Games between Gloucester Rugby and Worcester Warriors are an odd affair. Ask any Shedhead who the main rivals are, and they will reply Bath. However for the Warriors, 30 miles up the M5, the nearest club is Gloucester. Annoyingly then for the Cherry and Whites, Worcester normally up their game for this fixture, and have certainly caused problems for their neighbours over the years. The match at Kingsholm on Saturday, immediately before the World Cup final, is the first of three clashes between these teams before Christmas; they have been drawn in the same European Challenge Cup group which kicks off in mid-November. Worcester have been a bit of a yo-yo club in recent years so this season there are plenty of opportunities to upset their more illustrious rivals.
Gloucester Rugby vs Worcester Warriors: A Recent History
As the last meeting between these sides was in May 2014 I have decided to trawl through the archives (online and my own ever-growing pile of matchday programmes) to look back at some memorable clashes between these two sides.
Gloucester 13 – Worcester 13- 2009/10
I managed to squeeze myself into The Shed for this New Year game, which saw the sellout crowd become frustrated at Gloucester’s inability to capitalise on their first half dominance and having to chase the game after two smash-and-grab Worcester tries, one from former All Black Rico Gear. From 13-5 down at half time a Nicky Robinson penalty then a last minute try from lock Dave Attwood rescued a draw. Another New Zealand import, Carlos Spencer, had the chance to become the hero but missed the conversion from the sideline. This result was typical of both sides’ seasons, with Worcester drawing four games that year, and Gloucester suffering from poor goalkicking from Nicky Robinson and Spencer.
Gloucester 29 Worcester 23 – 2012/13
Another game decided in the final minutes, and again it was Worcester who were unable to hold onto a slender lead after a mazy Johnny May run, who had just established himself in the first team, compelled Errie Claassens to trip the winger on his way to the tryline that resulted in a red card for the Warriors’ fullback and a penalty try awarded for a 29-23 home victory.
Gloucester 12 – Worcester 6 -2013/14
The last time Worcester visited Kingsholm was in December 2013 when they were still searching for their first victory under new Director of Rugby and former Gloucester man Dean Ryan. They very nearly got it from this tryless encounter which would have compounded the issues for Gloucester’s beleaguered Director of Rugby at the time Nigel Davies. Fortunately Billy Twelvetrees put in one of the performances that saw him promoted to club captain the season after, kicking four penalties to leave Worcester rooted to the bottom of the table.
Worcester 28- Gloucester 27 – 2013/14
Fast forward five months and Worcester had been relegated after only managing one victory, but they managed to come out on top of a tight encounter this time and grab a second win in the final game of the season. A derby victory made sweeter with the winning penalty being kicked by another ex Cherry and White man Ryan Lamb. This result put the final nail in the coffin for Nigel Davies who was swiftly sacked after this result that confirmed Gloucester in ninth place, a position they haven’t improved upon since.
As this history shows, this fixture is often a tight affair and although it generally lacks the intensity of other derby games it certainly produces drama and the amount of players competing who have swapped one team’s shirt for another adds further spice. Dean Ryan is still in charge at Sixways and he may call upon former Gloucester players Matt Cox and Ryan Mills, whilst Matt Kvesic is certain to be lining up against them having moved to Kingsholm in 2013. On paper, Gloucester would hope to get a reasonably comfortable win against the newly promoted team at home, but as we have seen this is unlikely to be the case.
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