Posted 14 January 2007 - 16:37 PM
Voici le resume trouve sur le site de worcester. c'est un peu plus precis et ca correspond a notre impression
Juste aussi pour dire que j'ai ete bien accueilli la bas.
Warriors weren’t short on endeavour or character, but they were left to rue three first-half turnover tries that, ultimately, sealed their fate as ERC Challenge Cup favourites Clermont ran out 22-35 winners at a windy Sixways.
John Brain’s men answered with their own brand of power and pace to claw their way back into this crucial game between the top two in Pool 5, but they couldn’t capitalise on a period either side of the break after they’d pulverised the French into two sin-binnings.
In short, when Warriors clicked, they looked very good. But, when Clermont turned it up a notch, they had the speed and flair to threaten at will – the best side to visit Sixways this year, according to the director of rugby.
Warriors had the first chance to probe the Clermont defence in the opening phase, but Gary Trueman knocked Ryan Powell’s pass on and the visitors didn’t relinquish possession until Worcester went in at the side of a ruck, and Aussie fly-half Brock James – the kicking discovery of the French league this season – casually despatched the second-minute penalty from in front of the posts.
Within two minutes, though, Shane Drahm had levelled after Number 8 Elvis Vermuelen caught the restart knock-on from an offside position, an early indication – and not the last – of the effect the strong wind blowing across Sixways would have on the match.
Warriors weren’t allowed to find their stride before Clermont put the first try on the board. Winger Julien Malzieu waltzed through the home defence to touch down behind the posts with alarming ease after Trueman had been stripped of the ball in the tackle. James converted to make it 3-10 and the home side’s vulnerability to the fast feet of the mercurial solo runner had rung alarm bells.
Worse was to come, however. Within three minutes, Martin Scelzo crossed for Clermont’s second try after another turnover and a thunderous 10-man charge along the right touchline that Warriors simply couldn’t stop. James failed to add to the 3-15 score, but it was absolutely apparent what kind of a challenge Warriors faced in their mission to extend this year’s ERC campaign.
To the delight of the crowd, and to their credit, they replied in sparkling fashion. Marcel Garvey caught a high kick just outside his 22 after James had been hurried into a clearance. The winger’s break ripped the Clermont defence to tatters, Drahm was on his shoulder to collect the inside pass, and he unselfishly moved it on to Drew Hickey for the 16try, then converted to make it 10-15. It was a stand-out moment in a stop-start season for the 23-year-old and served as a reminder of what he can deliver, given the opportunity and the confidence to exploit it.
With Will Bowley on for Tim Collier – nursing a hand that had stopped a stamping foot – and the injured Trueman replaced by Simon Whatling after an eye injury, Worcester needed to consolidate. Instead, the visitors showed why they lie second in the Top 14.
First Brock James notched his second penalty to make it 10-18 after a ruck infringement, then – two minutes later – they moved the ball with lightning speed from right to left, looking for the moment to unbutton the home defence. Few have the speed to beat Thinus Delport round the outside, but Malzieu’s raw pace kept him tantalisingly beyond the winger’s reach on the left touchline, and full-back Anthony Floch was on hand to score in the corner. James’ already relentless afternoon with the boot continued, and Worcester suddenly had a mountain to climb at 10-25.
They set about the task with character, spreading the ball fast and wide whenever possible, and Garvey came within a whisker of replying on 24 minutes, but the wind dragged Drahm’s pass behind the winger and Clermont were reprieved.
Undeterred by the visitors’ next phase of possession and territory, and tighter in defence than during that worrying first 20-minute onslaught, Pat Sanderson drove his men forward. Delport narrowly lost the foot race to touch down Drahm’s grubber before the full-back chose to send his penalty kick into touch for a catch-and drive deep in enemy territory. Fresh to the battle, though, Bowley failed to take Chris Fortey’s throw cleanly, and Clermont were able to clear their lines, to the frustration of the majority of the 5,848 crowd who knew that scoring chances carved out against such a potent side simply had to be taken.
But, from the downfield kick, another probing Garvey run carried Warriors forward once more. They recycled and recycled, and Clermont infringed and infringed until referee Andrew Macpherson had seen enough and binned Michel Dieude in the 36th minute for putting his hands in at the ruck.
From the resulting catch-and-drive, Worcester cranked up the pressure and it came as little extra surprise when lock Thibaut Privat followed the openside flanker to the sidelines for the same reason, two minutes later. Warriors weren’t about to loosen their grip and, when scrum-half Pierre Mignoni strayed offside at the following scrum, the inevitable penalty try was awarded. Drahm converted to cut the French side’s lead to 17-25 at the break.
They started the second half in the same vein, this time with Aleki Lutui on at hooker to add fresh legs to the forward battle and looking to score again before Clermont returned to 15 men. They pressed Clermont back in their own 22 for the opening 10 minutes, drawing scrum free-kicks from the opposition seemingly at will, and spreading the play wide whenever the ball was quick and clean enough.
Delport misread a play and brought a move between James Brown and Drahm to a halt, but they simply gathered themselves, regained possession and almost set Garvey free, but the little winger – Warriors’ man of the match – was nudged into touch, 10m short.
When they did hold the ball long enough to move systematically upfield, the visitors were spontaneous and threatening, and Warriors were grateful for Delport’s attentiveness when Marsh broke the line and kicked ahead, the Springbok dropping on the ball and feeding back from the ruck for Drahm to clear.
It wasn’t long, however, before Clermont had extended the lead. Another rumbling drive took them to the 5m line. They were repelled, but not to Mr Macpherson’s liking, and James added his third penalty for a 17-28 lead on 54 minutes.
The arrival of Gavin Quinnell for the non-stop Kai Horstmann, three minutes before, had been greeted with a cheer of expectation. The 23-year-old two-try hero of October’s meeting in France was quickly into action, but was unable to make much of his first short, straight run before another
French breakout catapulted play to the shadow of Worcester’s posts.
Worcester found it hard to discover an attacking rhythm for the next few minutes, as Clermont went in search of a bonus-point try. Their cause was dealt a big blow when Pat Sanderson was binned for going over the top of a ruck on 68 minutes, and they went down to 13 men when Mr Macpherson’s patience ran thinner still, and scrum-half Ryan Powell followed his captain for handling in the ruck a minute later.
Five metres from the line, and facing a threadbare defence, the result was inevitable and prop Brice Miguel wasted little time in bulldozing the visitors’ fourth try. James’ conversion kick rattled the swaying left post and bounced over to put the game beyond Warriors’ reach at 17-35 with little over five minutes remaining.
James Brown took over Powell’s scrum-half duties and moved his side downfield in a final bid to close the gap, and their reward for a characterful display came on the stroke of the final whistle. Delport’s kick ahead of a loose ball was blocked, but the winger’s chase paid off and his own rebound launched Warriors down the right flank. The final hack rolled agonisingly into touch, five metres short, but Worcester stole the lineout and drove for the line. Inevitably, it was Gavin Quinnell whose arms emerged from the pile and stretched out to score Warriors’ third try. Drahm’s drop-kick missed and his side’s ERC Challenge Cup was effectively over for another year.
“They punished us in clinical fashion when we turned over the ball,” John Brain admitted afterwards. “That gave them three tries in the first half.
“They’re certainly the best team we’ve played, bar none. That’s good experience for us. There were quite a few positives, but we can’t afford to turn ball over against that attack. They were lethal.”
Timeline:
2m 0-3 James p
4m 3-3 Drahm p
7m 3-10 Malzieu t, James c
9m 3-15 Scelzo t
15m 10-15 Hickey t, Drahm c
18m 10-18 James p
20m 10-25 Floch t, James c
37m 17-25 Penalty, Drahm c
54m 17-28 James p
69m 17-35 Miguel t, James c
79m 22-35 Quinnell t
Sinbin: Dieude 36; Privat 38; Sanderson 68; Powell 69
Man of the Match: Marcel Garvey
Team: 01 Darren Morris; 02 Chris Fortey (Lutui 41); 03 Tevita Taumoepeau (Black 76); 04 Craig Gillies; 05 Tim Collier (Bowley 15); 06 Drew Hickey; 07 Pat Sanderson (capt) (Harding 78); 08 Kai Horstmann (Quinnell 56); 09 Ryan Powell; 10 James Brown; 11 Marcel Garvey; 12 Gary Trueman (Whatling 16); 13 Mark Tucker; 14 Thinus Delport; 15 Shane Drahm
Replacements: 16 Callum Black; 17 Aleki Lutui; 18 Will Bowley; 19 Gavin Quinnell; 20 Tom Harding; 21 Simon Whatling; 22 Lee Best