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Worcester Warriors have done all they can to top the tightest of tight Pools - and that is all they can continue to do against Spanish newcomers Bizkaia Gernika RT at Sixways. - 17/01/2013 20:00
Worcester Warriors have done all they can to top the tightest of tight Pools – and that is all they can continue to do against Spanish newcomers Bizkaia Gernika RT at Sixways.
The group was always likely to feature the showdowns between the Warriors and Perpignan.
And, true to form, those contests ended with home advantage in each case and each club taking a losing point from their match on the road.
So that was five match points each but Perpigan took the honours 3-1 in the try count between them to have the group honours in their hands.
Max Stelling got a try hat-trick after coming off the bench in Spain as the Warriors ran in 13 tries in a 85-5 romp.
Match Facts
- Joe Carlisle’s haul of 50 points from his two appearances puts him in second spot in the top points scorers list in the Amlin Challenge Cup this season.
- Andy Short is one of two players to have crossed for six tries in the competition this season.
- Worcester are the leading try-scorers in the Amlin Challenge Cup this season, notching up 40 in their opening five games.
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Bizkaia have conceded 225 points in their three games against Perpignan and Worcester this season, however they did beat Rovigo in their other two Amlin Challenge Cup fixtures.
Worcester Warriors went into their final group match at Sixways Stadium against Bizkaia Gernika RT knowing they could not qualify for the quarter-finals - but Richard Hill's side still produced the goods with a 71-19 victory that saw them go out with their heads held high. - 19/01/2013 17:02
Worcester Warriors went into their final group match at Sixways Stadium against Bizkaia Gernika RT knowing they could not qualify for the quarter-finals – but Richard Hill’s side still produced the goods with a 71-19 victory that saw them go out with their heads held high.
Perpignan’s maximum points win against Rovigo on Thursday night meant they could not be caught as pool winners and were home and dry as quarter-finalists.
The Warriors ended up matching them on 25 points but Perpignan went through courtesy of their superior 3-1 try count in their head-to-head contests with the Premiership club.
It left the Warriors with only pride to play for and they certainly came up with that in abundance, not to mention 11 tries.
They had beaten the Spanish newcomers 85-5 in Round 1 and again they ran out comfortable winners with another glut of tries.
Once wing Josh Drauniniu got the scoreboard ticking over – and he finished as he had started with his second at the death – there was simply no stopping a rampant Warriors side, with Jake Abbott clinching the bonus point after just 27 minutes following tries from Ernie Classens and Nikki Walker.
Both Classens and Walker went on to collect second tries as the Warriors turned around 38-16 in front, wing Santi Salis getting a deserved try for the visitors.
Danny Gray – who ended up with 21 points overall – Blair Cowan, Aleki Futui and Ben Howard added further tries as the Warriors signed off in style.
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