Worcester edge dour battle
Worcester claimed their second Guinness Premiership win in a row with a 26-11 success over Newcastle at Sixways.
Last Updated: 21/11/08 10:37pm
Worcester claimed their second Guinness Premiership win in a row with a 26-11 success over Newcastle at Sixways.
The game was not the greatest advert for English rugby's top flight - it was an error-ridden affair that did not come to life until the final 10 minutes.
Worcester were fortunate to lead 9-3 at half-time - all the points coming from penalties - but did improve after the interval.
Former Australia international Chris Latham was the outstanding player on show, combining lengthy touch-finding kicks with some creative running.
Newcastle ended up well beaten, but it could have been a different story had Rory Clegg enjoyed a better day with his place kicking.
Wasteful
Fly-half Clegg missed an early 35-metre penalty attempt after Latham had failed to collect an excellent up and under.
The home full-back soon made amends for his error, taking a pass from Matthew Jones at a beautiful angle to run deep into the Newcastle 22 where the visitors offended and Matthew Jones kicked a simple penalty for a 3-0 lead.
Chris Pennell doubled Worcester's score with a beautifully-struck penalty from halfway before Clegg responded with a three pointer of his own to make it 6-3.
Worcester then lost fly-half Jones to injury, replaced by Loki Crichton, with Newcastle, in turn, also seeing Steve Jones leave the field with a leg problem.
Crichton made his mark four minutes before half-time with an easy penalty and Worcester began the second half in style, scoring the first try within two minutes of the restart.
Healthy lead
Alex Lutui was heavily involved in a couple of drives before the ball was spun wide for Latham to force his way over in the corner, Crichton added the touchline conversion.
Clegg missed a penalty but then struck one from halfway to keep Newcastle in touch but, going into the final quarter, Crichton slotted another penalty to give Worcester a healthy 19-6 lead.
With 14 minutes to go Worcester were penalised for collapsing a scrum but Clegg missed badly from only 25 metres.
Worcester lost Latham with a minor leg injury but, as he was receiving attention, Crichton cleverly chipped over the top for Sam Tuitupou to collect and score under the posts.
Crichton converted but with the last movement of the match Danny Williams battled over for a late score for the visitors.
