Heem aims to honour Adams’ 50th game
BRYCE HEEM insists Worcester can prove their critics wrong by gunning for a top six place.
Warriors travel to Sale today in search of their first win, with only Duncan Weir’s late drop-goal miss denying them victory over Wasps last weekend.
Worcester have been written-off as relegation fodder by most pundits, but powerhouse Kiwi wing Heem believes his side will defy the doom merchants.
He said: “We created a lot more chances than Wasps last week, we just needed to be better at finishing them, but that will come.
“There were a few opportunities missed when we were in the ‘gold zone’ and had mismatches out wide, so we just need more composure to call those. But we’ve got the calibre to do it and this feels like the strongest squad in my time at the club.”
Heem added: “We’ve got a lot of depth that we haven’t had before, with a lot of internationals on the scene. Guys like Francois Venter, Duncan Weir and Ashley Beck are hugely experienced and having Francois Hougaard available is massive for us.
“People can write us off but I don’t take much notice of outside influences.
“Everyone’s got their opinion and they’re entitled to it, but as long as the people within our squad don’t let themselves be affected by it, it doesn’t bother me at all.
“There’s no lack of confidence within our squad and, if anything, those comments fuel a team to try and prove people wrong. We believe we can be a top six team and away games like today are crucial in terms of climbing the ladder towards that.”
Worcester have endured a miserable time at Sale since last winning there in 2008, with a 58-25 thrashing in March still fresh in the memory. Heem said: “The AJ Bell is not an easy place for any team to win and they’re a very physical team with an extremely dangerous back three.
“We know what they’re about but we must focus on ourselves and if we can create as many chances as we did against Wasps, we can win.
“We had good wins on the road at Leicester and Exeter last season so we know we can do it. It’s Josh Adams’ 50th game for Worcester today, a good milestone for him and something the team can get behind to put in a big display.”