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'I'll just give you the facts...': The 20-minute Worcester headache

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)

Last Saturday was surely a Gallagher Premiership head-scratcher for Worcester and their rookie head coach Jonathan Thomas. Reflecting on their results over their last number of seasons, a failing identified was the concession of most of their tries in the closing 20 minutes of matches. It even happened in their new season round one win over London Irish, the Exiles outscoring the Warriors by two tries to one coming down the finishing straight in a game Worcester won 36-24.

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It was a work-on for heading into the round two Premiership trip to champions Harlequins and Worcester nailed it in the sense they outscored the Londoners three tries to one in the closing 21 minutes. The unfortunate problem was that Harlequins were four tries to one to the good by then and comfortably poised in a win they eventually bagged by 35-29 following the late Warriors flourish. 

Thomas, who overhauled his squad in the off-season, has no silver bullet answer when it comes to this phase of the game they have targeted for some serious improvement in 2021/22. The feeling is it’s an issue with numerous aspects to investigate, but its progress in the coming weeks and months is something to watch given that Worcester finished last season at the bottom of the Premiership and had conceded the most tries, 78 in the 19 games they got to play.  

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It was a topic Thomas delved into with RugbyPass the other day prior to travelling to The Stoop – is the solution a simple matter of his squad getting fitter or something else? “It’s always very difficult, fitness is sometimes subjective,” he began.

“I know we have got GPS these days which tells you how fast they run, how far they run, heart rate monitors etc. The facts, I’ll just give you the facts, Worcester over the last few seasons have conceded over the last four years most of their tries in the last 20 minutes, so certainly a spike in tries in the last 20 minutes.

“What that tells you is there is an issue somewhere. I can’t categorically say it is fitness. It could be leadership, could be impact from the bench, it could be confidence but if you are a really fit side it certainly helps you to nail those big moments in the last 20 minutes. One of the challenges for us last year was certainly our training intensity wasn’t where I wanted it to be and our ability to be able to repeat big efforts, whether that is in games or in training, wasn’t always there and that is a conditioning thing.

“But there are different types of conditioning and the game in this competition is about repeating physical efforts and it’s not just about being great at running fitness tests anymore. You have to get off the floor and make a hit and then get back off the floor again and carry the ball, and the big impacts in the games in this league are huge when you play against the teams like Exeter, Leicester etc. That was the real challenge and we have got quite a young squad as well. It’s about setting up those guys to succeed. 

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“It’s not just David (Drake, head of performance), it’s the whole support staff he has got behind him and it’s about the coaches as well and everyone collaborating. The nutritionist, the sport psych. We have just come at it from a whole load of different angles and we are seeing real growth in the team and that is helped by the players we have brought in as well. 

“We are definitely in a better place but let’s not forget we have played one game and have had a seven-week pre-season so for us to be the team that we want to be it is still going to take a little while. Things don’t happen overnight, so we’re on the upward curve.”

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Jon 3 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 6 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

28 Go to comments
T
Trevor 10 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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