Day-Dream Believer

RT
By RT
May 2 2006

RT has been writing yet again. And also yet again, more words to make you smile and reflect over the 2 years so far. Well done RT!!

Daydream Believer

I had a dream…

It was September 2004. The sun was shining brightly and Sixways was full to capacity. The Sky cameras were in position; Barnes and Morris were ready; the eyes of the nation were on the players’ tunnel. For the Worcester faithful, this was the moment they had been waiting for through all the blood, sweat and tears of National One: the Warriors’ Premiership debut.

Everyone else, however, had a different agenda. Blessed Jonny of the Winning Drop Goal was making his return from injury. What better welcome than a certain win for the Falcons.

And so it was written:

Worcester 9 - Newcastle 30

And Mr Andrew saw nothing in Worcester’s game that day that was likely to trouble the Premiership.

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I had a dream…

It was April 2005. The sun was shining brightly and Sixways was full to capacity. The main Sky cameras were in Twickenham, but the commentators were in position in Worcester too; the eyes of the nation didn’t know quite where to look. For the Worcester faithful, this was the moment that they had dreaded all season, through all the blood, sweat and tears of the Premiership: the final battle against relegation. We were not alone: Harlequins, Northampton, Leeds and London Irish had the same agenda.

But we had Drew Hickey.

And so it was written:

Worcester 21 – Northampton 19

Jeremy Staunton’s kick did not trouble the uprights and Quins, whom many thought would receive a last minute reprieve, faced the unthinkable drop.

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I was wide awake…

It was April 2006. The sun was brightly shining and Sixways was full to capacity. There were no Sky cameras and Barnes and Morris had no great interest in the match; the eyes of the nation were probably taking forty winks. For the Worcester faithful, it was a redeeming moment: a chance to savour victory and to exact revenge. It was also a day for farewells.

Initially, the omens did not look good: 11^th in the table, only 2 GP wins in 2006 and new injuries further depleting an already diminished squad. The opposition had a glint in their eyes and Wilkinson on the bench. Matt Burke, Tom May, Matthew Tait, Toby Flood and Jamie Noon were a formidable force and they were smarting from last week’s near-miss against London Irish in the ECC. A good win would keep their Heineken Cup hopes alive – and it was only Worcester after all.

The Warriors, however, had other ideas. They were smarting from last week’s near-miss against Gloucester and their disappointments since Christmas; they were soon to lose two of their favourite sons. After all, this was Fortress Sixways and they had their noisy, “one-eyed” thousands of “Cecil’s barmy-army” right behind them. They were not going to let a lot of “blue-eyed boys” get the better of them this time.

The first 40 minutes saw the Warriors play like men possessed. Newcastle did not seem to know what had hit them. Nick Runciman’s confidence and competence belied his years and experience; Truesy played out of his skin, showing both speed and quick-wittedness; Uche forgot that wingers aren’t supposed to play like forwards. Older heads in the team demonstrated concentration and sleight of hand that left the spectators breathless and the Newcastle attacks floored in piles of dust. Thomas Lombard played as if a contract depended on the outcome.

Such scintillating rugby can rarely be sustained for 80 minutes and the Falcons never gave up their attack. The Blessed Jonny is a class act and, with him on the field, the Worcester faithful were kept heart-in-mouth for the second half. But James Brown kept his kicking composure (remember Orrell) and André came on to add weight and aggression to the pack. Just as in April 2005, the Warriors were able to “stuff the ball up their jumpers” and grind out a winning final 10 minutes.

And the crowd went wild….

The team enjoyed a standing ovation which was shared by Mademoiselle Lombard on her father’s shoulders and Masters Josh Gillies and Elijah Rasmussen. Thinus and André must have shaken hands with scores of delighted supporters. No longer could the Warriors be described as “a driving maul with extras”. This was a 15-man performance which provided a fitting tribute and home farewell to Thomas and André.

As for Mr Andrew…

He said before the game that the Falcons aimed to score at least 4 tries in order to gain a bonus point. He was a man of his word. It was just as well for us that he omitted to mention the need to win the game as well.

And so it was written:

Worcester 35 – Newcastle 27

We’re back to 8^th in the table.

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See you in Bath!