2016 / 2017 Off The Pitch

Off season is a sad time for Me.  I miss all of the fan banter, obviously the action on the pitch, but as a Warriors fan it generally means massive changes off the pitch.

This season has been no exception.

The Positives

New Pitch
Love it or hate it this must be seen as a positive.  The owners have identified an opportunity and invested six figures in the club.  It also means we (Warriors fans) get to see the newly formed Worcester Valkyries.

Worcester Valkyries
Our ladies team have been performing so well over the last few years but never managed to get the exposure and coverage they deserve - well now they will get it.
Brought into the Worcester Warriors brand, they get funding, training facilities, new kit and a fan base - games to be played at Sixways (pending changing room organisation) which can only help build their profile.
It has already had a positive affect on my daughter who now wants to play for Worceter and will start training on 5th September with Worceter Rugby Football Club
Follow the Valkyries progress: Twitter

The Not So Positives

No DoR
The Director of Rugby role has always been an odd one to me.  Seemingly the link between the board and the pitch.  When things are good he gets the plaudits and when things do not go to plan the head coach tends to get the sack.  Yes you guessed it - I'm not too fussed about the loss of our figure head.
Hogg and the guys know the plan, they have been eating, sleeping and training it out for as long as Dean Ryan has been promoting it on TV and in the press.
The one thing I think we will miss is his rugby brain.  He clearly had a great vision and knew his stuff.  Time will tell on this front but I am pretty sure his man management and people skills will not be missed.

First Match Blues
We did it - New pitch came in early so a couple of extra home preseason games were planned - brilliant!  Though we subsequently forgot that 2000 rugby fans, on a Friday night may need more than 1 bar and 4 people serving pints.
10 to 30 minutes - the generally reported time it took to get drinks.  Many people just not bothering. The reason for this:

Nice of the club to explain but I still think 1 bar and 4 people serving contributed to the delays more than frothy beer.


On the rugby front, many positives came from the evening:

Stelling certainly looked like he belongs back in the 1st team squad. Massive tackles and must have made more runs than the rest of our team put together. 

Appiah looked good with ball in hand 

"Little" Kitch didn't look happy when he came off! 

Xiourouppa had a corker. Very fast for a 7 though missed tackles on Elias Caven a few times 

Huw had a quiet game compared to previous performances

de Cothi looked great for a lad that was made to retire from our academy not so long ago 

Tiff, sadly for me, has not progressed from being an 18 year old hot prospect and must now accept he will probably become a Championship player 

Shillcock has certainly bulked since his first arrival on the scene and looked pretty solid at 15. 

It made me chuckle to see Ryan "Water Boy" Mills sporting; Under Armour - boots, socks, base layer, t-shirt, jumper and matching hat. Some may say "Full Kit Wan***" 

Fair result on our great new pitch. I think they had a much more experienced side than we did and they certainly had a much more experienced coaching side there. Quite odd seeing JT in Bristol kit. Was nice to see his wife still sporting a Warriors scarf.