Worcester vs Exeter: Worcester's generosity could return to haunt them

Worcester owe their place in the top echelon of English club rugby to an act of boundless generosity performed by Bristol in the second leg of last season’s promotion play-off, so there is something profoundly ironic about the Midlanders’ own munificent streak – the kind of unselfishness that has been known to send better, more lavishly financed teams plummeting in a southerly direction. If they continue with this policy of open-handedness, they could easily return from whence they came.

While Dean Ryan’s reaction to this unnecessarily painful defeat was approximately 100 per cent more phlegmatic than might have been expected by those who had the questionable privilege of encountering the Sixways rugby director during his tempestuous former life as a player, there was method in his apparent madness. Worcester did plenty of good things here, most notably at close quarters, and once the southern hemisphere wings Bryce Heem and Cooper Vuna are given runnable ball on a regular basis, they will make a mess of whatever defensive construction their opponents choose to put in place.

But if Ryan can be forgiven for feeling there is precious little mileage in going off the deep end at this delicate stage of the campaign – Worcester travel to London Irish next weekend for 80 minutes of purest sporting paranoia – he must surely recognise that system failures without the ball against a team running as hot as Exeter are unacceptable. The Devonians are not noticeably in need of free gifts, but they received two in the opening 20 minutes here and won the game as a consequence.

The first-quarter tries scored by James Short and Ian Whitten were too soft for words – a straight spin left behind a single dummy runner; a sucker-punch attack off a line-out – and minimised the return Worcester received from a fine scrummaging performance from the tight-head prop Nick Schonert and an inventive midfield contribution from Ryan Mills. They reached the break all square at 12-apiece when they should have been a dozen points clear.

“It may be that other teams are seeing things just a little more clearly and quickly than we are at times, but I don’t think there are any worrying themes developing,” Ryan argued, the phrase “duty of care to my players” tattooed across his forehead. “I think you have to give Exeter some credit for finishing those tries as they did. It’s a reflection of the level at which they’re operating right now.”

His opposite number, Rob Baxter, saw things differently. He was less than enamoured by his side’s first-half performance, suspecting that their “failure to get the As and Bs done” was rooted in some uncharacteristic complacency arising from the ease with which those early tries were scored. Baxter was, however, delighted with the dominant nature of his team’s rugby in the second period, which yielded a touchdown from the prolific No 8 Thomas Waldrom – no surprise there – and a ruthless finish in the right corner from another of the West Country club’s hugely effective band of back-row brothers, Don Armand. Poor Mills was on the receiving end of the flanker’s stampede to the line and was left applying fist to terra firma in frustration. The former Gloucester playmaker deserved better, but that’s what happens when you give good teams a helping hand they don’t require.

Among the many things going right for Exeter is a slow but significant improvement in the body count. Luke Cowan-Dickie, the England squad hooker who had not played a minute of competitive rugby since busting his thumb in the European Champions Cup opener against Ospreys in November, is back in the thick of it: initially named on the bench for this one, he started the match following Jack Yeandle’s late withdrawal through illness and caught the eye with some high-quality work in the loose. There were some scrummaging issues and one laughably inaccurate throw at the line-out, but all things considered, it was a satisfactory return.

Then there was the reappearance of the centre Sam Hill, one of the more surprising newcomers in the red-rose squad named by Eddie Jones last month. He, too, had been short of rugby; he, too, relished this opportunity after long weeks of inactivity. In fact, there were moments when Hill looked the most potent attacking runner on the field. “It makes me feel comfortable when we can perform as we have been and then bring players of such quality back into the side,” Baxter said.

This is a luxury unavailable to Worcester. They have a smattering of genuine know-how – Donncha O’Callaghan, the Ireland lock with Lions experience, will prove to be one of the more intelligent signings in recent memory; less frequent but no less admirable international performers, from the full-back Chris Pennell to the flanker Phil Dowson, will work themselves to a standstill for the cause – but when rugby comes down to who blinks first, the Midlanders do not add up to much when it comes to a meaningful collective stare.

They are just four points ahead of Irish, who currently occupy the relegation place, and that fragile advantage could be wiped out next weekend. “Our season will not be defined by what happens at Irish,” said Ryan. “And anyway, they’re the ones at home, not us. They didn’t win in this round of matches either, so the pressure is on them.”

Ah, pressure – the intangible force that makes and breaks teams at will. Worcester inflicted plenty of the p-word on Exeter, only to release the valve with defensive collapses at key moments. They now have a choice: be meaner, or be sorry.

Scorers: Worcester – Penalties: Heathcote 5. Exeter – Tries: Short, Whitton, Waldrom, Armand. Conversions: Steenson 2. Penalties: Steenson 2. Worcester: C Pennell; B Heem, W Olivier, R Mills (A Symons 69), C Vuna; T Heathcote, L Baldwin (C Mulchrone 71); N Leleimalefaga (R Bower 69), N Annett, N Schonert (J Johnston 55), D O’Callaghan, T Cavubati, P Dowson, M Mama (M Cox 64), G J van Velze (capt). Exeter: P Dollman; O Woodburn, M Campagnaro (S Hill 55), I Whitten, J Short; G Steenson (capt, W Hooley 75), W Chudley (D Lewis 63); A Hepburn (B Moon 45), L Cowan-Dickie (E Taione 55), T Francis (M Low 69), J Hill (O Atkins 55), G Parling, D Armand, J Salvi (K Horstmann 69), T Waldrom. Referee: C Maxwell-Keys (Staffordshire).