Saracens stunned by Worcester
Saracens were condemned to a second straight defeat as Worcester pulled off an improbable 16-11 win at Sixways.
Last Updated: 24/02/12 10:20pm
Defending Aviva Premiership champions Saracens were condemned to a second straight defeat as Worcester pulled off an improbable 16-11 win at Sixways.
Holding an 8-0 lead in the first half, the visitors piled an immense amount of pressure on the Warriors, who were barely able to secure any possession at all.
Incredibly the home side did not concede any further points at that stage and slowly but surely got back into the match.
And with Andy Goode kicking 11 points Worcester eventually managed to secure a tremendous win against the odds.
Worcester made the better start but two poor passes from captain Shaun Perry surrendered the early initiative and Saracens made them pay after nine minutes as they opened the scoring with a superb try.
The visitors won a ruck on the halfway line and swiftly moved the ball, Schalk Brits and Andy Saull showing excellent handling skills to send Michael Tagicakibau away on an unopposed 30-metre run to the line.
Advantage
Alex Goode, making his 100th appearance for the club, missed the conversion but was soon successful with a simple penalty to give Sarries an early eight-point advantage.
Worcester were dealt a further blow when they lost creative full-back Errie Claasens with an injury and continued to struggle to contain their opponents.
Chris Wyles and Saull narrowly failed to score as both were pushed into touch inches short of the try-line with the home defence was run ragged.
Somehow Worcester stemmed the tide and when Hugh Vyvyan was penalised for diving over at a ruck, Andy Goode finally put the Warriors on the scoreboard with a 35-metre penalty after 33 minutes.
Worcester were narrowly denied a try when a brilliantly judged cross-field kick from Andy Goode narrowly escaped the clutches of Miles Benjamin as the wing hared up to collect - but they were not to be denied for long.
With the last movement of the half, a clearance kick from Brits was charged down and, although a subsequent pass from Andy Goode went astray, Alex Grove hacked on the loose ball to collect and score the try which Goode converted to give the Warriors a 10-8 lead at the interval.
Penalties
Saracens regained the lead after 46 minutes when the Warriors offended at a lineout and Alex Goode made no mistake with an angled 35-metre penalty.
Goode's namesake Andy then had his chance for the Warriors but his 45-metre kick, after Brits was penalised, fell just short.
Despite the miss, Worcester were enjoying their best period of the match as their strong forward drives troubled the visitors' defence and they were rewarded when fly-half Goode kicked a straightforward penalty to give his side a 13-11 lead.
Chris Pennell had a chance to extend the advantage but his penalty attempt from halfway lacked the distance.
However, Worcester's all-action game was by now forcing Saracens into frequent errors and Andy Goode rewarded his side with his third penalty.
The stunned visitors launched a final assault and in trying to stem the tide Chris Jones suffered a leg injury and was helped off.
However, some heroic defence kept the visitors at bay and the Warriors just held on to see it out to the final whistle.
