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RICHMOND 26:45 WARRIORS
THE WILD WEST AT THE RAG
THE CHAMPIONS’ FIRST AWAY DAY
There are some rugby matches that are neat, orderly affairs where everything goes according to the script. Then there are afternoons like this one at the Richmond Athletic Ground, where the script was torn up somewhere around the half-hour mark and replaced by something altogether more dramatic. Worcester Warriors arrived at the RAG for our first away game of the Championship season with a perfect record behind us, but with nine changes to the side that had demolished Rotherham the previous weekend, this was always going to be a different proposition. And so it proved.
For the travelling Warriors supporters, there was an early sense that this might be a long afternoon. Richmond came out with enormous energy and, for the opening thirty minutes, looked the more accomplished side. They played with confidence, moved the ball quickly and repeatedly found gaps in our defence. We were struggling to establish any real rhythm and, as the Richmond pressure mounted, there was a growing feeling among the travelling support that our boys were going to have to dig very, very deep.
After just seven minutes, Richmond struck. Monson crossed the line and with the scoreboard showing 7–0, the hosts had made exactly the sort of start they would have wanted. We tried to settle ourselves, but Richmond were in no mood to let us off the hook. Ten minutes later Kitson went over and suddenly it was 14–0. Two tries inside the opening seventeen minutes and, frankly, we were being made to work for every inch of the RAG.
But this Warriors side has already shown that it possesses something more important than simply attacking ability. It has resilience, and it has players prepared to keep believing when things are not going their way. At 14–0 down, Alfie Garside provided the response we desperately needed. His try on 24 minutes cut the deficit to 14–7 and, perhaps more importantly, gave the Warriors supporters something to shout about.
From there the tide began, slowly but surely, to turn. We were still having to defend, still being tested by a lively Richmond side, but the Warriors were beginning to find their feet. Then, right on the stroke of half-time, Lane crossed for Richmond and suddenly the scores were level at 14–14.
From 14–0 down, we had dragged ourselves back into the contest.
And suddenly, rather than wondering whether we could stay in the game, we were wondering whether we could win it.
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HALF-TIME — RICHMOND 14–14 WARRIORS
Whatever was said inside the Warriors dressing room at half-time, the team emerged with a completely different look about it. There was still plenty of work to do, because Richmond had shown enough in the first forty minutes to remind us that this was not going to be handed to us. But the momentum had shifted, and within a minute of the restart Richmond had struck again through Roman to move 14:19 ahead.
It could have been another setback. Instead, it became another test of our patience.
The Warriors kept coming.
On 51 minutes Hallam Chapman brought us level at 19:19 and suddenly the travelling supporters were beginning to believe that we were witnessing another one of those wonderful Warriors comebacks. Richmond had dominated the early exchanges, but they could not shake us off. Every time they pushed forward, we answered. Every time they appeared to be getting control, we found another gear.
And then Alfie Garside took over.
On 62 minutes he crossed for his second try of the afternoon to put the Warriors ahead for the first time, 19:26. Six minutes later he was over again, completing his hat-trick and stretching our advantage to 19:33.
The transformation was remarkable.
For much of the first half we had been chasing Richmond. Now Richmond were chasing us.
The Warriors were playing with increasing confidence, the support from the stands was getting louder and Garside was becoming one of the central figures in an afternoon that had suddenly turned completely in our favour. His first try had given us hope; his second had put us in front; his third had given us breathing space.
But there was still plenty of drama to come.
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THE WILD WEST
With eighteen minutes remaining, Juan Gonzalez went over to make it 19:38. It was more than another Warriors try. It was the bonus point.
After the way the afternoon had begun, there was a huge sense of satisfaction among the travelling support. We had watched our side go two scores down inside the opening seventeen minutes and somehow fight its way back, and now we had reached the point where five points from the afternoon looked firmly within our grasp.
But this was the RAG, and Richmond were not finished.
Four minutes later Coyle crossed for the home side to make it 26:38.
The try bonus point that we had just secured was suddenly gone.
And so the Warriors were faced with one final challenge.
The game was entering its closing stages. Richmond were still fighting. We had the four points in the bag, but the fifth point had slipped away. The sensible thing would have been to close the game down, control possession and make absolutely certain that we left south-west London with the victory.
But sensible was not really the mood of the afternoon.
What happened next is the sort of thing that makes following the Warriors so exhilarating—and probably shaves a few years off our lives at the same time.
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THIRTY SECONDS OF PURE
WARRIORS MADNESS
Richmond were attacking and had driven deep into our territory, eventually reaching a position just five metres from the Warriors' try line. Suddenly it was us defending desperately, trying to hold on to the victory while Richmond searched for another score. Then came the breakdown. The Warriors won the penalty and, with the clock almost gone, we had a decision to make.
Most of us would probably have been thinking the same thing: take the penalty, slow things down, get the ball safe and get the game finished.
Siva Naulago clearly wasn't.
He saw the opportunity, took the quick tap and off he went. Suddenly, instead of Richmond attacking our line, the Warriors were running the other way. It was madness, wonderful, glorious madness, but there was a reason for it. We had secured the bonus point once already and Richmond had taken it away.
We wanted it back.
And so we attacked.
The ball moved quickly through the hands as the Warriors began to make ground from deep inside their own territory. Richmond were scrambling back, but we were coming at them with pace. Support runners were appearing everywhere and, remarkably, players who had already given everything for eighty minutes were still finding another gear.
There was no thought of shutting the game down.
No thought of settling for four points.
This was attack, attack and attack again.
The Warriors pushed deeper into Richmond territory, moving the ball with delicious speed, running hard and supporting one another. The Richmond defence was being stretched and, as the attack developed, the travelling Warriors supporters could see what was happening.
There was a chance.
A real chance.
Then came the breakdown.
And there, supporting the play, was the incredibly fit
Austin Wallis.
Wallis reached down and picked up the ball. In one movement he stepped to his left, accelerated away and suddenly he was through. Richmond threw one last despairing tackle towards him, but Wallis had the pace and the strength to escape it.
And then he was over.
TRY WARRIORS!
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Austin Wallis.
Richmond 26:45 Warriors.
For a moment, there was almost disbelief.
Then the travelling support erupted.
And I mean erupted.
The huge Warriors following that had made the journey down to the RAG had been through the whole emotional rollercoaster with the team. We had watched Richmond dominate the opening thirty minutes, celebrated the fightback, roared as Garside completed his hat-trick, cheered Gonzalez's bonus-point try, groaned when Coyle took it away and then held our breath as the Warriors somehow turned defence into one final attack.
Now Wallis was strolling over the line.
The roar that followed was an absolute avalanche.
It swept around the Richmond Athletic Ground and simply refused to die. For several glorious minutes the travelling Warriors support celebrated together, players and supporters united in that wonderful moment when you know you have just witnessed something rather special.
The final whistle came, but for the Warriors supporters the game didn't really end there.
The roar continued.
Because we hadn't simply won.
We had somehow found a way to win five points when, thirty seconds earlier, it looked as though we would have to settle for four.
From a penalty five metres from our own line, Siva Naulago had taken the quick tap. The Warriors had attacked the length of the pitch, Austin Wallis had produced the finish and the travelling support had exploded in celebration.
What a way to finish.
What a way to win.
And what a way for the Warriors to announce that this
Championship defence is going to be one hell of a ride. |
WHAT A WAY TO WIN FIVE POINTS
Looking back over the whole afternoon, it is difficult not to admire the character this Warriors team showed. For thirty minutes Richmond looked capable of causing us serious problems. They played with energy, confidence and attacking intent, while we struggled to impose ourselves on the game.
But the important thing was that we never panicked.
The response started with Garside's first try, continued with Lane's equaliser just before half-time and then gathered momentum after the interval. Even when Richmond moved back in front, the Warriors simply kept coming. Chapman brought us level, Garside took control of the scoreboard and Gonzalez appeared to have sealed the bonus point.
Then Richmond took it away.
So what did we do?
We went after it again.
That final passage of play tells us something about this team. With the game effectively won, there was still a hunger to attack. There was still a willingness to take a risk. And there were still players prepared to run the length of the pitch in search of one more score.
It was not the easiest afternoon the Warriors will face this season.
But it may prove to be one of the most valuable.
Because winning when everything is going your way is one thing.
Winning when you have to fight your way back
from adversity is something else entirely. |
ALFIE GARSIDE — WHAT AN AFTERNOON
There is no getting away from the contribution of Alfie Garside.
His first try came at a time when the Warriors desperately needed something to change the mood of the afternoon. His second put us ahead for the first time and his third gave the Warriors the breathing space that Richmond had spent so long denying us.
Three tries in one afternoon.
A hat-trick on our first away day of the Championship campaign.
But perhaps the most encouraging thing was the way he grew into the game alongside the team. As the Warriors found their rhythm, Garside became increasingly influential, and by the time he completed his hat-trick, the momentum had swung dramatically in our favour.
It was some afternoon for the young Warrior.
And there is a growing feeling that we may be watching another very important piece of this Warriors side developing before our eyes. |
THREE FROM THREE
Three games.
Three victories.
Three very different performances.
Against Bedford we saw power, patience and defensive resilience. Against Rotherham we saw attacking brilliance and a ruthless Warriors side that simply overwhelmed the Titans at Sixways. At Richmond we saw something different again—the ability to recover from a poor start, absorb pressure, remain patient and ultimately turn a difficult afternoon into a five-point victory.
That may be the most encouraging part of all.
Championship seasons are not won by playing brilliantly every week. They are won by finding different ways to win, particularly on the afternoons when things do not go according to plan.
At the RAG, things certainly did not go according to plan.
But by the time Austin Wallis crossed the line, we had discovered another way to win.
Three games.
Three wins.
And five precious points from an afternoon
that, for a long time, looked anything
but comfortable. |
NEXT STOP — NOTTINGHAM
Now we come home.
Nottingham are next at Sixways, and after three victories to begin the Championship campaign, the Warriors will return to Fortress Sixways knowing that the supporters will be ready to welcome them home.
There is still a long way to go. There will be tougher afternoons, bigger challenges and moments when the pressure really starts to build. But this squad has already shown that it possesses the ingredients needed for a serious Championship campaign.
And that means it is time for us to play our part.
When the Warriors run out at Sixways, let's make sure they know exactly what it means to have Worcester behind them. Let the stands shake, let the songs ring around the stadium and let every visiting side understand that they have walked into the Fortress.
We have waited a long time to see our Warriors back where they belong.
Now we have a team capable of giving us something to shout about.
So let's make it loud.
Let's make it proud.
And let's make Sixways the place nobody wants to come.
COME ON YOU WARRIORS! |
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