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Luke Baldwin hopes Worcester can tee up a strong end to the season by finishing their European Rugby Challenge Cup Pool 4 campaign with a win over La Rochelle. - 19/01/2016 16:23
Luke Baldwin hopes Worcester can tee up a strong end to the season by finishing their European Rugby Challenge Cup Pool 4 campaign with a win over La Rochelle.
The Warriors and their French opponents are both out of contention for a place in the quarter-finals of the competition after suffering defeats to Zebre and Gloucester respectively last weekend.
But scrum-half Baldwin, who made a try scoring return from five months on the sidelines through injury, hopes taking the spoils in the battle to avoid finishing bottom of the standings will give Dean Ryan’s men some momentum to take back into domestic action.
“I am really pleased to be fit again and out there on the pitch playing with the lads,” he said. “It was great to be back out at Sixways playing in front of the home crowd but it was very disappointing that we couldn’t get the job done and that our hopes are over.
“It is simple for us going forward, our discipline needs to improve. There were times we ran the ball when we should have kicked it and vice versa. At the breakdown we gave away far too many penalties and they were able to capitalise on that and we need to learn from that.
“The competition has been used to give guys a chance to impress and it has been really good and it has exposed some younger lads to top level rugby. We could have had more clarity in our processes but we want to use this game against La Rochelle as a chance to build some momentum for the final spell of the season.
“Any French team are tough at home, they are tough at home but it is a chance for us to show what we can do and try and get that victory.”
Match Facts
- La Rochelle haven’t hosted an English team in the Challenge Cup and won since October 2000 losing all four at home to English teams since then.
- After a home win against Zebre in Round 3 La Rochelle can record consecutive home wins in the competition for the first time since October 2001.
- Worcester Warriors are without victory in their last five Challenge Cup matches away from home (D1, L4) failing to break into double-figures on three of those occasions.
- Worcester Warriors have won their last two matches against French teams in the Challenge Cup; a third win would equal their longest winning streak against sides from France in the tournament.
Plus concernés par la qualification en phase finale d'European Rugby Challenge Cup
La Rochelle leapfrogged Worcester Warriors to ensure they didn’t finish at the bottom of Pool 4 as they piled on the points in the second half to win their second game of their European campaign 35-11.
The game was very tight throughout the first half and, even though the visitors built up a six point lead thanks to two Andy Symons penalties in the first 10 minutes, there was a similar response from La Rochelle in the third 10 minute period from the boot of Zach Holmes.
The Warriors, who had Munster legend Donncha O’Callaghan making his 100th appearance in European tournaments in their second row, then lost Carl Kirwan to a yellow card on the stroke of half-time. The scores may have been level at 6-6 going into the second period, but the pressure mounted from the Top 14 outfit and the numerical advantage began to tell.
Julien Audy landed a third home penalty and then the first try of the game came just before Kirwan returned. It was scored by Romana Graham and, even though Audy missed the conversion, he was bang on target three minutes later when Julien Lapeyre scampered over.
Those 15 points in 12 minutes at the start of the second half completed titled the game in favour of the French side, although Luke Baldwin’s try for the Warriors a minute after La Rochelle lost Thomas Synaeghel to the sin-bin.
That cut the gap to 10 points, but two tries in the final 10 minutes from Kini Murimurivalu and Jone Qovu Nailiko, both converted by Jean-Pascal Barraque, earned La Rochelle the bonus point victory.
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