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'We had to tell them a few home truths at the interval': Worcester handed half-time serve following 40-nil start
By PA
Worcester head coach Jonathan Thomas was bitterly disappointed with his side’s first-half performance which saw them trail 40-0 before rallying to gain some respectability in a 47-22 defeat by Bath at the Rec.
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Bath took full advantage to win their fifth game in their last six Premiership starts. Will Muir and Tom Dunn each scored two tries, with Zach Mercer, Ben Spencer and Max Clark also on the try-scoring sheet, while Rhys Priestland added five conversions and Orlando Bailey one.
Joe Batley and Perry Humphreys scored two tries for Worcester, with Ethan Waller and Joe Batley also crossing and Fin Smith adding a conversion.
“Our first-half performance wasn’t acceptable and I was really disappointed by it,” said Thomas.
“We picked the players for a reason but you can’t afford to feel yourselves into a Premiership match and we had to tell them a few home truths at the interval.
“We challenged the boys at half-time to try and secure a bonus point so I’m really proud of the boys that they were able to do that.”
Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper was pleased with the expansive game that his side had produced in the first half.
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He said: “We trained hard in the week so we knew we had plenty in the tank and therefore we wanted to move the ball and create space.
“Will Muir scored two excellent tries early on as the ball went wide as we know we have some dangerous backs if we can get them some space.
“It was a different type of game to our win at Newcastle last week as then we produced a successful forward platform. That’s the blend of rugby I think you need to take to win games in the Premiership.”
'Everyone got so carried away with that New Zealand [semi-final] game… Eddie needs to look in the mirror and that’s the only person you’ve got to blame.'https://t.co/bEJ9ozDwcl
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 20, 2021
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Bath were disrupted by injuries to their backs which affected their second-half performance.
Hooper said: “Will (Muir) failed an HIA so he won’t be absent for long but Rhys (Priestland) and Tom (De Glanville) have leg injuries so we will need to have them assessed.
“However I think we should have been able to deal with that better as we need to be able to ride out those bumps and remain in control.
“Over 80 minutes we still have a bit to do in respect of decision making so it will be an interesting review this week.”
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Well done in putting Eddie's stats into perspective Nick. I'd like to see the try/phase stats after discounting tries from rolling mauls and intercepts. Reminds me of the story Rocky Elsom once told about how the Edster figured out that scrums only take up an average of 8 minutes a game. Apparently our Messiah thus concluded that the team should only devote 8 minutes to the scrum at training!
Go to commentsYo Nicholas. The crowd at the Roar told me you'd quit and I'd find your column elsewhere. Great to see you're still on the job. I enjoyed this, and and no wonder I missed you. Over at the other place, on the day before you posted this, I commented on the game against the Reds: "Carter Gordon was another interesting player on the field, although his form wasn’t well showcased in the match, which isn’t to say he didn’t play well, only that he didn’t particularly star. I know virtually nothing about CG, and wonder if I’m seeing a tall thin 10 who holds the ball with both hands and likes to tackle, besides everything else … I dare not say who that reminds me of." I was scared of putting the mocker on him, but now you've said it! Are we seeing the ghost of Bernie? Early days, but he's certainly refreshing.
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