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Worcester Warriors and Perpignan are both 10 out of 10 - but something will have to give at Sixways Stadium on Thursday night when they go head-to-head in a massive Pool 2 contest. - 05/12/2012 07:00
Worcester Warriors and Perpignan have provided the most competitive rugby of this season’s tournament – but the Warriors now need some outside assistance if they are to qualify as the group winners.
The clubs are level on 15 points apiece and if two teams in the same Pool finish on the same number of match points then group honours will initially be decided by the ones who have earned the most number of match points from the head-to-head matches.
Worcester and Perpignan have earned five points each from those contests and if they still cannot be separated then the club who has scored the most tries in the two matches go top – and Perpignan are ahead 3-1 on that score.
“We have just got to look after ourselves in our two remaining games, make sure we get the bonus point and do all we can do to get the maximum 10 points and see where we end up,” said Warriors' head coach Richard Hill ahead of their Round 5 contest at Rovigo.
“We are going to have to hope that Bizkaia Gernika or Rovigo play well enough against Perpignan to deny them a try bonus point but it's not in our hands now. If Perpignan beat the other teams with a try bonus point then they will go through.
Match Facts
- Rovigo have lost 26 matches in a row since they last celebrated a victory in Europe, that came against French side Dax in October 2008.
- Worcester Warriors inflicted Rovigo’s heaviest European defeat earlier this season with a 90-3 defeat of the Italians. It was also Worcester’s record European victory.
- Worcester have won seven of their last nine Amlin Challenge Cup ties, averaging 43 points scored per game.
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Worcester’s Joe Carlisle is the tournament’s top points scorer with 50 in his two appearances to date.
Pour sa dernière rencontre européenne de la saison
Worcester Warriors kept themselves in the race for an Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-final place with this bonus-point victory over Italian part-timers Rovigo at the Stadio Mario Battaglini.
The Aviva Premiership outfit’s battle with fellow Pool 2 rivals Perpignan for a last-eight place is now set to go right down to the final game of this compelling group.
The Warriors crossed for 12 tries with wing Josh Drauniniu scoring three times, while fellow wing Nikki Walker, No8 Blair Cowan and centre Max Stelling claimed a brace of tries each.
Scotland international Walker started the ball rolling for the Warriors with his side’s first try inside quarter of an hour to give the visitors a lead they would never surrender in Italy.
Warriors fly-half Danny Gray landed his first conversion and it was not long before the English outfit crossed for their second try by Cowan and third by Drauniniu to make it 19-0 midway through the first half.
Drauniniu bagged his second try before Rovigo hit back with two quick tries by lock Jean-Francois Montauriol and centre Francesco Menon to make it 26-16 to Worcester at the break.
After half-time, flanker Jake Abbott crossed for the Warriors’ fifth try before centres Andy Short and Stelling gave the visitors a 47-17 lead halfway through the second period.
Drauniniu completed his hat-trick in the dying seconds after Stelling, Cowan and Walker had all added their second tries, with replacement flanker Neil Best also getting in on the act to seal an emphatic victory for the Warriors.
Richard Hill’s men fell just short of their record 90-3 victory over Rovigo but the result meant their opponents have now suffered 27 consecutive defeats in European rugby since their last victory over French side Dax in 2008.
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