Hat-trick of tries by Heem ensures lift-off for Worcester

Worcester hauled themselves off the foot of the Premiership, at least for 24 hours, with their first win of the season – and a bonus point for good measure – which was set up by a dominant display from their pack against Northampton and sealed by a hat-trick of tries from right wing Bryce Heem.

The 30-15 victory should not come as a surprise because Worcester have been playing well in defeat for some time. But the manner of the win was unexpected as Northampton folded tamely after they lost former England centre Luther Burrell to concussion after only 15 minutes.

The pressure is now on London Irish, who have not won since the opening weekend of the season, but Gold, Worcester’s director of rugby, tried to play down the significance of this victory.

“I’m very, very happy. We have played some pretty good rugby in the lead-up and not got the results we have wanted,” Gold said. “There’s a long way still to go. The big challenge now is not to get too carried away. Humility is probably the order of the day.”

Northampton’s performance which was described as “grim” by their director of rugby Jim Mallinder. Centre Rob Horne received two yellow cards, both for off-the-ball-challenges, the second in the build-up to Heem’s third try.

In the day’s other game, Christian Wade scored twice as Wasps beat Newcastle 40-10.

“I’m really happy, I thought it was a really good performance,” said Wasps director of rugby Dai Young. “To score so many points is only going to help our confidence as a team.”