Agony for Shillcock in final countdown
AN ENTIRELY forgettable 79 minutes of rugby was rounded off by one minute of pure, pulse-racing drama as Worcester came within a whisker of turning an eight-point deficit into victory.
Worcester hadn’t scored a point since the 11th minute of a mistake-ridden contest, but Bryce Heem’s late converted try and – yet another – moment of disciplinary waywardness from Northampton flanker Calum Clark almost saw the Warriors sneak it.
It all came down to the boot of 19-year-old fly-half Jamie Shillcock, who had barely put a foot wrong all evening.
With Clark having been sin-binned for unnecessarily bundling a player into touch following Heem’s touchdown, Shillcock – who had just struck a delicious touchline conversion – had a halfway line penalty to win it.
The kick drifted narrowly wide, Shillcock slumped to the ground in disappointment, and senior players Chris Pennell and Phil Dowson were quick to pull him back on his feet. And rightly so. The versatile teenager should not be disheartened; his was an assured display that will have given injured flyhalves Tom Heathcote and Ryan Lamb plenty to ponder.
Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder admitted it had been a near-farcical ending by his side.
“The game should never have been in doubt,” said Mallinder. “Even if they score a try you need to keep your cool.
“Calum had got a bit of a shoulder charge and there was the disappointment of conceding the try. He shouldn’t have done the push but I think he has apologised and hopefully he has learnt his lesson.
“We are not a struggling side but we are not playing as well as we can. These narrow wins give a bit of confidence, and winning away from home is maspected sively important.
“Defensively we were at sea a couple of times and we’ve got to stop conceding like that.”
Worcester raced into an early 10-3 lead when, after an exchange of penalties, centre Wynand Olivier sniffed a gap in the Saints midfield and released wing Dean Hammond for a converted try.
After that, the game was all about the whistle of referee Greg Macdonald and the boot of Northampton fly-half Stephen Myler.
Myler was on target with six out of seven attempts, as Worcester’s penalty count went stratospheric. The Warriors were penalised 12 times in the first half alone, with Macdonald identifying infringement after infringement at the breakdown.
One ruck penalty too far saw Ryan Mills yellowcarded early in the second half, and Northampton – through a blend of smart kicking and the impressive work-rate of replacement No.8 Ben Nutley – established a stranglehold on the game. Nutley came off the bench early when Sam Dickinson suffered sus- knee ligament damage after just 12 minutes. He left the ground on crutches, and another injury concern for Saints is scrum-half Lee Dickson, who came off following a blow to the ribs.
Heem’s late try prompted a disjointed game to belatedly burst into life, but it wasn’t enough for Worcester, whose unbeaten run at home in the league this season came to an end.
Warriors coach Carl Hogg said: “I’ve got to look back over some of the penalties; I was certainly very quizzical at the time they were given. The referee has his interpretation of the game and we have to learn to adjust.”