15 for 10: Worcester Warriors - an all-decade XV
With 2020 now having arrived, here is the final part of the Rugby Pass 15 for 10 series – a look at Worcester Warriors.
The club have faced a tough decade, not only on the pitch where they have been relegated in an annual battle at the bottom of the Gallagher Premiership but also in terms of retaining their players as a number of ‘bigger’ clubs have swooped for some of Worcester’s best talents. Thankfully, that seems as if it is a trend in reverse now.
A strong 2019/20 campaign is helping the club end the decade on a high and the core of a more competitive squad is being formed. We look back at some of the players that have helped the Warriors get to that position in the Premiership.
- Chris Pennell
One of the club’s most dedicated servants, Pennell has been with Worcester since 2007 and is closing in on 250 appearances for his hometown team. His consistency for and loyalty to Worcester should be celebrated, especially as a move to a team at the other end of the table could well have seen him feature more regularly for England.
- Bryce Heem
Both Miles Benjamin and Marcel Garvey had longer and more influential stints at the club during the 2000s, although their impact in this decade was limited by early departures. Heem, on the other hand, played a Christian Wade-like role for Worcester and even when they were outmanned, he was a constant threat to score, or at least make something happen, from anywhere on the pitch.
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- Alex Grove
Wynand Olivier made his presence felt later in the decade, although it’s tough to leave out as committed a performer for the club as Grove. The Scottish international, like Pennell, was another to stick with the club through tough times and was unlucky not to win more than the three Scotland caps he did.
- Ryan Mills
What a signing Mills has been for Worcester. Injuries disrupted his early years at Gloucester but since making the move to Sixways he has been arguably one of the standout players in the Premiership over that period. His name is frequently brought up in England conversation, particularly when the topic turns to move Owen Farrell to ten and trying to fill the vacant spot at inside centre.
- Josh Adams
Mentions for Tom Biggs and Sam Smith, though Adams’ impact at Worcester was significant. Alongside Heem, the Welshman formed a clinical pairing on the wing and the duo frequently kept Worcester in games that they would otherwise have been left behind in. Many of the losing and try bonus points that kept Worcester safe in recent years came down to Adams and Heem.
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- Duncan Weir
One of the big differences between those seasons when the club were battling against relegation and this one where they have pushed up the table has been the stabilising presence of Weir. The Scottish fly-half has come in and improved Worcester’s tactical play and game management, as well as proving conducive to their more ambitious moments with the ball in hand.
- Francois Hougaard
A special mention for Jonny Arr for his years of service to the club, but Hougaard is one of the more influential players in the entire Premiership and his arrival from the Bulls in 2016 was a real coup. His vision for space and acceleration around the fringes is usually good for two or three breaks a game, while he is also able to alleviate pressure with an effective kicking game.
- Val Rapava-Ruskin
The Tbilisi native just sees off the final few years of Matt Mullan’s stint at the club, as Rapava-Ruskin began to earn England chatter during his time at Sixways despite the club’s frequently precarious league position. Injuries have prevented him from having quite the same impact so far at Gloucester and the loosehead’s best seasons to date came at Worcester.
- Agustin Creevy
USA international Joe Taufete’e and Aleki Lutui both have valid claims, though Creevy just edges ahead of them, with his willingness to stay with the club in the Greene King IPA Championship particularly noteworthy. The Argentine captain proclaimed himself as one of the best players at his position in the world when he left Worcester to return home to play for the Jaguares.
- Nick Schonert
Another player to have warranted significant England conversations while he has been at Worcester, Schonert has been a stabilising force in the Warriors’ set-piece over the past five years. Having already qualified for England, his status as an EQP only adds to his value at Worcester as the club have lost a number of their homegrown academy products over the past decade.
- Craig Gillies
One of the few players to have made more appearances for Worcester than Pennell, Gillies’ time at Worcester came to an end in 2013 and although the majority of his time at the club came in the previous decade, he still provided the club with plenty of positives from 2010 to 2013.
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- Donncha O’Callaghan
A number of other locks deserve mention, including Will Spencer, James Percival and Darren Barry, although O’Callaghan is another who can be grouped in with Heem, Adams and Hougaard as having been influential in keeping Worcester in the Premiership. The veteran Irishman provided much-needed leadership in the pack and the fresh environment seemed to turn back the clock and provide him with a new lease of life.
- Mike Williams
Mentions for Marco Mama and Neil Best, but perhaps no player reached the heights during this decade that Williams did. It ultimately earned him lucrative moves to Leicester Tigers and Bath. He was at his most impactful during his time at Worcester, though, where his powerful ball-carrying and tackling proved decisive plenty of times.
- Matt Kvesic
One of the harder calls in this XV, Sam Lewis has run Kvesic all the way and you could make valid claims for either player. Kvesic left for Gloucester in order to further his claims for an England jersey and although that move didn’t work out quite as well as he would have liked, it does not diminish the breakdown influence he was able to wield at Sixways, with fans up and down the country proclaiming him as Neil Back’s true successor at openside.
- Gerrit-Jan van Velze
With Leonardo Senatore, Phil Dowson and Kai Horstmann, Worcester have not lacked for influential No8s, but van Velze’s impact largely goes under the radar. The South African has been a stabilising presence for Warriors at the base of the scrum and while he may not be as dynamic as the likes of Billy Vunipola or Zach Mercer, his consistency cannot be questioned.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Will rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
2 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
2 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
3 Go to comments