Last season:
The Warriors finished second in the RFU Championship at the end of the regular season, six points behind table toppers Bristol with whom they had cut loose from the rest of the table from an early stage.
Second place was was enough to earn them a two legged semi-final against London Scottish. Having taken a slender 27-22 lead from their visit to the Richmond Athletic ground, The Warriors secured a comfortable 38-15 win over the Exiles at Sixways to record a 65-37 win on aggregate, setting up what was to be an epic two-legged final against Bristol.
A late try from replacement hooker Niall Annett gave Worcester the narrowest of advantages from the first leg at Ashton Gate, taking a 29-28 lead into the second leg at Sixways. An epic finale to the season saw Worcester take a commanding 16-6 lead, to which a rampant Bristol responded by taking a 30-16 lead with just ten minutes to go. A penalty try put Warriors back in contention, and with the final play of the game the ball fell to Chris Pennell out wide to crash over for a dramatic try.
Fly half Ryan Lamb held his nerve to slot over the conversion and return his side to the Premiership they had departed 12 months earlier.
Season Preview: Worcester Warriors
Players In:
Carl Kirwan (Back row, London Welsh)
Phil Dowson (Back row, Northampton Saints)
Derrick Appiah (Prop, Italy)
Andy Short (Wing/Centre, Bristol)
Tom Heathcote (Fly half, Edinburgh)
Luke Baldwin (Scrum half, Bristol)
Sam Lewis (Back row, Ospreys)
Cooper Vuna (Wing, Toshiba Brave Lupus)
Na’ama Lelemalefaga (Prop, Montpellier)
Darren Barry (Lock, Cornish Pirates)
Bryce Heem (Wing, Nelson/Chiefs)
Marco Mama (Back row, Bristol (loan )
A busy summer of arrivals at Sixways, as is often the way for promoted sides. Australian speedster Vuna and New Zealander Heem should offer excitement on the wings, while Samoan juggernaut Lelemalefaga arrives with bags of experience from the Top 14 to add to the scrum. Welshman Lewis, on Warren Gatland’s international radar is a quality back row addition while Dowson’s top level experience could make his a shrewd signing.
Players Out:
Mike Williams (Lock/back row, Leicester Tigers)
Andries Pretorius (Back row, Retired)
Agustin Creevy (Hooker, Argentine Super Rugby)
Rob O’Donnell (Prop, Yorkshire Carnegie)
George Porter (Prop, Ealing)
Joshua Watkins (Winger, England 7s)
Richard De Carpentier (Back row, England 7s)
Josh Drauniniu (Wing, London Welsh)
James Percival (Lock, Grenoble)
Ofa Fainga’anuku (Prop, released)
Leonardo Senatore (Back row, Argentine Super Rugby)
Andrew Boyce (Back row, Loughborough University)
Jack Cosgrove (Prop, Edinburgh)
George De Cothi (Scrum half, released)
Jon Hughes (full back, released)
Shay Kerry (Lock, Oyonnax)
Josh McNulty (Prop, released)
Ignacio Mieres (Fly half, releases)
James Stephenson (Wing, released)
Zimbabwean Williams’ departure to Leicester is a disappointing one for Warriors’ fans, who feel The Tigers have signed a fine player. The departures of Creevy and Senatore was to be expected with the birth of the new Argentine Super Rugby franchise being too strong a lure for the top Argentine players. Percival’s experience will be a loss in the second row. Overall, Warriors will be generally satisfied that the nucleus of the promotion winning side is still together.
Key Player:
Such is the quality of Chris Pennell that he found himself on Stuart Lancaster’s international radar even when plying his trade in the RFU Championship. A stand out performer in the Warriors’ relegation season, Pennell’s loyalty to his home-town club in sticking by them when relegated has been a real boost to Worcester. Now rewarded with a return to the Premiership with his beloved Warriors, Pennell’s quality and leadership will be key to Worcester’s chances of maintaining their Premiership status.
Hopes and Fears for 2015/16:
Worcester are arguably the best side to have been promoted to the Aviva Premiership in quite some time, and will not be humiliated in the manner that London Welsh were last season by any stretch of the imagination. After limping out of the Premiership in 2014, Dean Ryan appears to have regalvanised his squad and they look to be returning better.
Unfortunately for them, they are probably coming into the strongest Premiership for some time, and survival will be a real struggle for them.
The Warriors will need to hit the ground running and put pressure on the sides around them from the very start. An opening day win at Sixways against a Northampton Saints side that could still be missing international players would set down a real marker for the season, whilst visits to Sale and Gloucester in the next two fixtures in October offer opportunities for a surprise to be sprung.
It is difficult to see Worcester having anything other than a battle on their hands, but a good start could put them in a good spot to secure survival and give the club an opportunity to build and cement their place.
LWOS Prediction:
A tight run relegation battle that will go down to the wire.
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