Te’o injury takes gloss of hat-trick by Taufete’e

WORCESTER head coach Carl Hogg was delighted with his side’s first win of the season and their bonus point against Brive.

But the Warriors’ Challenge Cup success was soured when star centre Ben Te’o limped off after just two minutes to give England coach Eddie Jones an injury scare.

“I’m delighted for the players, they’ve put in a lot of hard work over the last few months but haven’t had that tangible reward,” said Hogg.

“We can get better, but I think a win will help us kick on and could change our season. Ben got his ankle caught underneath him early on in a tackle and we will have to assess that, but it’s too early to say what the damage is.”

It was a day for the front rows with the Warriors’ four tries coming courtesy of a hat-trick from hooker Joe Taufete’e and an effort from loosehead Ethan Waller.

To their credit Brive scored three tries of their own with full-back Guillaume Namy grabbing a brace and replacement prop Julien Brugnaut adding another.

The game had been built up as the battle of the basement boys with both sides rooted to the bottom of their respective domestic competitions.

It was the visitors who opened the scoring when full-back Namy showed some good footwork to beat three Worcester defenders for the game’s first try.

But the Warriors pack began to get on top with a Taufete’e completing his treble in the 41st minute.

Taufete’e benefitted each time from Worcester’s powerful driving lineout as he pulled his team further clear after they’d gone into the break 17-10 up.

Visiting full-back Namy scored right after the interval to bring Brive back into the game, but Waller’s try sealed Worcester’s success with 15 minutes remaining.

Louis Martin’s yellow card for a professional foul reduced Brive to 14 but to their credit the visitors earned a consolation through prop Brugnaut.

Brive head coach Nicolas Godignon said: “I am a bit depressed by the loss because we came to win.

“We were not able to finish with a competitive team, having five front rows on the field at the end. I was upset by the two tries at the end of the first half because we pride ourselves on our pack.”