Worcester head coach Richard Hill admitted that he feared the worst during the first half of his side's 16-11 victory over Saracens.
Warriors boss admits first-half fears against Sarries
Worcester head coach Richard Hill admitted that he feared the worst during the first half of his side's 16-11 victory over Saracens at Sixways.
The defending Aviva Premiership champions put the Warriors under intense pressure in the first half, but only managed to muster eight points during the prolonged spell.
The hosts' defence had looked sure to crack but Worcester held on and grew in confidence thereafter, ultimately managing to secure an unlikely victory.
"The Saracens were scintillating in that first half hour. I was sitting on the bench thinking to myself, this is going to be a long night," Hill said.
"We were just hanging on in there and they should have scored a couple of tries."
A penalty from Andy Goode and a converted try from Alex Grove just before the interval saw Worcester enjoy a 10-8 half-time lead, and Good added six more points after the break.
Hill added: "That (Grove's) try was massive as it gave us the impetus we needed just before half-time.
"We knew they could run out of steam as they had a much quicker turnaround than we did (Worcester played last Friday whilst Saracens played last Sunday).
Attitude
"In the second half they kicked the ball a lot more and played into our hands."
Hill added: "Our attitude is now much better. Earlier in the season we didn't have a tough enough mental attitude as we gave away home games against Wasps and Harlequins but that's not the case now.
"This win was massive as we can now stop looking over our shoulder at what's below us in the table and we can concentrate on moving up."
Saracens director of rugby
Mark McCall was left to rue a defeat that could be costly in the race for top spot in the league at the end of the regular season.
"We played brilliantly for 30 minutes but we missed a couple of opportunities. After that initial half-hour we lost the penalty count 12-1, which is incredible," he said.
"We are unbelievably disappointed but we have to be more disciplined and more composed."
Saracens have now lost their last two games and face a difficult match against Northampton next Sunday.
McCall added: "We have six games in the regular season to play. We want to get into the top two so as to ensure that we have a home semi-final."
