Lucky 13 for Warriors as Chiefs are denied bonus

WORCESTER beat Exeter for the first time since 2004 to keep their AngloWelsh Cup hopes alive.

After 12 successive defeats at the hands of the Chiefs, Warriors struck lucky but they made hard work of subduing a much inferior side on paper.

Worcester began with ten players who started their last Premiership fixture, but they gave Exeter a 14-point start before their pack gained the upper hand to see them over the line.

Worcester’s backs coach, Sam Vesty, said: “We gave away some soft tries and nearly gave the game away but even with an under-strength side, they are an efficient unit who grind you down.

“We created a lot of opportunities and our execution was much better in the second half.”

Worcester always had the more influential players with David Denton and Matt Cox at the forefront of a committed pack, with Francois Hougaard, Dean Hammond and Josh Adams having far more creativity than anything Exeter possessed – but Chiefs competed throughout.

They went ahead after Worcester lost possession on half-way for Tom O’ Flaherty to break away. The wing was hauled down by an excellent tackle from Cox but the ball was recycled for Tom Lawday to score.

Chiefs extended their lead when, from a line-out on the Worcester 22, weak tackling from Warriors and clever play from Joe Simmonds saw Harry Strong force his way over.

Worcester rallied to score two tries in quick succession. First a welljudged cross-kick from Jamie Shillcock was collected by Hammond, who sent Adams over.

Then Worcester capialised on Ollie Atkins being sin-binned for offside at a driving maul with strong runs from Hammond and Cox which set up a try for Denton.

After the restart, Atkins returned before Warriors took the lead for the first time when Tom Howe raced over.

Exeter responded when Shaun Malton brushed away a weak tackle to score but Warriors sealed victory with two late tries.

A Denton burst set up a second for Adams, then Wilhem Van Der Sluys was yellow carded for a high tackle before Luke Baldwin darted over in the final minute.

Exeter coach, Ricky Pellow said: “We pushed a very strong side to the wire and are frustrated we lost a crucial bonus point at the death.”