Saracens return to winning ways but without the emphatic response they would have wanted. A failure to claim a bonus point means they stay in second place behind Exeter going into the new year and, truth be told, they deserved little more. David Strettle’s try eventually made the match safe but this will not be one for the end-of-season highlights’ reel.
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Worcester were well worth their early 14-0 lead – Ben Te’o with the second try on his first club start of the season – and Saracens were forced to roll up their sleeves to inch their way back. There was nothing polished about this performance but they always have their power to rely on.
“It was a good test and we came through it very well,” said the Saracens director of rugby, Mark McCall. “The important thing for me was how we responded.”
Perhaps they had yet to shake last Saturday’s defeat by Exeter from their system or maybe the absentees were taking their toil – Brad Barritt’s organisation was sorely missed – but while Saracens have had a habit of starting slowly this season, this was something altogether more sluggish. That may be doing Worcester a disservice – the Warriors were on top from the off and rarely let up before the interval – but one can only wonder what choice words McCall had for his side at half-time.
Saracens’ injury headaches are at least slowly easing – McCall said Billy Vunipola’s surgeon ruled out his comeback here after examining an X-ray earlier in the week but the No 8 remains on course to return on Friday against Sale. Maro Itoje is expected back the week after, but Michael Rhodes is set to miss up to 10 weeks with his latest shoulder injury. Without them Saracens started badly and proceeded to get worse. After four minutes the lively Worcester scrum-half, Francois Hougaard, pounced on the loose ball at the back of a Saracens run, darted ahead and offloaded to Duncan Weir to scamper over.
Weir is enjoying a fine season for Worcester – he masterminded their impressive win at Leicester – and after outpacing the covering defence he landed the tricky conversion from the right.
Soon Worcester were 14-0 to the good with Perry Humphreys scything his way through and almost to the line. He was hauled down short but had the wherewithal to flick the ball to the supporting Te’o who cruised in under the posts.
Saracens’ first points came from the boot of Owen Farrell and a concerted period of pressure almost yielded their first try, only for Will Skelton to drop the ball over the line. It was a warning Worcester did not heed and on the half-hour mark Farrell kicked to the corner and from the subsequent lineout Mako Vunipola was driven over.
Farrell’s conversion struck the post however, then Weir’s penalty restored Worcester’s nine-point advantage. A Farrell penalty on the stroke of half-time reduced the deficit to six and for the second match running here Saracens were relieved to have limited the damage going into the interval.
The expected second-half siege materialised and the dam eventually broke when Calum Clark was released on the right. Farrell’s conversion put Saracens ahead for the first time but he pushed a straightforward penalty soon after – evidence that some rust still lingered.
Saracens kept plugging away, on top enough to keep Worcester at arm’s length without really threatening until the replacement Strettle pierced the defence on a fine diagonal line to seal victory.
Worcester, meanwhile, can count themselves unfortunate to leave with nothing – Weir’s late penalty miss ensuring they missed out on a bonus point.
“It’s terrible that we didn’t get it but that’s the way it is and the game generated a good amount of confidence going into what will be a big game for us [against Bath] next weekend,” said the Worcester director of rugby, Alan Solomons.