Warriors on the move
PREMIERSHIP REPORT: Nick Schonert’s first-half try set Worcester Warriors on their way to a vital Premiership victory, 20-13 at home to Harlequins.
The tighthead prop was the beneficiary of a powerful maul, before Ryan Mills crossed in the second half in a hard-fought affair.
Joe Marchant’s intercept try had got Harlequins right back into it, but in the end, they had to settle for a losing bonus point as they failed to pick up a second successive away victory.
On a cold night in Worcester, the Warriors withstood some intense Harlequins pressure early on, conceding just three points to Marcus Smith. Duncan Weir levelled matters before Schonert’s score after the half-hour from a driving line-out.
A long-range Chris Pennell penalty on the stroke of half-time extended the lead and that was how it remained until the 56th minute when Marchant picked off a pass in midfield and showed his pace to race home.
With their lead cut to just three, the Warriors responded, and Mills was able to force his way over for the all-important second score, Weir converting from out wide.
The visitors kept pushing but could only manage a James Lang penalty to come away with a point.
This win pushes the Warriors into the top half of the table provisionally and extends their fine home record this season.
The scorers:
For Worcester Warriors:
Tries: Schonert, Mills
Cons: Weir 2
Pens: Weir, Pennell
For Harlequins:
Try: Marchant
Con: Lang
Pens: Smith, Lang
Teams:
Worcester Warriors: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ryan Mills (captain), 11 Perry Humphreys, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Matt Cox, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Pierce Phillips, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Callum Black
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Darren Barry, 20 Matti Williams, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Jamie Shillcock, 23 Wynand Olivier
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Cadan Murley, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Nathan Earle, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Charlie Mulchrone, 8 James Chisholm (captain), 7 Jack Clifford, 6 Alex Dombrandt, 5 Matt Symons, 4 George Merrick, 3 Will Collier, 2 Max Crumpton, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Dave Ward, 17 Lewis Boyce, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 James Horwill, 20 Archie White, 21 Danny Care, 22 James Lang, 23 Francis Saili
Referee: Andrew Jackson
Assistant referees: Peter Allan & Hamish Smales.
TMO: Geoff Warren.
They’ve done it! 👏
A big win for @WorcsWarriors who edge past @Harlequins at Sixways#GallagherPrem #WORvHAR #FridayNightLights pic.twitter.com/OR44PDwrcv
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) November 23, 2018
