Mike Ruddock was relieved to see Worcester win their way past Brive on Saturday.
Worcester coach turns his attentions to Euro Challenge Cup semi
Worcester coach Mike Ruddock was relieved to see his side win their way past Brive in the European Challenge Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.
Tries from Marcel Garvey (two), Pat Sanderson and Alex Grove took the Warriors to a 29-18 victory against the French at Sixways Stadium.
But it was not until Garvey's late second converted try that safe passage was secured and Ruddock admits it was nervy afternoon.
"It was a great game to watch but it was a nerve-jangling for the coaches," said Ruddock.
"It was a great start from us but with two tries for Brive - one before half-time and one just after - the initiative was back with them and I was concerned.
"But we tackled hard and a bit of brilliance from Marcel got us home.
"Brive are a very good team, they're very consistent and it was a great scalp for us."
Prospects
Worcester next travel to Bourgoin for the semi-final in three weeks' time, having met in the group stages with Worcester losing 29-14 away before going on to win 27-6 at home.
Asked about his side's chances, Ruddock said: "It's a very intimidating place to go. They are very skilful around eight, nine and ten as you saw against London Irish the other night.
"We lost out there in the group match but we were very depleted going there with lots of youngsters who had to front up.
"We hope to be stronger this time though due to injuries we are lacking impact players from the bench."
Brive coach Christophe Laussusq found defeat difficult to accept, meanwhile, as Ronnie Cooke's double went unrewarded.
"Worcester never dominated us," he said. "It's a strange feeling. We can't believe we haven't won the game.
"You can't give away so many points and expect to win. The first try there was an easy turnover, the second we missed two or three tackles and when we got back into it there was a total lack of concentration for the third try."
