

Can we compare our hooker options to those of previous world rugby greats such as; Mario Ledesma, Sean Fitzpatrick or John Smit? Their lack of international honours would say not, though Augustin Creevy, deemed our first choice hooker for next season does have 22 caps for his native Argentina.  

Next season our realistic aim should be to achieve a slot in the middle 4 of the premiership in which case we will be battling with the likes of Exeter, Bath and Gloucester.  Do our options compare to theirs?  Exeter have 5 EQ hookers, including Jack Yeandle & Chris Whitehead.  Bath are equally endowed with EQ players utilising Rob Webber and Ross Batty.  Gloucester on the other hand call on Australian Huia Edmonds and EQ Darren Dawidiuk.  Looking at our nearest premiership rivals I would say that Gus, Ed and Ollie can more than hold their own and I may even be so bold as to say we have greater strength and depth in this key position than the teams we want to be out performing in the league.

Looking further up the table and this seasons title contenders are complimented by names such as Brits, Smit, Chuter, Youngs and Hartley.  Can we compete with these guys? Possibly not next season but who knows fo rthe season after that.  Although age can certainly bring experience and rugby knowledge we already bring pace, strength and offloads.

Though the words conjured up by a Google search for "Hooker" return as 'strumpet', 'street walker' or 'trollop'  Worcester Warriors have 3 options at hooker for next season that whip-up images of talent, youthful experience, physicality, scrum power, pace and skill, which will exceed the teams around us and start to compete with those above.

The "Sonny Bill" Creevy offload

Have you read AJ's article on Gus Creevy?  Not convinced he might be Warriors best signing so far?  Take a look at this!  Creevy Crazy Offloads

Sonny Bill Creevy Lands on Our Shores

Agustine Creevy

Probably the most impressive signing by the club in my opinion and one guy I'm particularly excited about seeing in a warriors shirt for the 13/14 season. Not only only is Gus the right age,but he is a top quality international player that will without a doubt improve the squad come next year.

I've followed closely his performances in the Top 14 currently plying his trade with Montpellier who are doing very well in the standings in the French league and is always the first name on the team sheet from what I gather.

The game Gus stood out for me the most was the Heineken Cup game against Clermont. Montpellier played extremely well until Clermont showed their might and pulled away towards the end of the game,but I couldn't help but watch him play closely. To say he was excellent was an understatement. 
Not only was he excellent in the loose,but defensively he was very good and his line out throwing was a particular highlight and not to mention one pundit praise him highly and say that "Worcester have an great signing there"
Something that may take some people's interest is that Agustin has adopted the nickname "Sonny Bill Creevy" after the outstanding All Black Sonny Bill Williams as they both share a talent for outrageous offloads in the tackle. This for a forward player is extremely rare,but as you can imagine will only aid the attacking and expansive game we are trying to integrate into our style of play for next term.


The only negative I could find with the signing of Gus that many of you will probably already be aware of is that Gus is a current Argentinean international and will almost certainly be involved in their squad for the Rugby Championship for the start of our English Premiership season.

Even though he will obviously be missing for the first few months of the campaign,I still think he is a major acquisition by the club and one I'm most excited about.

Witten by AJ Bailey 

If you like AJ's comments then why not follow him on Twitter @ajbails 

Luke Rooney - Are Warriors taking up the Option?

Back in January 2010 Mike Ruddock was reportedly excited by the signing of, then 26 year old full-back, Luke Rooney.  

A former Australian rugby league player, who is English Qualifying through his father was signed for Worcester Warriors on a 2 year deal following his time at Top 14 club Toulon.

Statements at the time of announcing new signings are always great for retrospective reading.  For instance: "He comes to us with an ambition to play rugby union for England, through his English parents, and I'm sure it won't be long before Martin Johnson will start looking at him." Mike Ruddock, Warriors.co.uk Well, that was over 3 years ago and not only did he never arrive on these shores, he then went on record saying he would love to play for the Wallabies! 

Following our relegation and the subsequent departure of Ruddock the club announced 29th June 2010 it was sorry to say that Luke Rooney would no longer be joining the club from Toulon and instead he would return to Australia.  The interesting part of the statement being "As part of the agreement, Warriors have agreed that they will continue to have an option with Luke should he make a return to Northern Hemisphere rugby in the future" Warriors.co.uk 

Well the future is here and he has returned to Toulon following a spells with Melbourne Rebels and Hawkes Bay.  

Are we taking up our option in him?  If you believe the rumours floating around Sixways this weekend, then yes we are. 

Should we take up our option in him?  No, I don't think so.  In fact, you might say we were lucky in not following through with his contract, as his playing stats are not great!

2010/11 Season
Rebels - Played 10 (5 from the bench) No points scored
Hawkes Bay (NZ) - Played 2.  No points scored

2011/12 Season
Toulon - Played 22 (19 from the bench) 30 points scored

2012/13 Season
Toulon - Played 2 (1 from the bench) No points scored

Rooney is 30 years old and in the past 3 seasons he has played the equivalent of 25 full games of rugby.  He has had plenty of Chris Pennell style bad luck with injury and has not made the ompression on rugby union that we were lead to expect.

I am sure he has a wealth of experience from both rugby league and union, yes he has been at some top clubs, but he has not made the break through, he has not been playing week in and week out, he has not been scoring tries for fun and he certainly has not got close to having either an England or Australian international call up.

Ben Howard and Paul Warwick supporting Chris Pennell is a much better option for the club, lets save our money for a young, current international in a position that needs improving.

Match Day - Quins

Match day is here again but today is super special.  Not only is it the last home game of the 2012/2013 Aviva Premiership season, it is the first game since the departure of Richard Hill.  Though this game is not being managed by Dean Ryan, there have been some changes in approach already.

The Team

1.   Mullan

2.   Shervington

3.   Murray

4.   Percival (c)

5.   Jones

6.   Best

7.   Kvesic

8.   Taulava

9.   Arr

10. Goode

11. Howard

12. Clarke

13. Grove

14. Drauniniu

15. Pennell

Replacements: Lutui, O'Donnell, Andress, Gillies, Abbott, Perry, Gray, Carlisle 

There are many aspects of this team that stand out, here are the important numbers

1 - Ben Howard's first Premiership Cap.  Although Ben tends to play as a full back, today will see him make his debut on the wing, in place of David Lemi.

3 - The number of points that separated the teams when we last played, November 2012 ending 22 - 19

4 - Warriors highest number of Conversions in a Premiership game.  Against Harlequins in 2004  Source: Offy Site

5 - Craig Gillies makes his return to the match day squad, at the expense of out of fitness, form and favour, Dean Schofield.  There are many other numbers than can be used for Gillies, not least; 288th game for Warriors, 203cm tall (6'8"), 12 times a replacement this season, the list goes on  

7 - Players that will not play again at Sixways as Warriors. Today we get to say goodbye to the likes of Kvesic, Goode and Lutui though there are a few more guys leaving that will not get the chance to say goodbye.

10 - We have selected three 10's today; Goode, Gray and Carlisle.  Though Carlisle, also playing his last home game game as a Warrior, will no doubt be covering 12.

100 - This signifies a massive achievement by Chris Pennell, as I reported in January 2013 the former captain who suffers from type 1 diabetes, is making his 100th Warriors appearance at the age of 26 (27 in a few days time)

Of the many guys leaving Sixways this season, there is one that will not be there today to say good-bye, Big Dave. 

 Tevita Taumoepeau the man mountain who has played 181 times for the club.Dave joined the club in 2005 from Bourgoin.  Dave made himself a playing legend with some incredible performances and for being such a gent of the pitch.  Unfortunately we have not seen him in a Warriors shirt since April 2012 when we played London Irish.  The giant props only try for Warriors came in March 2007 against Sale Sharks and unlike Aleki Lutui (also leaving this season, though yet t be announced by the club) I can find no statistics of him ever kicking a conversion.  The players and a few of the fans will be attending a goodbye party in Droitwich after the game today, to give the big man the send off he deserves.

Verdict:

The winner will be the team that wants it more.  A win for Quins would guarantee their playoff position for the season, which you would think would be a massive drive for the team, but is it as big as being able to show the new boss you should be playing?  Is it bigger than keeping a grip on 9th place?  Is it bigger than preventing one of our worst ever finishes?  I think not.  If the boys really want this today then we will take 4 points though I fully expect Quins to take LBP and for the last 5 minutes to be nerve wrecking! 

Worcester Warriors 16 - 13 Harlequins

Key Men:

Chris Jones and Ben Howard

Dean Ryan's First Official Outing

We are still to hear from our new Director of Rugby through the Wrcester Warriors official website, but tonight we got our first glimpses of the new man in charge, via Sky Sports Rugby Club. 

Those that know me will be fully aware I do not partake in the Rugby Club as I try to avoid situations that involved me throwing things at the TV. Those occurrences are Wendyball, Britains Got Talent and The Rugby Club, but tonight I decided to give the later a go. 

The only reason for this was the appearance of Dean Ryan. To be fair to DR he did a great job. He came across well, which to be honest he usually does, avoided any well placed bananas and didn't promise Worcester fans the world.  He even managed to negotiate a leading question on him "having lost" Matt Kvesic.  Great start!

You cannot doubt the mans rugby knowledge. I have watched a few of his coaching interviews and detailed player analysis clips on YouTube and he is flawless, but he does come across slightly one dimensional. Still, when pushed on all things (bad) about Worcester he did not bite. Even with Wayne Barnes' Dad sat with him he handled or side stepped all Warrior based questions well. 

At one point I thought it was going to get messy when Barnes Snr. refused to congratulate DR on his new role, considering he is such good mates with 'Hilly' (which makes it harder to understand why his son has been so harsh to our team this season) but again this was handled in the way it was meant, with banter. 

Well done Mr. Ryan, your first TV appearance with the caption " Worcester Warriors Director of Rugby" went very well. I look forward to many more in the future. 

Just to clarify though, I still think The Rugby Club is a load of rubbish and will continue my 'self imposed' silent protest. 

Thank you Mr Hill and Good Luck Mr Ryan

With 29 caps for England, having got Bristol promoted into the Guinness Premiership in 2005, achieving 3^rd place in the GP, securing Heineken Cup rugby with Bristol, coaching at teams such as; Gloucester, Newport, Harlequins and being former Head Coach of England Students, it is easy to see why Richard Hill was selected as Head Coach at Worcester Warriors.

On the 27^th May the BBC reported “Richard Hill named Worcester Warriors head coach”, I remember the day well as I embarrassingly assumed it was ‘the other’ Richard Hill.

A 2 year contract was reported following his departure from French side Chalon-sur-Saone.  It was widely reported at the time that not only did Hill beat off competition from the likes of Jake White and Graham Rowntree he was also given the nod ahead of his now replacement Dean Ryan.

RH was brought into the club following the Warriors relegation from top-flight rugby and subsequent resignation of Mike Ruddock.  At the time of his appointment the fans views were mixed at best.  Taken from the COYW Forum, when the news was being leaked that Mr Hill may be the next DoR / Head Coach:

“Jeez I hope that's not what we end up with !” Wee Drahm

“When you look at all the names that have been mentioned as applying, this pairing would be the ultimate letdown.” Beav1s

and in response

“Just a tad” Powick Eastander

“oh well that will be the final nail.

The appointment of Richard Hill will finalise my decision to save my hard earned money for another 3 years,

If he lasts that long before the players run him out of town

JP” Faithful_City

When I say mixed, I mean negative.  I’ve not managed to find any pre-confirmation posts that were happy about his potential appointment, other than that from a Bristol fan.

27^th May 2010 the Official Website delightedly announced that Richard Hill was to be named Head Coach at Sixways, following an internal review instigated by Cecil Duckworth, supported by Ian Bell (Rugby Business Consultant) and Dean Richards.

It would appear he was selected primarily for his proven track record in winning the Championship and progressing (with Bristol) to Heineken Cup rugby.  Clearly setting the targets high from day one.

The following months were spattered with new signings and existing squad members signing on for the club.  In June 2010 Tomahawk, Crockett, Andy Williams, Ripol, Higgitt, Shervington and Arscott arrived at the club with Grove and Mullan signing new deals.  With the exception of Shervington, Grove and Mullan you could say that wasn’t the best start to Hill’s reign at Sixways.

The following season, in the RFU Championship, is well documented and I will not go into it in any detail.  Many games were convincingly won, records were broken and Sixways was buzzing with fans looking forward to Premiership rugby again.  The first major worry for the club was the Championship semi-final against Bedford, in which we almost failed at the first hurdle.  A very dramatic late win was needed to progress through to the finals, where we were crowned the eventual winners and secured promotion back to the top flight of English rugby.

Back in the Premiership, September 2011 saw, what is now probably the height of Hill’s Warriors career, newly promoted, already written off, Worcester Warriors record an opening day, home win, against Sale Sharks.  17-12 with what was described at the time as a forwards dominated victory, we were back in the big time, Hill had achieved objective one by getting us back in the Aviva Premiership and objective two, secure premiership rugby was surely in hand with a performance such as this!

It is easy to look back and see the telling signs, but even as far back as September 2011 the signs were there: "We lacked a bit of composure at the end when we needed to keep hold of the ball. We lost it and gave a couple of silly penalties with Alex Grove's yellow card. One or two things crept in and with the clock ticking down, but that is something to learn.” Richard Hill quoted on the official website.  Two years on and that exact same kind of play, silliness and indiscipline may just have cost him his job.

Fast forward to 1^st January 2012 and if you were as unlucky as me, you witness a cold wet Adams Park away win against Wasps.  I feel the only person that wants to forget that game more than me is Ezra Taylor, remember him?  The man with the shortest career in known history.  Wasps was the long awaited debut for Taylor in which, 2 minutes after kick off, he was fallen on, during a line out and did so much damage to his knee he only started full gym training again this year.  A terrible game, in terrible conditions and I seem to remember the 0-6 score line being reported as the lowest ever result in Premiership rugby.  Little did we know then that 15 months later we would still be waiting for our next league away win.  This most definitely has had a massive impact on the decision announced by the club this week, that Hill is out and Ryan is in.

For many the 2012/2013 season has been one to forget.  9^th place with two games remaining, no apparent sign of progress from last season and a host of big name, marquee players leaving the club under a cloud of player discontent. There are plenty of positives from this season, but the sheer fact that objective three has been so obviously missed can not be ignored. 

The Master Plan:

Objective 1 – Promotion – Achieved

Objective 2 – Secure Premiership Rugby – Achieved

Objective 3 – Achieve Heineken Cup Rugby Status – Failed

To achieve objective 3 we would need to end the season in 6^th position.  With two games remaining we are currently 17 points adrift of current placeholders Exeter.  This is not the position of a club about to embark on HC rugby in the 2013/2014 season.  More pressing is the fact Sale are only 2 points behind us and Irish only 3.  A loss this weekend against Quins could result in us dropping to 11^th place, again not a team meeting objective 3 and therefore the right time to make a change?

The club have made their move.  Dean Ryan, once beaten to the role at Sixways by his now predecessor, is our new Director of Rugby.  His role will commence once the 2012/2013 season ends.  The interim time will be managed by Corin Palmer and the current management team. 

Although the official news is bare and the press speculation is high, I think there is one thing for certain, we are in for a lot of changes again this summer. 

My expectation is that two out of the three coaches; Vickery, Larder and Redman will be told their services are no longer required.  New full time back room staff will be appointed and there is room for new playing faces to join us too, based in part on the fact that; Rob O'Donnell, Ceri Jones, Aleki Lutui, Neil Best, Ollie Frost & Shaun Perry are yet to publically confirm their future at Sixways.

If nothing else, there is one thing for certain, we will get more Sky coverage and the post match interviews and analysis will be top draw.

Thank you for all your effort Richard, I do not think many would doubt your commitment to Worcester Warriors and Welcome Dean Ryan, Good Luck!

Also published on COYW April 2013 

Match Day - Sarries Sunday

It is Sunday morning, usually a time for reflection on the previous days rugby. In the case of Worcester Warriors, this reflection quite often happens on a Saturday morning, but very rarely do we have reflection Mondays!

Friday night rugby splits our fans, though not as much as some like to think. Although not particularly statistically sound, due to the low number of participants, I have seen 3 different surveys all based around a similar question: Do you like Friday night rugby? All 3 ended with a yes.  By no means a resounding yes, but certainly not a no. 

What do I think? Personally I love Friday night rugby. The atmosphere is more intimidating, the stands appear to be closer to the pitch, the noise from the East stand carries all around the ground, the smell of freshly cooked faggots, steak pie or more recently pulled pork float around the ground, the lights add to the intensity of the action and it makes for some dramatic shots on those cold winter evenings when the pack engage seemingly on fire. Saying that I also like Saturday rugby. I'm a family man so it means we can take our young children, when it is sunny there is nothing better than a walk up the canal to Sixways, though the walk back can be a bit tough at times. 

What don't I like? Sunday rugby. I have to agree with Euan Murray, there are six other days of the week to play rugby, why do it on a Sunday? Not only is Sunday the day of rest, but it is also the day of reading up on the action from Saturday, walking  the dog, slow cooking a roast with home made Yorkshire puddings, for the family and a Sunday evening for planning the week ahead and making sure we have packed lunches, ironed work and school clothes and watching trashy American TV. Sunday rugby ruins most of that for me!

So, we have a Sarries Sunday. Looking into the tea leaves what does today hold for us? 
A potentially long day at the office. 

Missing: 

Euan Murray. Has been solid ever since he arrived at Sixways. His replacement, John Andress has clearly improved since he started working with Phil Vickery but against the Saracens pack I think he will struggle. 

Andy Goode. This man spent the end of 2012 having his best season for us. He has kicked more points than the rest of the team has scored, put together. All of this said he deserves to be in contention for fans player of the season. On the flip side, ever since it was confirmed after the Wasps game that he was joining them, he has been below his usual standards. At the Irish game it actually looked as if he stepped aside for a try rather than make a tackle. It has been announced that the reason for his omission today is an ankle injury. Be it painful or self imposed I think Danny Gray starting in his place is the right move. 

Returning:

Danny Gray has only made 3 starts this season, but in those games he has kicked 19 conversions, 1 penalty and scored 2 tries. Today he will face very different opposition, but it is clear, give him the opportunity today and he is more than capable of kicking the points for us. Having played parts in the Bath, Gloucester, Wasps and Irish games he brings back the attacking threat of positioned kicks from hand. 

On the bench we see a return for Jake Abbott and Joe Carlisle. When you read some of my older articles you will see I am a big fan of Jake. Recently he had to undergo surgery after literally putting his head on the line at Gloucester. This is a very hungry young flanker. I really can see him coming onto the carpet, that is the Allianz pitch and making an impact. 

Joe Carlisle, has not played for a while.  I think I will leave it there. 

I'm still of the opinion we will lose this game. Having not won an away league game since Wasps on New Years Day 2012 the odds are not in our favour. One thing that is though is Mr Hill's intended style of play. Week in week out it has been suggested that better weather or better conditions under foot would have seen our intended moves work out better, or that fast flowing rugby would have suited us better... Today is our chance to put that into action. 

Verdict:

Fast flowing rugby please, then we have a chance. Slow dogged defending and we will get smashed. 

Key Men:

Captain Percy and Danny Gray

Sarries vs Warriors 14th April 2013

Sarries vs Warriors 14th April 2013

One of the things I like to do each week on the COYW website is have a guess at the team that will be selected for the next match.  This week I have gone for: 

1. Mullan 
2. Shervington 
3. Andress 
4. Percy (c) 
5. Jones 
6. Best 
7. Kvesic 
8. Taulava 

9. Arr 
10. Gray 

11. Lemi 
12. Matavesi 
13. Grove 
14. Josh D 
15. Pennell 

16. Lutui 
17. Jones 
18. O'Donnell 
19. Schofield 
20. Betty 
21. Dodge 
22. Goode 
23. Clarke

John Andress and Rob O'Donnell get my nod at tight head because Euan Murray will be having the weekend off as we are playing Sarries on Sunday but I guess that the stand out omission from the starting XV would be Andy Goode.  I have selected Danny Gray ahead of him... this is why:

The man has never exactly been a gym rat, you would never expect to see Andy Goode with a six pack, but this is a step change in weight, it seems to have coincided with a very nice holiday and official announcement of signing for Wasps.  All of this put together has meant, since the Bath game, the man that has brought so much to the Warriors shirt is not really performing.

Danny Gray, since returning from injury and becoming a Dad has been like a new player for us.  Making great decisions, impeccable kicking from hand and improved place kicking.

For obvious reasons there has not been much reported about our 2nd choice #10 Joe Carlisle and again for obvious reasons I have not considered him as being a contender for selection this weekend.  Will we ever see him playing in a Warriors shirt again?  I guess I should save that for another day.

My prediction: Away Loss.  If the boys get to grips with the pitch and we do play the attacking rugby Hilly wants, then this could be an exciting close game.  A bit different to the Sixways fixture that we won 12-3

For what it is worth, I personally would have Hayes (Away on 7's) Currie (On loan at Leeds) and Howard (Away on 7's) involved in the remaining match day squads.